Civilisation: The Hero as Artist
Cast & Crew
Michael Gill
Kenneth Clark
Kenneth Clark
Joe Cooksey
Roger Crittenden
Michael Shah Dayan
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Sir Kenneth Clark examines the Italian Renaissance of the early 16th century, when the center of activity shifted from Florence to Rome; a political factor in the shift was the return of the papacy to Vatican City after years in exile. Among the popes of the period who encouraged the revitalization of Rome was Julius II, under whom Michelangelo, Bramante, and Raphael became famous. Julius began the reconstruction of St. Peter's Basilica under Bramante's plans. A main work of the High Renaissance was Michelangelo's "David," sculptured in Florence in 1501; its heroic proportions set the tone for the art of the period. The thoughts of the Italian Renaissance were expressed largely in visual imagery, as seen in Michelangelo's ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and Raphael's frescoes for Julius' study. While Michelangelo seemed to belong to any era, Raphael was strictly a man of his age, harmonizing the various strains and influences of the time. Leonardo da Vinci, sometimes called a typical Renaissance man, was a man of consuming curiosity; his series of sketches depicting the world overwhelmed by water prophesied the end of a golden age, during which humanism and intelligence combined with the heroic ideal to express man's highest aspirations.
Director
Michael Gill
Crew
Kenneth Clark
Joe Cooksey
Roger Crittenden
Michael Shah Dayan
Colin Deehan
A. A. Englander
Michael Gill
Dave Griffiths
Basil Harris
Peter Heelas
Maggie Houston
Carol Jones
June Leech
Kenneth Macmillan
Peter Montagnon
Bill Paget
Jesse Palmer
Jack Probert
John Taylor
Ann Turner
Ann Turner
Allan Tyrer
Malcolm Webberley
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
Location scenes filmed in the Vatican. First shown in Great Britain on March 23, 1969 on BBC 2; the fifth in Sir Kenneth Clark's series on the history of Western civilization.
