Eight masterpieces. Eight big names who changed the world. An electrifying feast of art.

Art is so much more than pretty pictures. It has the power to move, shock, inform and transform.
In this groundbreaking and award-winning series, art historian Simon Schama attempts to illustrate the sheer force of the visual image via eight iconic masterpieces. These works were often derided or dismissed when first created, but they went on to change the way we look at the world.
Watch Simon Schama's Power of Art and more acclaimed documentaries on BBC Select today. Restrictions apply*.
More documentaries you might like...
Subscribe to BBC Select for hundreds of hours of thought – provoking, award – winning and critically – acclaimed documentaries from the BBC and beyond.
art

$50 Million Dollar Art Swindle
The amazing true crime case of a maverick art dealer who executed an audacious swindle.

Grayson Perry: All Man
As a ‘lifelong cissy’ artist, Grayson Perry has spent his whole life messing with machismo.

Grayson Perry: Rites of Passage
Our traditions don’t help us. Artist Grayson Perry is on a quest to design ones that do.

Grayson Perry's Art Club
Artist Grayson Perry releases a torrent of quarantine-creativity in his lockdown art club.

Grayson Perry's Big American Roadtrip
Britain’s most unpredictable artist, Grayson Perry, sits America down for its portrait.

The World's Greatest Paintings
What makes a particular artwork an iconic masterpiece? Andrew Marr investigates.

The Art Mysteries
Think you know these works by Van Gogh, Gauguin, Cezanne and Seurat? Think again.

The Story of Women and Art
Restless, resistant and radical. How female artists transformed art from the outside

The Romantic Revolution
Wild visionaries and imaginative truth seekers whose radical ideas still resonate today.

Hokusai: Old Man Crazy To Paint
You may not know his name but you’ll instantly recognize Hokusai’s most famous work.

In Search of Frida Kahlo
Frida Kahlo’s face is iconic. Musician Emeli Sandé uncovers the woman behind the art.

Soup Cans and Superstars: How Pop Art Changed the World
Obsessed with sex, surface and celebrity. Was pop art radically ahead of its time?

Simon Schama's Power of Art
Eight masterpieces. Eight big names who changed the world. An electrifying feast of art.

The Beauty of Anatomy
Think your body’s a work of art? 17th-century Dutch anatomists would agree.

Bright Lights, Brilliant Minds
Paris, Vienna and New York. The seismic influence of three cities on the artistic world.

A Brief History of Graffiti
From cave art to street art - what drives human beings to draw on the walls?

Me, My Selfie and I
Know thy selfie: We’re so obsessed with how we look, are we forgetting who we are?

The Man Who Shot New York
More than just a photographer, New Yorker Harold Feinstein had an unquenchable thirst for life.

Art of America
Andrew Graham-Dixon tries to reach the heart of America through its art and artists.

The Persians: A History of Iran
How was the world's first empire born and what led to its ultimate destruction?

The Man Who Shot Beautiful Women
Why is Erwin Blumenfeld, whose vision helped to shape modern photography, forgotten today?

Apples Pears And Paint: How To Make A Still Life Painting
What can still life images of ordinary objects tell us about the artists who created them?

The Impressionists
Who were the Impressionists and what fueled their desire to alter the direction of art?

Vincent: The Full Story
What do we really know about Vincent van Gogh, arguably the world’s most famous artist?

The Art of Architecture
What does it take to plan and build some of the planet’s most awe-inspiring structures?

War Art with Eddie Redmayne
Academy Award winning actor Eddie Redmayne discovers the artists who saved lives during WW1
BBC Select Email Newsletter
Sign up to be the first to know about new shows on BBC Select, the latest collection of documentaries and other content from BBC Studios we think you’ll enjoy.
history

Bacchus Uncovered: Ancient God of Ecstasy
What does Bacchus, the ancient god of wine and excess, have in common with Jesus Christ?

Genius of the Ancient World
The original free thinkers. The stories of the Buddha, Confucius and Socrates.

Mars Uncovered: Ancient God of War
What can the ancient, immortal, Roman god Mars teach us about warfare in the modern age?

Venus Uncovered: Ancient Goddess of Love
Forget everything you thought you knew about the frequently nude, love goddess Venus.

The Persians: A History of Iran
How was the world's first empire born and what led to its ultimate destruction?

A History of Christianity
Where did Christianity originate and how did the religion develop and take hold globally?

Archaeology: A Secret History
Better living through archeology. How can our past make sense of our present?

Fake News: A True History
Fake news isn’t new: an entertaining look at 200 years of lies and the media

Royal Cousins at War
It makes The Crown look like Sesame Street. The bitter regal rivalries that led to war.

American History's Biggest Fibs
American history is fake, fact? Historian Lucy Worlsey delves deeper into US mythology.

The Birth of Empire: The East India Company
The world’s first megacorp. How Britain’s East India Company grew into an imperial power.

The Romantic Revolution
Wild visionaries and imaginative truth seekers whose radical ideas still resonate today.

Racism: A History
Where did the notion of racism come from and how did such an abhorrent idea develop?

Queen Victoria and her Nine Children
Devastated by her husband’s death Queen Victoria starts to meddle in her children’s lives.

The Flu That Killed 50 Million
Is Spanish flu the warning from history that should have crushed coronavirus?

Vienna: Empire, Dynasty and Dream
The rise of one of the great cities and how it offers a window into power, faith and war.

Filthy Cities
Dan Snow explores the murky histories of London, Paris and New York from the bottom up.

Britain's Forgotten Slave Owners
People as property: historian David Olusoga on the untold stories of British slavery.

Secret Cities
How much can the artistic history of a great city tell us about its character?

Genius of the Modern World
Emigres, recluses, enemies of the state. How Marx, Nietzsche and Freud changed the world.

Bright Lights, Brilliant Minds
Paris, Vienna and New York. The seismic influence of three cities on the artistic world.

Philosophy: A Guide to Happiness
Can the thoughts and ideas of history’s greatest thinkers help in our day to day lives?

Rome: Empire Without Limit with Mary Beard
World renowned historian, Mary Beard, is back to shatter myths about the Roman Empire.

War Art with Eddie Redmayne
Academy Award winning actor Eddie Redmayne discovers the artists who saved lives during WW1

The Six Queens of Henry VIII
Rediscover the Queens who shaped a King & his legacy in The Six Queens of Henry VIII, BBC's new look at the King's infamous wives.

The World's First Computer
Think your computer’s had it? Meet one found in a shipwreck that’s 2,000 years old.