Civilisations

Civilisations

Ended First aired 17/Apr/2018 United Kingdom English 1 season(s) 9 episode(s)
Documentary
The story of art from the dawn of human history to the present day—for the first time on a global scale. Inspired by Civilisation, Kenneth Clark’s acclaimed landmark 1969 series about Western art, this series broadens the canvas to reveal the role art and the creative imagination have played across multiple cultures and civilizations.
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TimeScore 33% Skip It
Binge Meter 48% Slow Burn
Episode Pulse Quiet 40% activity score
Drop Rate 0% Very Low

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Seasons & Episodes

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Season 1 · Series 1
9 episode(s) · Air date: 17/Apr/2018
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Season Overview

Survey the history of art, from antiquity to the present, on a global scale. Civilizations reveals the role art and creative imagination have played in forging humanity, and introduce viewers to works of beauty, ingenuity and illumination across cultures. Liev Schreiber narrates.

Season Overview

Survey the history of art, from antiquity to the present, on a global scale. Civilizations reveals the role art and creative imagination have played in forging humanity, and introduce viewers to works of beauty, ingenuity and illumination across cultures. Liev Schreiber narrates.

S1E9
What is Art Good For?
Air date: 03/Jul/2018 · Time: 21:00 · Runtime: 53 min
Summary

Explore art in the age of revolution, war and profound scientific change and consider the question: Should art create a separate realm, a place of escape, or should it plunge into the chaos, transforming the way we see and live in the world?

Summary

Explore art in the age of revolution, war and profound scientific change and consider the question: Should art create a separate realm, a place of escape, or should it plunge into the chaos, transforming the way we see and live in the world?

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S1E8
The Cult of Progress
Air date: 26/Jun/2018 · Time: 21:00 · Runtime: 53 min
Summary

Examine the rise and fall of “progress” as an ideology, and see how the “civilizing” project that arose from Enlightenment ideas was fraught with contradictions that troubled European artists in different ways.

Summary

Examine the rise and fall of “progress” as an ideology, and see how the “civilizing” project that arose from Enlightenment ideas was fraught with contradictions that troubled European artists in different ways.

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S1E7
Color and Light
Air date: 19/Jun/2018 · Time: 21:00 · Runtime: 53 min
Summary

Explore the story of light and color in art—both in the search for greater realism and spiritual ecstasy. Journey from Gothic cathedrals and Indian courtly painting to modern art.

Summary

Explore the story of light and color in art—both in the search for greater realism and spiritual ecstasy. Journey from Gothic cathedrals and Indian courtly painting to modern art.

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S1E6
Paradise on Earth
Air date: 12/Jun/2018 · Time: 21:00 · Runtime: 53 min
Summary

Explore one of humanity’s deepest artistic urges: the depiction of nature. But landscape painting is seldom a straightforward portrayal of observed nature; it's a projection of dreams, idylls, escapes and refuges—the elusive paradise on earth.

Summary

Explore one of humanity’s deepest artistic urges: the depiction of nature. But landscape painting is seldom a straightforward portrayal of observed nature; it's a projection of dreams, idylls, escapes and refuges—the elusive paradise on earth.

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S1E5
Renaissances
Air date: 15/May/2018 · Time: 21:00 · Runtime: 53 min
Summary

Travel east and west to explore the connections and rivalries between Renaissance Italy and the Islamic empires that experienced their own cultural flowering in the 15th and 16th centuries. Both spheres were open to influences flowing both ways.

Summary

Travel east and west to explore the connections and rivalries between Renaissance Italy and the Islamic empires that experienced their own cultural flowering in the 15th and 16th centuries. Both spheres were open to influences flowing both ways.

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S1E4
Encounters
Air date: 08/May/2018 · Time: 21:00 · Runtime: 53 min
Summary

See how advances in seafaring and a thirst for trade and exploration sent human beings around the planet. Distant and disparate cultures met for the first time, and art became the great interface by which civilizations understood each other.

Summary

See how advances in seafaring and a thirst for trade and exploration sent human beings around the planet. Distant and disparate cultures met for the first time, and art became the great interface by which civilizations understood each other.

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S1E3
God and Art
Air date: 01/May/2018 · Time: 21:00 · Runtime: 53 min
Summary

Trace the relationship between religion and art, which has inspired some of the most ingenious, affecting, majestic and breathtaking works of art ever made. Yet beneath great works of religious art often lie conflict, intrigue and divine mysteries.

Summary

Trace the relationship between religion and art, which has inspired some of the most ingenious, affecting, majestic and breathtaking works of art ever made. Yet beneath great works of religious art often lie conflict, intrigue and divine mysteries.

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S1E2
How Do We Look?
Air date: 24/Apr/2018 · Time: 21:00 · Runtime: 53 min
Summary

Explore the many functions of the human image in art. Portraits, paintings and sculptures, both life-size and colossal, perform a role—assuaging loss, expressing strength, inspiring fear—and were instrumental in depicting the human body today.

Summary

Explore the many functions of the human image in art. Portraits, paintings and sculptures, both life-size and colossal, perform a role—assuaging loss, expressing strength, inspiring fear—and were instrumental in depicting the human body today.

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S1E1
Second Moment of Creation
Air date: 17/Apr/2018 · Time: 21:00 · Runtime: 53 min
Summary

Examine the formative role of art and the creative imagination in the forging of humanity itself. Images and artifacts found in Africa, Asia, Europe, Australia and South America testify to the urge to develop civilizations. Liev Schreiber narrates.

Summary

Examine the formative role of art and the creative imagination in the forging of humanity itself. Images and artifacts found in Africa, Asia, Europe, Australia and South America testify to the urge to develop civilizations. Liev Schreiber narrates.

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Cast

Main cast members.

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Liev Schreiber
Liev Schreiber
Narrator
Jamal J. Elias
Jamal J. Elias
self
Simon Schama
Simon Schama
self
Mary Beard
Mary Beard
Presenter
David Olusoga
David Olusoga
Presenter

Crew

Creators, directors, writers, and production crew.

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No Photo
Tim Niel
Director
No Photo
Denys Blakeway
Executive Producer
No Photo
Jonty Claypole
Executive Producer
Mark Bell
Mark Bell
Executive Producer
No Photo
Michael Jackson
Executive Producer
Simon Schama
Simon Schama
Writer

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