Courage, loyalty, justice, to name a few, are some of the abstract concepts expressed through associative images: a pining dog lying on his master's tomb, the blindfolded Justitia with her scales and sword. This program looks at a wide range of symbols, at allegory, and at larger symbolic works like a monument commemorating the victims of World War II.

This program spotlights 33 works of Chinese art seldom ever seen outside of the National Palace Museum. Spanning approximately 5,000 years of history, this diverse collection of pieces includes a Neolithic pottery jar; bronze fangzun and fangyi vessels from the late Shang-early Zhou period; a bronze ding vessel from the Late Western Zhou period; a Tang figurine in sancai glaze; a Ming cup in doucai enamels; and a Qing cylindrical curio cabinet. Displayed...

Before this film, no one else—including the French—was ever permitted to film the Louvre. The priceless treasures and incomparable art can be shared through the eyes of award-winning filmmaker Lucy Jarvis. Set against the panoramic history of France and hosted by Charles Boyer, the Louvre, regal palace and home to so many of the world's great gifts of art, becomes The Louvre, a film acclaimed and winner of 14 national and international awards—so...

Meet the painting prodigy who started her career as a toddler.

Lang Lang is already an undisputed international star of the piano. A "Wunderkind" like Mozart, Lang Lang is a demi-god in China and a superstar in the rest of the world. Portrait of An Exceptional Artistreveals not only a piano prodigy, but also a deeply involved artist and mentor.From his lessons in China, to his master classes in France, the passing of his expertise to others is central to Lang Lang's life and work.This documentary lets us discover...

In the second part of Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice," Mr. Collins arrives and proposes to Elizabeth who rejects him, to Mrs. Bennett's dismay. Elizabeth forms an acquaintance with militia officer Wickham, who relates his mistreatment by Darcy. At the Netherfield Ball, Darcy becomes aware of the expectation that Jane and Charles Bingley will marry. Mrs. Bennett is distraught when Mr. Collins proposes to Charlotte Lucas, who accepts, and the Bingleys...

Prevalence of Kitsch Taste in Culture. The fad of Kitsch is based on the ability to mass produce art. They were made with a limited shelf life. This is marketed towards middle class.

From the multiple perspectives in Jan van Eyck's The Arnolfini Marriage to the multiple soup cans of Andy Warhol, Western art abounds with examples of "double vision." This program looks first at duplication within works of art via mirrors, naturally reflective surfaces, and shadows and then at stylized repetition, whether it be through patterns integral to a work or through patterns that in themselves constitute the work. More esoteric aspects, such...

Not so long ago it was fashionable to think of the arts and sciences as opposites, but recent developments are casting doubt on this point of view. Today's artists utilize a multitude of sophisticated technologies based on scientific principles. Cameras, for example, are much-simplified replicas of the human eye. Other artists make use of everyday, but nevertheless captivating, technology. Examples include neon lighting and even copy-art, which uses...

Expressing a dead body, wrote Leon Baptista Alberti, in 1435, "is one of the most difficult things in the world." This program examines the portrayal of death in art, from ancient times to the post-World War II era. Sarcophagi, paintings, sculptures, funerary statuary, news photos, cinema, mixed media, and a living pieta reveal the intricacies and nuances of rendering incidents of natural, accidental, and violent death, including Jesus' crucifixion....