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Exhibition on Screen Collection

Exhibition on Screen is a documentary series that explores the history behind works of art. Each episode focuses on a particular iconic piece, revealing the background that led to its creation and the incredible stories that followed it.

39 movies 2012 – 2025 58h 27m total 18 snapshots 246 solvers

Movies in this collection

Leonardo Live
Leonardo Live

Leonardo Live

2012 1h 21m Dir. Phil Grabsky

A remarkable event at London’s National Gallery assembled the largest ever collection of Leonardo’s surviving paintings for a unique exhibition "Leonardo da Vinci: Painter at the Court of Milan." Given exclusive access to the opening night of the exhibition the film captures the excitement of the occasion and provides a fascinating exploration…

Exhibition on Screen: Manet - Portraying Life
Exhibition on Screen: Manet - Portraying Life

Manet’s portraits are rarely afforded such close attention as they are given in this exquisitely crafted and insightful film presented by art expert Tim Marlow. Manet’s portraiture comprised about half his work, giving life on canvas to family, friends and the literary, political and artistic figures of the day.

Exhibition on Screen: Munch 150
Exhibition on Screen: Munch 150

Exhibition on Screen: Munch 150

2013 1h 30m Dir. Ben Harding

Many know Munch as the man who painted The Scream, but his complete works are remarkable and secure his place as one of the world's great artists.

Exhibition on Screen: Vermeer and Music
Exhibition on Screen: Vermeer and Music

Filmed in London’s National Gallery, New York’s Met and other galleries in the USA and the Netherlands, this stunning film delves into a breath-taking collection of Vermeer’s finest pieces and delivers a detailed biography of the artist, his life and times.

Matisse Live
Matisse Live

Matisse Live

2014 1h 37m Dir. Phil Grabsky

MOMA & Tate Modern's landmark show explores the final chapter of Matisse's career when he began 'carving into colour,' creating his signature cut-outs. Audiences are invited to enjoy an intimate, behind-the-scenes documentary about this blockbuster exhibition with contributions from curators, historians and those who knew Matisse personally.

Girl with a Pearl Earring: And Other Treasures from the Mauritshuis
Girl with a Pearl Earring: And Other Treasures from the Mauritshuis

The Girl with a Pearl Earring' by Johannes Vermeer is one of the most enduring paintings in the history of art. This beautifully filmed documentary goes in pursuit of answers to the unresolved riddles surrounding this extraordinary piece.

Exhibition on Screen: Vincent Van Gogh
Exhibition on Screen: Vincent Van Gogh

Delving deep into the fascinating and sometimes deeply troubled world of Vincent van Gogh who, perhaps more than any other artist, has long captured the imagination of storytellers.

The Impressionists
The Impressionists

The Impressionists

2015 1h 30m Dir. Phil Grabsky

Monet, Cezanne, Degas, Renoir: some of the world’s most popular artists. Their works, and that of their contemporaries, fetch tens of millions of dollars around the globe. But who were they really? Why & how exactly did they paint? What lies behind their enduring appeal?

Goya: Visions of Flesh and Blood
Goya: Visions of Flesh and Blood

Discover Spain’s celebrated artist with this cinematic tour de force based on the National Gallery’s must-see exhibition Goya: The Portraits. The film uses this exhibition to look in depth at Goya’s eventful life.

Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse
Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse

Claude Monet was an avid horticulturist and arguably the most important painter of gardens in the history of art, but he was not alone. Great artists like Van Gogh, Bonnard, Sorolla, Sargent, Pissarro and Matisse all saw the garden as a powerful subject for their art.

Exhibition on Screen: Renoir - Reviled and Revered
Exhibition on Screen: Renoir - Reviled and Revered

Pierre-Auguste Renoir is known and loved for his impressionist paintings of Paris. These paintings count among the world’s favourites. Renoir, however, grew tired of this style and changed course.

The Curious World of Hieronymus Bosch
The Curious World of Hieronymus Bosch

Exhibition on Screen's latest release celebrates the life and masterpieces of Hieronymus Bosch brought together from around the world to his hometown in the Netherlands as a one-off exhibition.

