BBC - Seeing Salvation (2000)

Christianity has produced some of the greatest works of art of all time, in which believers and non-believers alike can explore the great themes of life and death. It is the language in which Leonardo and Michelangelo, Dali and Rembrandt speak to us all about love and suffering, loss and hope. To mark the year 2000, these four programmes, written and presented by Neil MacGregor, Director of the National Gallery, London, consider how artists over two millennia have tackled the extraordinarily difficult task of representing Christ. Without contemporary accounts of Jesus' appearance, artists through the ages have been free to create many images of him - images that sometimes reflect the spiritual world of the artist and other times the desires of the patron or the needs of the spectator. Seeing Salvation is a four part series surveying the historical representations of Jesus Christ in Western European art and sculpture over the centuries since Roman Times.

Part 1: The Face
Neil MacGregor, Director of the National Gallery, London, hosts this detailed account of the changing faces of Christ in Christian art from its archaic representations in the Catacombs of 2nd Century Rome to its modern expressionist forms in the new English Architecture of the late 20th Century. Along the way MacGregor describes the shifting theologies and historical influences which have effected the changing face of Christian art.

Part 2: The Baby
As Christmas approaches we are bombarded with images of the baby Jesus in the manger, one of the quintessential expressions of the Christmas story. Seeing Salvation Part 2 "The Baby" - shows the developing symbolism of portraying the Christ Child, the Magi, and The Nativity throughout Christian art. Neil Macgregor travels from England to Italy, Germany & Peru to see how various artists over the past 2000 years have used the symbolism of this innocent scene to convey a variety of messages and how in the hands of the rich and powerful it could be manipulated for their own advantage.

Part 3: The Cross
At the core of the Christian faith is an image at once powerful and harrowing the figure Jesus on the Cross. Seeing Salvation Part 3 "The Cross" - describes the depiction of the crucified Christ, Christ on the Cross, and the shifting culture of sacrifice and redemption portrayed by these symbols. Throughout the centuries this image has come to symbolise different things to different people …sometimes the battle standard of a conqueror, at others a man whose suffering has a deeply personal resonance. In this episode of Seeing Salvation, Neil MacGregor examines the various responses of artists to this defining moment…the passion of Christ.

Part 4: The Promise
On Christmas Eve, as the Christian world prepares to celebrate the 2000th birthday of Jesus of Nazareth, this episode takes a final tour through some of the greatest works of Christian art. Seeing Salvation Part 4 "The Promise" - looks at the historical variations in the images of Christ after his crucifixion, death, and resurrection, with its implications for Christian societies over the ages. Neil MacGregor looks beyond the death of Jesus towards images of resurrection and redemption, and the glorious visions of the Second Coming. In the story of Christs triumph over death, artists have found an eloquent language of hope and promise which continues to inspire humanity 2000 years on.