Episodes
The Shock of the New: Mechanical Paradise (BBC Four Tuesday 12 September 2023)
The Shock of the New: Mechanical Paradise airs Tuesday 12 September 2023 on BBC Four.
What is this episode about
Here’s another opportunity to watch Robert Hughes’s seminal 1980 documentary series charting the history of modern art from its inception in the 1880s to the then present day. In the first episode, we see how technological advancements between 1880 and the end of World War I impacted the visual arts.
In this talk, Hughes introduces the art movement known as cubism, which was pioneered by Pablo Picasso and further developed by Georges Braque. Hughes explains how Picasso’s influence on works like the Demoiselles d’Avignon can be traced back to African sculptures and Spanish culture.
Originally broadcast Sunday 21 September 1980.
Episode 1 of 8
When can we see the episode
The Shock of the New: Mechanical Paradise airs Tuesday 12 September 2023 at 12:10am on BBC Four
Featured Image Credit: BBC Four