This informative set contains three complete programs that are illustrated by selected masterpieces of architecture, sculpture and painting and are filmed on location throughout Europe.EARLY CHRISTIAN AND BYZANTINE ART — Th... more »is film shows selected masterpieces from this epoch of religious art: the early Christian basilicas of Ravenna with their unique mosaic ornamentation, the dome construction and interior of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople, the Cloister of St. Catherine in Sinai with its collection of rare icons, also mid and late Byzantine cruciform churches in Greece and Turkey. The film's central theme is the portrayal of the pantocrator, Christ as the new Ruler of the World, one of the most magnificent creations of Byzantine art which had endured for one and a half thousand years.ROMANESQUE ART
The restoration of the Roman Empire and the revival of Antiquity by Charlemagne heralded a new age, and was the source of European culture in the Middle Ages. The cloisters of the Benedictine Order were the creators of Romanesque art. Architecture and painting, sculpture, goldsmiths' art and liturgical utensils of this era - the sole purpose of their conception was to serve the church. Even the patronage of the Emperor was purely sacred - great church buildings, not castles, served the task of Imperial representation. In the construction of the Imperial Cathedrals Romanesque architecture expanded into new dimensions. GOTHIC ART
The birth of the Gothic cathedral in the Ile-de-France, in the heart of France, is the central theme of this film. During this epoch architecture devoted itself to the construction of cathedrals. Chartres is the best and most beautiful example - it conveys the entire art work of the cathedral with its portal sculpture, the glass windows, the interior and exterior. Here the Gothic system of architecture, the construction of pier buttresses and quadrant arches, is displayed in its full glory. The Gothic style expanded across the borders of France to Germany, England and Italy, with each country developing its own variations.« less