Season 8

2009-04-11 · 50m

When Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio completed his portrayal of Christ's betrayal in the Garden of Gethsemane in 1602, the image became one of the most celebrated paintings of the age. Two centuries later, however, this most radical of religious images had apparently vanished from the face of the earth, leading it to become known as Caravaggio's lost masterpiece. This documentary tells the story of the painting and its dramatic rediscovery in 1990.

2009-12-25 · 50m

It's a painting that lovers of mystery fiction should love. Botticelli's Mystic Nativity is a Renaissance masterpiece crammed with cryptic symbols disguising a dangerous message. But it is much more besides. Painted in 1500, it is a supremely beautiful vision of maternal love, earthly harmony and heavenly ecstasy. However, the painting also has a dark side. Botticelli had to carefully conceal its dangerous meaning, and only a recent chance discovery by a scholar fully unlocked its message.