The Art of Eternity is a British television documentary series produced by the BBC in which art historian Andrew Graham-Dixon sets out to unravel the mysteries of Christian art from the pre-perspective era.
It was first broadcast on BBC Four in 2007, and later repeated on BBC Two. There are three 50-minute documentaries in the series.
The Art of Eternity premiered in South Africa on DStv's BBC World channel on Saturday 14 June 2008, at 10h10.
Repeats
Saturdays: 19h10
Sundays: 03h10, 16h10
Synopsis
How should art depict the relationship between man and God? How can art best express eternal values? Can you and should you portray the face of Christ?
For over 1,000 years these were some of the questions which taxed the minds of the greatest artists of the early West.
In this three-part series, art historian Andrew Graham-Dixon sets out to unravel the mysteries of art from the pre-perspective era.
Episodes
Episode 1: Painting Paradise
Andrew traces the beginnings of Christian art in the declining Roman Empire, Egypt and medieval France, and reveals the ideas which lay behind the transition from classical art to the first icons.
Episode 2: The Glory of Byzantium
Andrew travels to Istanbul to immerse himself in the tumultuous world of the Byzantine Empire. He decodes the iconography of the art of the period and explains its continuing relevance.
Episode 3: When East Meets West
Andrew examines early Christian art and the reasons for its evolution during the Renaissance. He also reveals just how far modern artists have been influenced by the pre-perspective view of the world.