This cycle of films is not at all like a tiresome stroll through the museums of the world. Instead, we offer you something unusual and exciting, similar to a parachute jump into the volcano of the creative imagination of eight painting geniuses: Caravaggio, Rembrandt, Picasso, Van Gogh, Turner, Rothko, David, Bernini.

This is the only way to imagine, feel and appreciate how the greatest masterpieces of painting on Earth were created.

Rembrandt: “The Batavian conspiracy under the influence of Julius Civilis”

In the painting “Night Watch” and portraits of the richest merchants of Amsterdam, Rembrandt did the impossible – he portrayed greatness, drama and heroism in the world of commercialism. Despite this, after 10 years, his works are not in demand and are not relevant in the changing world of fashion.

Picasso: “Guernica”

For the genius artist Pablo Picasso, the main condition of contemporary art was to separate itself from politics and history. However, the brutality and cruelty of the military, who bombed the ancient Basque city of Guernica, could not leave him indifferent and could not but affect his work. Picasso creates a masterpiece in which he reflects the painful fate of his country, creates a modern history of painting.

Bernini: The Ecstasy of St. Teresa

The genius of Gian Lorenzo Bernini is unique and multifaceted, he is an outstanding sculptor, architect and also a composer. His sculptures are endowed with the breath of life, and the stone in his hands seems to come to life. In the late 1640s, a difficult time came for him, cracks appeared in the bell tower, which he built for St. Peter’s Cathedral. Bernini needs a miracle to restore his reputation and wealth. The Ecstasy of St. Teresa becomes such a miracle.

David: “Death of Marat”

A month and a half after the Jacobin coup (1793), one of its inspirers and leaders, Jean Paul Marat, was stabbed to death in his apartment by a noblewoman named Charlotte Corday. Jacques-Louis David, a sensitive chronicler of his time, undertakes to depict a martyr for the new Church of Liberty, Equality and Brotherhood on the canvas and creates a real masterpiece. His canvas is a grandiose political myth, but a beautiful and sublime myth, in which reality is intertwined with fiction.

Turner: “Slave Ship”

Turner exhibits seven of his paintings at the Royal Academy and is faced with a wave of outrage and resentment. In the center of the scandal is the painting “The Slave Ship”. This picture is based on a real event. The captain transporting the slaves ordered to throw overboard all patients with cholera, since by law he could get insurance only for people who died at sea. Films about artists, illustrators, designers, photographers.

Van Gogh: “Crows in a wheat field”

Among the masters of Post-Impressionism, Van Gogh has a special place. His heightened emotional perception of the world was in tune with many artistic endeavors of the 19th century, opening up new ways to comprehend reality. The period of work in the south of France was the most fruitful for the artist. His words “to look for life in color” became the leitmotif of creativity.

Rothko: “Black on Gray”

New York, 1958. Rothko is commissioned to make several large abstractions. One of them is for the pretentious Four Seasons restaurant under construction in downtown Manhattan. As Rothko himself said. … “This is where the richest bastards in New York will go to stuff their bellies and show off. I hope to ruin the appetite of every son of a bitch who eats in this room. ”

Caravaggio: “David with the Head of Goliath”

Rome 1603 – Jesus Christ and other saints are depicted in the paintings of the paintings virgin and immaculate, their images are idealized to win the hearts of believers. It was at this time that Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio began to create his famous works.