The Impressionists

In the first episode of this innovative BBC arts documentary, Waldemar Januszczak delves into the back stories of four of the most influential Impressionists - Pissarro, Monet, Renoir and Bazille. He discovers how they broke conventions by depicting everyday encounters and familiar sights, to the shock of many. But what social and cultural influences drove them to this style of painting?

Critic Waldemar Januzczak gives us a witty and humorous start to the series by examining how the movement started and who got it going. He takes us to the places where the Impressionist painters, all now household names, went to see and be seen. It all centers on Paris, a city ripe for change and receptive to the personalities and lifestyles of the protagonists.

Waldemar Januszczak continues his illuminating BBC documentary by visiting some of the places made famous by Impressionist artists, including riverside locations captured on canvas by Monet and Renoir. But these tranquil scenes contained a hidden, radical edge. He also turns his attention to the troubled life of Paul Cezanne. But why did the artist eventually disown his Impressionist friends?

Waldemar Januszczak continues his fascinating BBC investigation of the Impressionists by focusing on the people they painted and in particular the subjects of Degas, Caillebotte, Morisot and Bracquemond. Their unusual viewpoints and dramatic perspectives constantly challenged traditional art. But why are the exceptional female Impressionists not as celebrated as their male counterparts?

In the final part of this dazzling BBC documentary, Waldemar Januszczak takes a closer look at the late years of Impressionism. He learns how new discoveries in light and optics influenced their work, while the deterioration of Monet's eyesight led to a seismic shift in his painting. But what was the ailment that drove Impressionism into a bold, radical direction at the turn of the 20th Century?