The Greeks created a classical ideal against which all subsequent art would be measured; Rome's genius lay in architecture and civil engineering. Featured: the Parthenon, the Altar of Zeus at Pergamon, the Pantheon, the sarcophagus of Juius Bassus.

Romanesque art and architecture were shaped by two powerful forces: pilgrimage and the monastic movement. Gothic cathedrals elaborated and improved upon Romanesque design. Includes: Gislebertus, St.-Denis, Chartres, etc.

In Florence, classical themes were reborn and merged with Christian values. In the north, the Flemish masters worked in a new medium: oils. Featured: Donatello, Fra Angelico, .. show full overview

Ancient Roman architecture, sculpture, art, and engineering and their roots and influences from Greece. The Roman Empire as expressed in its great public monuments. Roman art, like that of Greece, is the cornerstone of all Western art.

Rome became a vibrant center of art again with papal patronage. 16th-century Venice sought to present itself as the ideal city-state, infused with spectacle and idealism. Includes: Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Titian, Tintoretto, etc.

This episode explores and celebrates the origins, development, innovations, and glory of Gothic cathedrals, including one of its highest achievements, the cathedral of Chartres.

16th-century Venice sought to present itself as the ideal city-state, and was infused with poetry and spectacle. Venetian art and architecture mirrored this and proclaimed it to the world.

The Counter-Reformation inspired an artistic revival and an exuberant new style. In royal courts, artists expressed the power of the monarch. Featured: Caravaggio, Bernini's Ecstasy of .. show full overview

As society revolted against decadence and corruption, artists turned again to classical Greece. The romantic painters in turn elevated individual expression. Featured: Watteau, Syon .. show full overview

Once scorned and despised, impressionist paintings today are among the most familiar images in art. Postimpressionists broke new ground with their radical use of color. Featured: Manet, .. show full overview

Rapid advances in science, thought, and technology led to the secessionists, fauves, and cubists. Dada rejected everything, and architecture went international. Featured: Klimt, Matisse, .. show full overview

The center of the art world moved to New York, home to abstract expressionism. Artists reacted to postwar society with a bewildering array of styles, and postmodernism mined the past for .. show full overview