David Bickerstaff
2021
Girl with a Pearl Earring: And Other Treasures from the Mauritshuis
David Bickerstaff
Hugh Bonneville, Nicolette McKenzie
The Girl with a Pearl Earring' by Johannes Vermeer is one of the most enduring paintings in the history of art. This beautifully filmed documentary goes in pursuit of answers to the unresolved riddles surrounding this extraordinary piece.
Girl with a Pearl Earring: And Other Treasures from the Mauritshuis
Michelangelo: Love and Death
David Bickerstaff
To coincide with a new exhibition at the National Gallery of London, Love and Death offers a fresh, full biography of Michelangelo. Spanning his 89 years, Michelangelo – Love and Death, takes a cinematic journey from the print and drawing rooms of Europe, through the great chapels and museums of Florence, Rome and the Vatican to explore the tempestuous life of Michelangelo.
Michelangelo: Love and Death
Van Gogh & Japan - Exhibition On Screen
David Bickerstaff
Vincent van Gogh
"I envy the Japanese" Van Gogh wrote to his brother Theo. In the exhibition on which this film is based - VAN GOGH & JAPAN at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam - one can see why. Though Vincent van Gogh never visited Japan it is the country that had the most profound influence on him and his art. One cannot understand Van Gogh without understanding how Japanese art arrived in Paris in the middle of the 19th century and the profound impact it had on artists like Monet, Degas and, above all, Van Gogh. The film travels not only to France and the Netherlands but also to Japan to further explore the remarkable heritage that so affected Van Gogh and made him the artist we know of today.
Van Gogh & Japan
Hieronymus Bosch: The Curious World of Hieronymus Bosch
David Bickerstaff, Phil Grabsky
Peter Greenaway, Jennifer Sliwka
Exhibition on Screen's latest release celebrates the life and masterpieces of Hieronymus Bosch brought together from around the world to his hometown in the Netherlands as a one-off exhibition. With exclusive access to the gallery and the show, this stunning film explores this mysterious, curious, medieval painter who continues to inspire today's creative geniuses. Over 420,000 people flocked to the exhibition to marvel at Bosch's bizarre creations but now, audiences can enjoy a front row seat at Bosch's extraordinary homecoming from the comfort of their own home anywhere in the world. Expert insights from curators and leading cultural critics explore the inspiration behind Bosch's strange and unsettling works. Close-up views of the curiosities allow viewers to appreciate the detail of his paintings like never before. Bosch's legendary altarpieces, which have long been divided among museums, were brought back together for the exhibition and feature in the film.
The Curious World of Hieronymus Bosch
Vincent Van Gogh: A New Way of Seeing
David Bickerstaff, Phil Grabsky
Delving deep into the fascinating and sometimes deeply troubled world of Vincent van Gogh who, perhaps more than any other artist, has long captured the imagination of storytellers.
Vincent Van Gogh: A New Way of Seeing
Degas: Passion for Perfection
David Bickerstaff
Trevor Allan Davies
EXHIBITION ON SCREEN journeys from the streets of Paris to the heart of a superb exhibition at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, whose extensive collection of Degas’ works is the most representative in Britain. With exclusive access to view rare and diverse works, this film tells a fascinating story of Degas’ pursuit for perfection through both experimentation with new techniques and lessons learnt from studying the past masters.
Degas: Passion for Perfection
Exhibition on Screen: Sunflowers
David Bickerstaff
Jamie de Courcey, Jochum ten Haaf
Working closely with the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, Sunflowers goes beyond a ‘virtual exhibition’, delving into the rich and complex stories behind each of the paintings to unveil the mysteries of the sunflowers. What did the flowers mean to Van Gogh, and why do they resonate so much with audiences today? With a striking portrayal of the artist by actor Jamie de Courcey and fascinating insights from art historians, botanists and everything in between, the film offers a unique insight into Van Gogh’s life and artwork.
Sunflowers
Lucian Freud: A Self Portrait - EOS
David Bickerstaff
Lucian Freud
For the first time in history the Royal Academy of Arts in London, in collaboration with the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, is bringing together Lucian Freud’s self-portraits. The exhibition will display more than 50 paintings, prints and drawings in which this modern master of British art turned his unflinching eye firmly on himself. One of the most celebrated painters of our time, Lucian Freud is also one of very few 20th-century artists who portrayed themselves with such consistency. Spanning nearly seven decades his self-portraits give a fascinating insight into both his psyche and his development as a painter, from his earliest portrait painted in 1939 to the final one executed 64 years later. When seen together, his portraits represent an engrossing study into the dynamic of ageing and the process of self-representation. This intensely compelling exhibition creates a unique opportunity for EXHIBITION ON SCREEN to reveal the life’s work of a master in one show.
Lucian Freud: A Self Portrait
Heavy Water: A Film for Chernobyl
David Bickerstaff
On April 26th, 1986, reactor four at Chernobyl nuclear power station explodes, sending an enormous radioactive cloud over Northern Ukraine and neighbouring Belarus. The danger is kept a secret from the rest of the world and the nearby population who go about their business as usual. May Day celebrations begin, children play and the residents of Pripyat marvel at the spectacular fire raging at the reactor. After three days, an area the size of England becomes contaminated with radioactive dust, creating a 'zone' of poisoned land. Based on Mario Petrucci's award-winning book-length poem (split over two books), 'Heavy Water: a film for Chernobyl', and the shorter version 'Half Life: a Journey to Chernobyl", tells the story of the people who dealt with the disaster at ground-level: the fire-fighters, soldiers, 'liquidators', and their families.
Heavy Water: A Film for Chernobyl
Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse
David Bickerstaff
Claude Monet was an avid horticulturist and arguably the most important painter of gardens in the history of art, but he was not alone. Great artists like Van Gogh, Bonnard, Sorolla, Sargent, Pissarro and Matisse all saw the garden as a powerful subject for their art. These great artists, along with many other famous names, feature in an innovative and extensive exhibition from The Royal Academy of Arts, London.
Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse
Degas: Passion for Perfection - Exhibition on Screen
David Bickerstaff
Sometimes frustrated by his own failings, Degas was consumed by obsessive principles and failing eye sight but his determination to capture everyday life was evident in every mark he made. Never fully satisfied, many of Degas’ drawings and sculptures were kept in private during his lifetime but, now through close examination, they can be seen as some of the most beautifully detailed and expressive works in the modern era. Using written accounts by friends and commentators, and the narration of letters written by Degas himself, this film reveals a more complex truth behind one of the most influential French artists of the late 19th-century and serves as an exploration of the complex workings of Degas’ artistic mind.
Degas: Passion for Perfection
Goya: Visions of Flesh and Blood
David Bickerstaff
Xavier Bray
Discover Spain’s celebrated artist with this cinematic tour de force based on the National Gallery’s must-see exhibition Goya: The Portraits. The film uses this exhibition to look in depth at Goya’s eventful life.
Goya: Visions of Flesh and Blood
Exhibition on Screen: Canaletto & the Art of Venice
David Bickerstaff
EXHIBITION ON SCREEN open its fifth season with Canaletto & the Art of Venice, an immersive journey into the life and art of Venice’s famous view-painter. No artist better captures the essence and allure of Venice than Giovanni Antonio Canal, better known as Canaletto. The remarkable group of over 200 paintings, drawings and prints on display offer unparalleled insight into the artistry of Canaletto and his contemporaries, and the city he became a master at capturing. The film also offers the chance to step inside two official royal residences - Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle – to learn more about the artist, and Joseph Smith, the man who introduced Canaletto to Britain.
Canaletto & the Art of Venice
