Call for Papers:
The private life of a masterpiece
Art History Supplement, July 2013

British television has had already created a "tradition" in art history
documentary and show production, including scenes in sitcoms.
"Civilization" or "Ways of seeing", for instance, are just two prominent
examples, which both of them have encouraged talks, symposia, and
several screenings inside a museum or a gallery.

"The private life of a masterpiece" had also been indeed quite an
interesting television program, according to The Times' TV critic David
Chater, broadcasted on BBC Two. From 2001 to 2010 it had recorded 29
episodes exploring the life of works of art, revealing that way a
certain story of masterpieces – objects. The twenty-nine episodes
included, in order of appearance: Michelangelo: David, Edvard Munch: The
Scream, Édouard Manet: Le déjeuner sur l'herbe, Diego Velázquez: The
Rokeby Venus, Auguste Rodin: The Kiss, Francisco Goya: The Third of May
1808, Auguste Renoir: Bal au moulin de la Galette, Montmartre, Rembrandt
van Rijn: The Night Watch, Sandro Botticelli: La Primavera, James
McNeill Whistler: Whistler's Mother, Vincent van Gogh: Sunflowers, Edgar
Degas: La Petite Danseuse de Quatorze Ans, Pablo Picasso: Les
Demoiselles d'Avignon, Katsushika Hokusai: The Great Wave, Georges
Seurat: A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, Gustav
Klimt: The Kiss, Eugène Delacroix: Liberty Leading the People, Johannes
Vermeer: The Art of Painting, Paolo Uccello: The Battle of San Romano,
Leonardo da Vinci: The Last Supper, Salvador Dalí: Christ of Saint John
of the Cross, Piero della Francesca: The Resurrection, Jan van Eyck: The
Annunciation, Pieter Bruegel the Elder: Census At Bethlehem, Paul
Gauguin: God's Child, Caravaggio: The Taking Of Christ, Sandro
Botticelli: The Mystic Nativity, Rogier van der Weyden: The Descent from
the Cross, Filippo Lippi: The Adoration of the Christ Child.

According to artwork titles included within the show, if we had been to
understand the notion of "masterpiece", there is only one "masterpiece
outside the western canon and masterpiece are generally paintings as
there are two sculptures included. In addition, architecture, on the
other hand, had been left outside the "masterpiece" canon. While, the
chronology had been ranged from early renaissance to modern times. The
series was produced by independent TV production company Fulmar
Television & Film, based in Cardiff. Further, the series producer, who
also devised the concept of the programme, was Jeremy Bugler. Whose
notion of "masterpiece" and art history are we contemplating on? The
producer, the director, the presenter, the art history research team
behind the screen and the audience itself could be well considered
responsible; each one by oneself, in several combinations, or all
together at the same time. What is the art history paradigm presented on
the show? What is the scholarship (-s) being presented in the series, or
in various episodes? What is the current (academic) research on objects
– leading actors broadcasted? How large had been its audience and which
cultures were represented in it? These are just some topics accepted for
discussion in our forthcoming issue of Art History Supplement, but
certainly are not limited to. Aspects of any other art history, fiction
or non-fiction, TV broadcast based on concrete examples are also more
than welcome.

Refer to Author's guidelines for more information and submission
procedure.
http://www.arths.org.uk/about/journal/author-s-guidelines