New Film Screening Series - The Private Life of a Masterpiece

This summer the JNAAG has launched a new film screening series that was produced by the BBC entitled The Private Life of a Masterpiece.

Each episode of the series will explore some of the world's most well known works of art through The Private Life of a Masterpiece, an innovative and compelling documentary series produced by the BBC,  that introduces viewers to the extraordinary stories contained in the history of art. This series screens every Saturday and occasional Thursdays.

The purpose of The Private Life of the Masterpiece is to reveal the full and fascinating stories behind famous works of art, not just how they came to be created, but also how they influenced others and came to have a life of their own in the modern world.

Stir your curiosity in some of the world's most famous paintings. Choose your favourite pieces, or catch the whole series! Each screening will last approximately 50 minutes. Admission is free.

Click here>>> to view our full calendar of events. 


Upcoming screenings at the JNAAG include:

Saturday, July 27, 1:00 pm
Diego Velázquez, The Rokeby Venus (1647-51) 

Although considered a jewel in the National Gallery in London, the painting is surrounded by mystery; it is not even certain where or when precisely it was painted. Furthermore, the one certain fact – that the artist was Diego Velazquez, court painter to the King of Spain – is in itself astonishing, since no other nude painting is known from 17th Century Spain.


Thursday, August 1, 7:00 pm
Auguste Rodin, The Kiss (1889)

The nudity and frank sensuality of Auguste Rodin's The Kiss drew scorn from many critics when the sculpture was first unveiled in 1889. The poet Paul Claudel, a religious conservative, wrote, "he is sitting down in order to make the most of his opportunity. He uses both his hands, and she does her best, as the Americans say, to “deliver the goods.” Claudel’s contempt probably had something to do with the fact that his sister, the sculptor Camille Claudel, was Rodin’s lover at the time the work was completed.

Saturday, August 10, 1:00 pm
Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Bal au Moulin de la Galette (1876) 

Renoir's famous 1876 painting, housed at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris, is one of Impressionism's most celebrated masterpieces. The painting depicts a typical and lively Sunday afternoon at Moulin de la Galette in the district of Montmartre in Paris. This episode will attempt to uncover the layers of Renoir's joyful portrait of dance-hall festivities during turbulent times in Paris.