Search - Simon Schama's Power of Art on DVD

Schama at His Best (Again)

Ray | 08/14/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Schama's latest foray into the world of on-screen documentary is also his latest smash hit. Although fundamentally different than his earlier documentary ("The History of Britain"), this latest of his entries into the genre is another solid performer, destined to find its way onto the list of "best documentaries ever made."



For this series, Schama has specially selected eight key artists to make his underlying point that art is indeed powerful, and all one need do is examine some of these personages and their key works to be convinced of just that point. Schama easily makes his case, but takes us on a riveting eight-hour journey from Caravaggio to Rothko in doing so. Our trip leads us to meet each of the artists (Caravaggio, Bernini, David, Turner, Van Gogh, Rembrandt, Picasso, and Rothko), peer into the oftentimes emotion-charged lives in which they practiced their art, and survey of some of the major accomplishments of each, all flouted across the screen in high-resolution digital beauty. And yet, this is not really Schama's point at all: the point which he wants us to understand, to believe, to accept, to embrace, is that art can be powerful, often IS powerful, and that these eight people served as spectacular conduits of that power into their created works.



And so, for each of our eight personal witnesses called to the stand to defend Schama's thesis, we hear an often tormented roar of testimony, each of them having a unique story to tell in how art was powerful to them, and how that power impacted their and succeeding generations. Sometimes the power is, in Schama's words, a "lie" (for example, "Death of Marat" by David), and sometimes it is the power of guilt and redemption (Caravaggio's "David with the head of Goliath"). Sometimes it is an open doorway to another dimension (Rothko's works), and sometimes, the power of reminding us who we are (Rembrandt's "The Conspiracy of Claudius Civilis"). We don't have to know about these paintings beforehand to learn Schama's lesson: as we work through each episode, we learn more than enough to understand these works, and why they were created. As such, the series serves as an outstanding lesson on the history of western art. But we should never be misled as to Schama's true purpose. He wants us to see the medium of art as a source of power, sometimes tapped, sometime not, sometimes legitimate, sometimes not. But powerful nonetheless.



The DVD set closely follows the printed text, which was released almost two years ago. I would recommend that one purchase and work through both formats to receive the maximum insight and experience of the endeavor. The book and the documentary make use of slightly different approaches to achieve the same goal, and watching the DVD first or reading the book first will in no way spoil the pleasure and meaning of the other. Both the DVD and the book are of first-rate quality, and it is easy to recommend both. Don't miss out on this latest of the Schama saga, and after watching, join the crowd of those that hope for more to come.

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