The fourteenth novel in a twenty book series collectively entitled, "Les Rougon-Macquart, L'Œuvre" was first translated into English in 1886, the title having since been rendered "The Masterpiece". Set in France's Second Empire, the story of naturalist painter Claude Lantier is believed to be a highly fictionalized account of Zola's friendship with the painter Paul Cézanne. The fictional artist of Zola's Bohemian world, Lantier, strives to complete...

The Impressionists style was made possible by the advent of three items: the camera, tubes of ready mixed paint and increased understanding of the optical effects that colors had upon each other.

This program is an entertaining and informative profile of Georges Pierre Seurat, the inventor of the technique known as Pointillism in which a whole picture is made up of tiny rectangles of pure color, which merge together when viewed from afar. Seurat completed only seven canvasses in this hugely complex technique, including the superb Une Baignade. This is the story of an artist who achieved much in his short life.

"It was Claude Monet's Impression: soleil levant which gave the impressionist school it's [sic] name. Famed for seeing the subtle nuances of color, light and atmosphere in landscape, Monet's great works include Haystacks and Waterlilies. This program features footage from L'Orangerie and from Monet's house and gardens at Giverny plus special film shot at London's Savoy Hotel, from where Monet painted his famous views of London."--Container.