Changing Faces

Season 1

Channel 4 UK series on the history of portraiture in Britain.

Where to Watch Changing Faces • Season 1

6 Episodes

  • Finding a Likeness
    E1
    Finding a LikenessFirst in a series on portraiture. What do people expect from a portrait? How important is likeness? Philip Mould shows that likeness was unimportant to medieval man and traces its gradual development, ending with Holbein's portraits of Henry VIII.
  • The Elizabethans
    E2
    The ElizabethansFor the Elizabethans, portraits had to be functional - to prove ancestry and loyalty to the crown and to commemorate or celebrate. Philip Mould talks about the importance of symbolism, especially in portraits of Queen Elizabeth I, and shows how an Elizabethan would have read and understood the Rainbow Portrait at Hatfield House.
  • The King's Painters
    E3
    The King's PaintersPainters have been responsible for our image of their period. For Charles I it was Van Dyck; for the Royalists during the Civil War, William Dobson. For Cromwell it was Samuel Cooper, and for the Restoration, Peter Lely.
  • A Face to Order
    E4
    A Face to OrderIn the 18th century, artistic patronage broadened due to the rising merchant class. Mould looks at the works of Kneller, Hogarth, Devis, Reynolds and Gainsborough, and shows how each provided society with an image of itself as required.
  • Painting for Posterity
    E5
    Painting for PosterityIn the Victorian era, the new men of acclaim were writers, poets, musicians, historians and intellectuals and thought worthy of being portrayed for posterity. Pre-Raphaelites and impressionism were reacting against traditional art forms.
  • Portrayal or Betrayal
    E6
    Portrayal or BetrayalA look at 20th century trends in portraiture and in the story of the burning of Sutherland's portrait of Churchill. Includes a look at dilemmas facing today's portraitist.

 

  •   
  •   
  •   
  •   
  •   
  •   
  •   

Take Plex everywhere

Watch free anytime, anywhere, on almost any device.
See the full list of supported devices