Great Art - Season 3

Pablo Picasso is one of the greatest artists of all time – and right up until his death in 1973 he was the most prolific of artists. Many films have dealt with these later years – the art, the affairs and the wide circle of friends. But where did this all begin? What made Picasso in the first place? Too long ignored, it is time to look at the early years of Picasso; the upbringing and the learning that led to his extraordinary achievements. Three cities played a key role: Málaga, Barcelona and Paris. Young Picasso visits each and explores their influence on Picasso, focusing on specific artworks from these early years – up to the ground-breaking and hugely significant Les Demoiselles d'Avignon. Working closely with Picasso museums in Málaga, Barcelona and Paris this film explains how he rose to such great heights.

Discover Spain's celebrated artist with this cinematic tour de force based on the National Gallery's blockbuster exhibition Goya: The Portraits. Francisco Goya is considered the father of modern art. He was a brilliant observer of everyday life and took the genre of portraiture to new heights. The film uses the exhibition to look in depth at Goya's eventful life and, through extensive location footage and Goya's revealing letters, the film builds a fascinating portrait of the painter and the extraordinary world he painted. Royalty, aristocrats, politicians and close friends were subjected to his highly modern approach that captured rapid changes of expression, gesture and emotion. Goya's powerful vision and technical brilliance makes him one of the most admired and revered artists in the world today and indeed among the greatest painters to have ever lived.

In 2013, all of Norway celebrated the 150th anniversary of the birth of Edvard Munch, one of the towering figures of modern art.

This was hailed a "once-in-a-lifetime show". Global interest was huge – not least as a result of one of his four The Scream paintings having recently set a public art auction record of $120 million. Many only know Munch as the man who painted The Scream but his complete works are remarkable and secure his place as one of the greatest artists in history. Munch 150 was co-hosted by the National Museum and the Munch Museum, both in Oslo. With 220 paintings on show, it brought together the greatest number of Munch's key works in one place. This film goes behind-the-scenes to show the process of putting the exhibition together as well as providing an in-depth biography of a man who lived from the mid-19th century right through to the German occupation of Norway in the Second World War.

Featuring interviews with curators and experts from the National Portrait Gallery London, MoMA New York, National Gallery of Art Washington, and Musée d'Orsay Paris as well as correspondence from the artist himself, the film takes audiences beyond the exhibition to the places in which Cézanne lived and worked, throwing new light on the life and work of this hugely influential artist.