I, Claude Monet
I, Claude Monet

I, Claude Monet

2017 1h 27m Dir. Phil Grabsky

From award-winning director Phil Grabsky comes this fresh new look at arguably the world’s favourite artist – through his own words.

The Artist's Garden: American Impressionism
The Artist's Garden: American Impressionism

Taking its lead from French artists like Renoir and Monet, the American impressionist movement followed its own path which over a forty-year period reveals as much about America as a nation as it does about its art as a creative power-house.

Michelangelo: Love and Death
Michelangelo: Love and Death

The spectacular sculptures and paintings of Michelangelo seem so familiar to us, but what do we really know about this renaissance genius? Who was this ambitious and passionate man?

Exhibition on Screen: Canaletto & the Art of Venice
Exhibition on Screen: Canaletto & the Art of Venice

EXHIBITION ON SCREEN open its fifth season with Canaletto & the Art of Venice, an immersive journey into the life and art of Venice’s famous view-painter. No artist better captures the essence and allure of Venice than Giovanni Antonio Canal, better known as Canaletto.

Exhibition on Screen: David Hockney at the Royal Academy of Arts
Exhibition on Screen: David Hockney at the Royal Academy of Arts

Widely considered Britain’s most popular artist, David Hockney is a global sensation with exhibitions in London, New York, Paris and beyond, attracting millions of visitors worldwide. Now entering his 9th decade, Hockney shows absolutely no evidence of slowing down or losing his trademark boldness.

Exhibition on Screen: Cézanne - Portraits of a Life
Exhibition on Screen: Cézanne - Portraits of a Life

Dedicated to the portrait work of Paul Cézanne, the exhibition opens in Paris before traveling to London and Washington. One cannot appreciate 20th century art without understanding the significance and genius of Paul Cézanne.

Degas: Passion for Perfection
Degas: Passion for Perfection

Sometimes frustrated by his own failings, Degas was consumed by obsessive principles and failing eye sight but his determination to capture everyday life was evident in every mark he made.

Exhibition on Screen: Rembrandt
Exhibition on Screen: Rembrandt

Every Rembrandt exhibition is eagerly anticipated but this major show hosted by London’s National Gallery and Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum was an event like no other.

Young Picasso
Young Picasso

Young Picasso

2019 1h 31m Dir. Phil Grabsky

Pablo Picasso is one of the greatest artists of all time - and right up until his death in 1973 he was the most prolific of artists. Many films have dealt with these later years - the art, the affairs and the wide circle of friends. But where did this all begin? What made Picasso in the first place?

Van Gogh & Japan
Van Gogh & Japan

Van Gogh & Japan

2019 1h 25m Dir. David Bickerstaff

"I envy the Japanese" Van Gogh wrote to his brother Theo. In the exhibition on which this film is based - VAN GOGH & JAPAN at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam - one can see why. Though Vincent van Gogh never visited Japan it is the country that had the most profound influence on him and his art.

Leonardo: The Works
Leonardo: The Works

Leonardo: The Works

2019 1h 42m Dir. Phil Grabsky

Leonardo da Vinci is acclaimed as the world’s favourite artist. Many TV shows and feature films have showcased this extraordinary genius but often not examined closely enough is the most crucial element of all: his art.

Exhibition on Screen: Lucian Freud - A Self Portrait 2020
Exhibition on Screen: Lucian Freud - A Self Portrait 2020

For the first time in history the Royal Academy of Arts in London, in collaboration with the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, is bringing together Lucian Freud's self-portraits.

Easter in Art
Easter in Art

Easter in Art

2020 1h 26m Dir. Phil Grabsky

Shot on location in Jerusalem, the United States, and throughout Europe, this documentary explores the Easter story as seen through art, from the early Christians to the modern era. Through centuries of artistic interpretation, it reveals not only the story of Easter, but the story of humanity itself.

Frida Kahlo
Frida Kahlo

Frida Kahlo

2020 1h 30m Dir. Ali Ray
5

Delving deeper than any film has done before, engaging with world-renowned Kahlo experts, exploring how great an artist she was, discover the real Frida Kahlo.

