The Impressionists: Painting and Revolution - Gang of Four

I had a feeling I'd missed a programme out of my recent post - The latest Art on the BBC -
and I had.  In fact I'd missed out TWO!

These are:

• The Impressionists: Painting and Revolution.  This is a new series with four episodes.  It's introduced by art writer Waldemar Januszczak - this is a link to his article about making the series Not just about sunny river banks (which also includes his opinions about AA Gill writing about Impressionism - and it's worth reading for that alone!) 

The point is, we who think we know everything about impressionism know very little. Impressionism cannot be boring because nothing concrete enough is known about it yet to be bored with. What does exist — and this is the real enemy — is an utterly misleading set of preconceptions. They exist. And they need to be challenged.

La Grenouillère, painting by Claude Monet
- as featured in the first programme of this series
Location: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Source: Wikipedia

• the first programme - Gang of Four - transmits tonight on BBC2 at 8pm.  I'm assuming it will also be available to download on iPlayer and I shall be setting mine to record the whole series (here are the alternative transmission times).  I like watching these programmes twice! ;)  UPDATE:  Just finished watching it - and it's very definitely worth taking time out to view.  It's both accessible, informative and you get to see quite a few paintings - with an emphasis on what makes Impressionism different

In the first episode, Waldemar delves into the back stories of four of the most influential Impressionists - Pissarro, Monet, Renoir and Bazille - who together laid the foundations of the artistic movement. He finds out what social and cultural influences drove them to their style of painting, how they were united and how ultimately they challenged and changed art forever.

• the next programme - The Great Outdoors - looks at the locations associated with the Impressionists.  I love going to places painted by artists and will be particularly interested in this episode.

Although Impressionist pictures often look sunny and relaxed, achieving this peaceful air was hard work. Trudging through fog, wind and rain, across treacherous coastal rocks and knee-deep snow, Waldemar shows how the famous spontaneity of the Impressionists is thoroughly misleading.

• the award-winning drama-documentary - Vincent Van Gogh - Painted with Words - was shown again last week and is still available to download from iplayer.  Benedict Cumberbach plays Van Gogh.  
• This was created to link with the blockbuster Van Gogh exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts last year (see The Real Van Gogh at the Royal Academy).  
• Every word spoken in the programme actually comes from the letters that Van Gogh sent to his younger brother Theo and others with whom he corresponded.
• The film won a Rockie for Best Arts Documentary at the Banff World Media Festival in 2011, receiving critical acclaim for its fascinating insight into the life of the artist and its unique approach to storytelling.