Reads like a Detective Novel

A momentous event took place in 1990. A single painting was sold for US$78 million. The buyer was a Japanese businessman called Saito. The occasion was a Sotheby auction. The painting had been done by a nineteenth century French painter by the name of Renoir. Till that date it set the all-time high for the price of a single piece of art.

               What happened later to the painting reads like a detective novel trailing the collapse of the Japanese magnate’s business empire, leading to the bank secretly selling it off as collateral. To cap the mystery of this painting, the Japanese buyer had threatened to have it burned at his funeral, causing an international art world outrage.

               You would never have thought that art masterpieces can hold secrets like this. But the producers of the BBC Dvd set of 7 discs reveal peeled layer upon layer of historical details to satisfy the whims of lovers of mystery stories.

               You get a panoramic view of the golden ages of the world of art. From how Michelangelo chipped away at a block of marble about 19 feet long to produce the marvelous statue of David in medieval Florence BBC will take you on a historical-cum-geographical journey through the European centers of art to the time of Picasso. The dark message of Picasso’s famous painting Guernica will be unfolded to you, and its roots traced to another Spanish painter Goya’s “3^rd May 1808”. Goya’s painting depicted the slaughter of Spaniards by Napoleon’s French troops occupying Spain at the time.

               This BBC Dvd set of 7 discs contain 22 videos of 49 minutes each, opening a window to Art Appreciation. Instead of spending thousands of dollars attending art courses, you can take your time learning to appreciate art in the comfort of your home. All at the affordable sum of US$100 (RM330).  

               It is a worth-your-while lifetime collection set.