Exhibition on Screen: Sunflowers
Exhibition on Screen: Sunflowers

Working closely with the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, Sunflowers goes beyond a ‘virtual exhibition’, delving into the rich and complex stories behind each of the paintings to unveil the mysteries of the sunflowers. What did the flowers mean to Van Gogh, and why do they resonate so much with audiences today?

Exhibition on Screen: Raphael Revealed
Exhibition on Screen: Raphael Revealed

Marking the 500th anniversary of Raphael’s death, the greatest exhibition ever held of his works took place in Rome. Exhibition on Screen was granted exclusive access to this once-in-a-lifetime show.

Exhibition On Screen: The Danish Collector - Delacroix To Gauguin
Exhibition On Screen: The Danish Collector - Delacroix To Gauguin

Wilhelm Hansen was a visionary businessman who lived in Denmark in the 19th century. He was one of the few collectors to take an interest in Impressionist painters at a time when they were attacked and denigrated.

Exhibition On Screen: Pissarro: Father of Impressionism
Exhibition On Screen: Pissarro: Father of Impressionism

Without Camille Pissarro, there is no Impressionist movement. He is rightfully known as the father of Impressionism. This film explores and highlights the enthralling and hugely important biography and output of an incredible artist.

Exhibition on Screen: Hopper - An American Love Story
Exhibition on Screen: Hopper - An American Love Story

Countless painters, photographers, filmmakers and musicians have been influenced by Hopper's art – but who was he, and how did a struggling illustrator create such a bounty of notable work?

Mary Cassatt: Painting the Modern Woman
Mary Cassatt: Painting the Modern Woman

Mary Cassatt made a career painting the lives of the women around her. Her radical images showed them as intellectual, feminine and real, which was a major shift in the way women appeared in art.

Vermeer: The Greatest Exhibition
Vermeer: The Greatest Exhibition

With loans from across the world, this major retrospective will bring together Vermeer’s most famous masterpieces including Girl with a Pearl Earring, The Geographer, The Milkmaid, The Little Street, Lady Writing a Letter with her Maid, and Woman Holding a Balance.

Exhibition on Screen: Tokyo Stories
Exhibition on Screen: Tokyo Stories

Based on a major exhibition at the Ashmolean in Oxford, Tokyo Stories spans 400 years of incredibly dynamic art – ranging from the delicate woodblock prints of Hokusai and Hiroshige, to Pop Art posters, contemporary photography, Manga, film, and brand-new artworks that were created on the streets.

Exhibition on Screen: Klimt & The Kiss
Exhibition on Screen: Klimt & The Kiss

The Kiss by Gustav Klimt is one of the most recognised and reproduced paintings in the world. It is perhaps the most popular poster on student dorm walls from Beijing to Boston.

John Singer Sargent: Fashion and Swagger
John Singer Sargent: Fashion and Swagger

Filmed at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and the Tate Britain, London, the exhibition reveals Sargent’s power to express distinctive personalities, power dynamics and gender identities during this fascinating period of cultural reinvention.

My National Gallery
My National Gallery

My National Gallery

2024 1h 38m Dir. Phil Grabsky , Ali Ray

The National Gallery of London is one of the world’s greatest art galleries. It is full of masterpieces, an endless resource of history, an endless source of stories. But whose stories are told? Which art has the most impact and on whom?

Van Gogh: Poets & Lovers
Van Gogh: Poets & Lovers

Van Gogh: Poets & Lovers

2024 1h 30m Dir. David Bickerstaff

200 years after its opening and a century after acquiring its first Van Gogh works, the National Gallery is hosting the UK’s biggest ever Van Gogh exhibition. Van Gogh is not only one of the most beloved artists of all time, but perhaps the most misunderstood. This film is a chance to reexamine and better understand this iconic artist.

Dawn of Impressionism: Paris 1874
Dawn of Impressionism: Paris 1874

Dawn of Impressionism: Paris 1874

2025 1h 32m Dir. Ali Ray

The Impressionists are the most popular group in art history – millions flock every year to marvel at their masterpieces.

Snapshots from this collection

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