Warts 'n' All • 2012 • episode "S1E1" • Treasures of Ancient Rome

Category: History

The Romans were brilliant engineers and soldiers, but what isn't as well known is that they also gave us wonderful artistic treasures. In this three-part series, Alastair Sooke argues that the old-fashioned view that the Romans didn't do art is nonsense. He traces how the Romans during the Republic went from being art thieves and copycats to pioneering a new artistic style - warts 'n' all realism. Roman portraits reveal what the great names from history, men like Julius Caesar and Cicero, actually looked like. Modern-day artists demonstrate the ingenious techniques used to create these true to life masterpieces in marble, bronze and paint. We can step back into the Roman world thanks to their invention of the documentary-style marble relief and to a volcano called Vesuvius. Sooke explores the remarkable artistic legacy of Pompeii before showing how Rome's first emperor, Augustus, used the power of art to help forge an empire.

Make a donation

Buy a brother a hot coffee? Or a cold beer?

Hope you're finding these documentaries fascinating and eye-opening. It's just me, working hard behind the scenes to bring you this enriching content.

Running and maintaining a website like this takes time and resources. That's why I'm reaching out to you. If you appreciate what I do and would like to support my efforts, would you consider "buying me a coffee"?

Donation addresses

BTC: bc1q8ldskxh4x9qnddhcrgcun8rtvddeldm2a07r2v

ETH: 0x5CCAAA1afc5c5D814129d99277dDb5A979672116

With your donation through , you can show your appreciation and help me keep this project going. Every contribution, no matter how small, makes a significant impact. It goes directly towards covering server costs.

Treasures of Ancient Rome • 2012 • 3 episodes •

Warts 'n' All

The Romans were brilliant engineers and soldiers, but what isn't as well known is that they also gave us wonderful artistic treasures. In this three-part series, Alastair Sooke argues that the old-fashioned view that the Romans didn't do art is nonsense. He traces how the Romans during the Republic went from being art thieves and copycats to pioneering a new artistic style - warts 'n' all realism. Roman portraits reveal what the great names from history, men like Julius Caesar and Cicero, actually looked like. Modern-day artists demonstrate the ingenious techniques used to create these true to life masterpieces in marble, bronze and paint. We can step back into the Roman world thanks to their invention of the documentary-style marble relief and to a volcano called Vesuvius. Sooke explores the remarkable artistic legacy of Pompeii before showing how Rome's first emperor, Augustus, used the power of art to help forge an empire.

2012 • History

Pomp and Perversion

Pomp and Perversion

Alastair Sooke follows in the footsteps of Rome's mad, bad and dangerous emperors in the second part of his celebration of Roman art. He dons a wetsuit to explore the underwater remains of the Emperor Claudius's pleasure palace and ventures into the cave where Tiberius held wild parties. He finds their taste in art chimes perfectly with their obsession with sex and violence. The other side of the coin was the bombastic art the Romans are best remembered for - monumental arches and columns that boast about their conquests. Trajan's Column in Rome reads like the storyboard of a modern-day propaganda film. Sooke concludes with the remarkable legacy of the Emperor Hadrian. He gave the world the magnificent Pantheon in Rome - the eternal image of his lover Antinous, the most beautiful boy in the history of art - and a villa in Tivoli where he created one of the most ambitious art collections ever created.

2012 • History

The Empire Strikes Back

The Empire Strikes Back

Alastair Sooke charts the decline and fall of the Roman Empire through some of its hidden and most magical artistic treasures. He travels to Leptis Magna in Libya, shortly after the overthrow of Gaddafi, and finds one of the best preserved Roman cities in the world and the cradle of later Roman art. Sooke discovers glorious mosaics which have never been filmed before but also finds evidence of shocking neglect of Libya's Roman heritage by the Gaddafi regime. His artistic tour takes him to Egypt and the northern frontiers of the empire where he encounters stunning mummy paintings and exquisite silver and glassware. As Rome careered from one crisis to another, official art became more hard boiled and militaristic and an obscure cult called Christianity rose up to seize the mantle of Western art for centuries to come.

2012 • History

You might also like

Amazon Adventures

Amazon Adventures

Exploring the World's Longest River In the tradition of 'Indiana Jones' the true story of Man's efforts to reach the source of the world's mightiest river including the mystery of the disappearance of Colonel Fawcett in 1923. The Amazon basin is a marvel of the world and the imagination, an ecosystem of unrivaled size and diversity, and a place of near mythical status among travelers. The Amazon River has more water than the next eight largest rivers combined, and is twice the area of India, and the basin spans eight countries. The Amazon is the world's mightiest river and the second longest at 6.280 kilometres. The river was first discovered when a captain noticed that his ship, which was out to sea, was actually sailing in fresh water and that this must be the outflow of river. Since then many explorers have tried to discover the source of this great river. One of them, Colonel Fawcett, mysteriously disappeared in 1923 whilst tracking up the Amazon.

16/20 • The True Action Adventures of the Twentieth Century • 1996 • History

The Ascent of a Criminal

The Ascent of a Criminal

Harald Sandner, a history enthusiast, has traced Adolf Hitler's early life. From his childhood home, through his relationship with his family, the challenges he endured as a young man, and the home he made for himself in the German military. Follow the world's greatest murderer's rise to power.

S1E1 • Adolf Hitler The Itinerary • 2018 • History

Asia

What happened when early humans ventured out of Africa and into Asia? Where did they go and whom did they meet along the way? The latest evidence suggests they left far earlier than previously thought and interbred with other types of ancient human - Homo erectus, Neanderthals and also the Denisovans, whose existence was established only five years ago when geneticists extracted DNA from a tiny fragment of finger bone. Because these ancient humans mated with our ancestors, their genes have found a home in our DNA. More than that, they’ve helped us survive and thrive.

Part 3 • First Peoples • 2015 • History

The Road Ahead

Transportation turned society inside out. Engines and animals powered the rise of civilization, driving humanity forward into the modern world.

S1E8 • Origins: The Journey of Humankind • 2017 • History

Dien Bien Phu: a Losing Battle

Dien Bien Phu: a Losing Battle

Since the end of the 19th century, Indochina has been a flourishing colony, the gem of the French Empire. However, the Second World War turns everything upside down. At the end of the war, the Viet Minh movement announces its independence.

S3E13 • Butterfly Effect • 2018 • History

The SS: A Barbaric State

The SS: A Barbaric State

Also known by the acronym SS, the Schutzstaffel organization was a privileged instrument within the German state. Created in April 1925 to ensure the close protection of Adolf Hitler, it became over the years a real state within a state, organizing the extermination of the Jews of Europe, but also assuming political functions, repressive, ideological and even military with the creation of the Waffen-SS. This documentary looks back on its origins and its workings. Nuremberg. In 1945 the main war criminals were tried in this city where Hitler gathered fanatical crowds. The Allies judge Nazi leaders and officials of the Third Reich. Among the defendants - the Fuhrer's closest collaborators.

2019 • History