Size doesn’t matter. How one small region spawned the greatest artists of all time.

Watch The High Art of the Low Countries on BBC Select

They say good things come in small packages, but this is ridiculous. How did a region as geographically insignificant as the Low Countries – what’s now the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg – overhaul the art world: inventing oil painting and master-painters Rembrandt, Vermeer, Van Gogh, Mondrian and Magritte?

Art expert Andrew Graham-Dixon investigates how this tiny region changed art forever in this art history documentary.

Watch The High Art of the Low Countries 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.

Wonderland: Lewis Carroll to JRR Tolkien

Wonderland: Lewis Carroll to JRR Tolkien

Why were so many enduring classic children’s books written in the same 60-year period?

Image of the red circle of Japan with the cityscape within, as well as a bonzai tree

The Art Of Japanese Life

The mysterious and remarkable art and culture of Japan is explored and explained.

Antiques Roadshow

Antiques Roadshow

What treasures will be found as antique experts appraise the public’s heirlooms?

Watch Nature And Us: A History Through Art on BBC Select

Nature And Us: A History Through Art

In the age of climate crisis, what can art teach us about our relationship with nature?

Stream Rembrandt on BBC Select

Rembrandt

Did scandal and torment drive the artist to even greater creative glories?

The Art of Gothic

Why were Brits in the 19th-century obsessed with art that was horrific, macabre and weird?

Stream Gauguin: The Full Story on BBC Select

Gauguin: The Full Story

Why was the life of influential artist Paul Gauguin mired in controversy and conflict?

Stream The Body Beautiful: Ancient Greeks, Good Looks and Glamour on BBC Select

The Body Beautiful: Ancient Greeks, Good Looks and Glamour

Why were the Ancient Greeks so preoccupied with images concerning the naked human form?

Stream Confucius on BBC Select

Confucius

The remarkable story of a great thinker who helped to form a nation and shape the world.

Watch Van Gogh: Painted with Words on BBC Select

Van Gogh: Painted with Words

Powerful docudrama exploring the work and passions of Vincent Van Gogh

Watch The Genius of Carl Faberge on BBC Select

The Genius of Carl Faberge

Would you spend $100 million on eggs? You might if they were Faberge.

Watch The Art of Spain on BBC Select

The Art of Spain

Territory, politics and religious conflict: the untold history of Spain’s cultural legacy.

Watch Simon Schama's Shakespeare and Us on BBC Select

Simon Schama's Shakespeare and Us

Get underneath the skin of the playwright to understand why his stories are so relevant today

Stream the Art of Scandinavia on BBC Select

Art of Scandinavia

Scandi noir? Does Scandinavian art deserve its dark reputation?

Watch Art of China on BBC Select

Art of China

Historian Andrew Graham-Dixon marvels at a millennia of Chinese art

Watch The Art of France on BBC Select

Art of France

A stunning journey through the history of French art

Stream War Art with Eddie Redmayne on BBC Select

War Art with Eddie Redmayne

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

Watch Write Around the World on BBC Select

Write Around the World

Revisit your favourite reads with Academy Award nominee Richard E. Grant

Watch Harry Potter - A History of Magic on BBC Select

Harry Potter - A History of Magic

They’re the fastest-selling books in history. But what inspired the enchanting world of Harry Potter?

Stream The World's Greatest Painitings with Andrew Marr

The World's Greatest Paintings

What makes a particular artwork an iconic masterpiece? Andrew Marr investigates.

Stream The Impressionists on BBC Select

The Impressionists

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

Stream Vincent Van Gogh - The Full Story on BBC Select

Vincent: The Full Story

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

Stream The Art Mysteries on BBC Select

The Art Mysteries

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

Stream The Story of Women and Art on BBC Select

The Story of Women and Art

Restless, resistant and radical. How female artists transformed art from the outside

Stream Simon Schama's Power of Art on BBC Select

Simon Schama's Power of Art

Eight masterpieces, eight artists who changed the world

Stream The Romantic Revolution on BBC Select

The Romantic Revolution

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

Stream Grayson Perry - Art Club on BBC Select

Grayson Perry's Art Club

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

Stream Shock of the Nude on BBC Select

Shock of The Nude

Peek behind the fig leaf to find the truth behind the nude in art.

BBC Select free trial

BBC Select is available on Amazon Prime Video Channels, the Apple TV app and The Roku Channel for only $4.99 a month. Start a 7-day free trial and watch a range of acclaimed documentaries from the BBC and beyond. Restrictions apply*.