National Gallery of Art | Videos

The moon rises high over water and becomes one with Turner's evocative image of the sights and sounds on the River Tyne at Newcastle. Time-lapse photography interweaves with close details of Turner's painting to capture both the stillness of the night and the work of loading coals by moonlight and torch.

The moon rises high over water and becomes one with Turner's evocative image of the sights and sounds on the River Tyne at Newcastle. Time-lapse photography interweaves with close details of Turner's painting to capture both the stillness of the night and the work of loading coals by moonlight and torch.

Narrated by Isabella Rossellini and produced by the National Gallery of Art, this film traces the career of Giuseppe Arcimboldo, an artist whose work thrilled and delighted the Habsburg courts of the later 16th century. Arcimboldo was best known for his "composite heads"—faces composed of fruits, vegetables, fish, flowers, and beasts of all kinds. The film explores the connection between his paintings and the burgeoning natural sciences, the voyages of discovery, and the atmosphere of intellectual curiosity at the courts of Europe. The film is made possible by the HRH Foundation. Produced in conjunction with the exhibition Arcimboldo, 1526–1593: Nature and Fantasy.

Narrated by Isabella Rossellini and produced by the National Gallery of Art, this film traces the career of Giuseppe Arcimboldo, an artist whose work thrilled and delighted the Habsburg courts of the later 16th century. Arcimboldo was best known for his "composite heads"—faces composed of fruits, vegetables, fish, flowers, and beasts of all kinds. The film explores the connection between his paintings and the burgeoning natural sciences, the voyages of discovery, and the atmosphere of intellectual curiosity at the courts of Europe. The film is made possible by the HRH Foundation. Produced in conjunction with the exhibition Arcimboldo, 1526–1593: Nature and Fantasy.

This film captures the power of faith in the face of danger, illustrated in the famous Old Testament story of Daniel in the lions' den and in Peter Paul Rubens' full-scale painting at the National Gallery. Daniel's travail in a closed cave unfolds here through a series of comparative frames: Rubens' preparatory drawings, painted lions with human bones at their feet, and footage of actual lions, similar to those Rubens saw at the royal menagerie in Brussels.

This film captures the power of faith in the face of danger, illustrated in the famous Old Testament story of Daniel in the lions' den and in Peter Paul Rubens' full-scale painting at the National Gallery. Daniel's travail in a closed cave unfolds here through a series of comparative frames: Rubens' preparatory drawings, painted lions with human bones at their feet, and footage of actual lions, similar to those Rubens saw at the royal menagerie in Brussels.

Veteran Swedish director Jan Troell has been called one of the world's greatest living filmmakers. As part of the ongoing series New Masters of European Cinema, the director and his partner/screenwriter Agneta Ulfsäter-Troell visited the National Gallery of Art to discuss their latest project, the award-winning feature film Everlasting Moments (2008), and to share a rare screening of Troell's remarkable first short film Stop-over in the Marshland (1965), starring Max von Sydow.

Veteran Swedish director Jan Troell has been called one of the world's greatest living filmmakers. As part of the ongoing series New Masters of European Cinema, the director and his partner/screenwriter Agneta Ulfsäter-Troell visited the National Gallery of Art to discuss their latest project, the award-winning feature film Everlasting Moments (2008), and to share a rare screening of Troell's remarkable first short film Stop-over in the Marshland (1965), starring Max von Sydow.

Brice Marden continues to make some of the most surprising and ravishing paintings of our time. In the 1960s and 1970s, he was known for matte, monochromatic paintings, often with multiple panels. His 1984 visit to an exhibition of Japanese calligraphy triggered a dramatic shift in style that culminated in a masterful series of gestural paintings and drawings entitled Cold Mountain. Since that time, through several further changes in vocabulary, Marden has continued to explore linear networks as the basis for ambitious, allover abstractions. In this video, recorded in October 2009 in the artist's Manhattan studio, Marden discusses his technique, sources of inspiration, and works in progress with Harry Cooper, curator and head of modern and contemporary art, National Gallery of Art.

Brice Marden continues to make some of the most surprising and ravishing paintings of our time. In the 1960s and 1970s, he was known for matte, monochromatic paintings, often with multiple panels. His 1984 visit to an exhibition of Japanese calligraphy triggered a dramatic shift in style that culminated in a masterful series of gestural paintings and drawings entitled Cold Mountain. Since that time, through several further changes in vocabulary, Marden has continued to explore linear networks as the basis for ambitious, allover abstractions. In this video, recorded in October 2009 in the artist's Manhattan studio, Marden discusses his technique, sources of inspiration, and works in progress with Harry Cooper, curator and head of modern and contemporary art, National Gallery of Art.

This short documentary, narrated by curator Harry Cooper, was produced by the National Gallery of Art in conjunction with the exhibition In the Tower: Mark Rothko. The film considers Rothko's style, which infused abstract painting with emotional significance. Recognized in the 1950s for his use of brilliant colors, Rothko changed direction in the 1960s and produced a series of canvases known as the black-form paintings. Critics and artists often associated the darkness of these works with Rothko's bouts of illness and depression, but Cooper argues that the paintings are a continuation of the painter's lifelong exploration of light.

This short documentary, narrated by curator Harry Cooper, was produced by the National Gallery of Art in conjunction with the exhibition In the Tower: Mark Rothko. The film considers Rothko's style, which infused abstract painting with emotional significance. Recognized in the 1950s for his use of brilliant colors, Rothko changed direction in the 1960s and produced a series of canvases known as the black-form paintings. Critics and artists often associated the darkness of these works with Rothko's bouts of illness and depression, but Cooper argues that the paintings are a continuation of the painter's lifelong exploration of light.

A shrewd businessman, Chester Dale started out as a Wall Street messenger in the early 20th century. By 1910 he was poised to make the fortune that enabled him to assemble one of the finest collections of modern art in America. He and his wife Maud first focused on American paintings, but they soon turned their attention to French art of the 19th and early 20th centuries, acquiring a few old masters along the way. Dale's gifts to the nation, numbering more than 300 works of art, transformed the Gallery's collection and included masterpieces by Manet, Monet, Renoir, and Picasso. Never lent to other museums, these paintings can only be seen at the National Gallery of Art. Narrated by director Earl A. Powell III.

A shrewd businessman, Chester Dale started out as a Wall Street messenger in the early 20th century. By 1910 he was poised to make the fortune that enabled him to assemble one of the finest collections of modern art in America. He and his wife Maud first focused on American paintings, but they soon turned their attention to French art of the 19th and early 20th centuries, acquiring a few old masters along the way. Dale's gifts to the nation, numbering more than 300 works of art, transformed the Gallery's collection and included masterpieces by Manet, Monet, Renoir, and Picasso. Never lent to other museums, these paintings can only be seen at the National Gallery of Art. Narrated by director Earl A. Powell III.

This film explains the process of creating a polychrome sculpture using the J. Paul Getty Museum’s Saint Ginés de la Jara (about 1692) by Luisa Roldán as an example. Seventeenth-century Spanish polychrome sculpture was intended to appear as lifelike as possible and artists frequently achieved remarkable effects of realism. The film is divided into four short chapters: "The Structural Elements," "Carving the Figure," "Saints’ Garments: Estofado Technique," and "Flesh Tones: Painting the Encarnaciones." Digital animations highlight the construction of the Saint Ginés sculpture. Footage of sculptor Marcelo Moreira Santos and painter Sylvana Barrett demonstrates techniques current in seventeenth-century Spain. Narration provided by Zahira Véliz. The film was produced by the J. Paul Getty Museum.