The Private Life of a Masterpiece: Complete Seasons 1-5 DVD Review (2008)

A fascinating series that roams the world to study and explore 20 famous pieces of art, from such Renaissance masterpieces as Piero della Francesca’s “The Resurrection” and Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” to such Impressionist works as Van Gogh’s “The Sunflowers” and Auguste Renoir’s “Dance at the Moulin de la Galette.”

Also in this award-winning set are revealing observations of Edouard Manet’s “Le Dejeuner sur l’herbe,” Whistler’s iconic painting of his mother in the then-controversial “Arrangement in Grey and Black: The Artist’s Mother,” and Edvard Munch’s “The Scream.”

The value of this collection is evident at the start: In spite of how well known these works are, the art historians assembled to discus them nevertheless manage to build drama through insight, such as when they explore “Michelangelo’s David” or Rodin’s “The Kiss.”

In doing so, “The Private Life of a Masterpiece” neatly skirts the pitfalls of mainstream familiarity to offer the surprise of something new, a fresh angle we might not have considered, and the richness that rests within.

Grade: A