The Renaissance Unchained

In this series critic Waldemar Januszczak challenges received historical wisdom that the Renaissance originated in Italy and Spain, claiming instead that it emerged further north in Germany and the Low Countries. With the help of several academic experts, plus endless location filming in art galleries Europeanwide, Januszczak has a fine time demolishing traditional historical views and putting his in their place (a case of "my theory can lick your theory" perhaps?

Looked at with a critical eye, his views can be readily challenged; he is too ready and willing to make sweeping generalizations about Italian, Spanish, and German art, and to take things at face value without reflecting sufficiently deeply on the ways in which they might have affected audiences. But then this is television history, not academic history, so perhaps we can forgive him a certain superficiality of tone.

What really grates, however, is the supercilious persona Januszczak cuts on screen. Carrying a variety of suitcases and entering different artistic shrines, he resembles a professor determined to prove that his view matters at the expense of anyone else's. He has this annoying tendency to SPEAK IN CAPITAL LETTERS, which seems eminently unsuitable for an intimate medium such as television.

This series might have worked as a book or even a radio show, it seems peculiarly uncomfortable for the small screen. Avoid.

The Renaissance Unchained is a four part series about paintings and sculptures from the period. The presenter begins with Flemish art to correct misconceptions people have about history, before spending the other episodes in Italy.

I found this to be a good documentary source about art history but probably for those of us who were never art majors in college. It has an easy-to-understand appeal that should interest a broad audience.

That being said, the presenter is kind of weird. The way he keeps calling Mary Magdalene imaginary could deeply offend certain people, and his emphasis on the sensuality of Venetian painting is a bit creepy and unconvincing.