Search - The Dutch Masters - Rubens on DVD

Hey, Give Some of That Good Luck to Me!

Jeffery Mingo | Homewood, IL USA | 11/03/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Forget about artists dying undiscovered. Forget about them dying of alcoholism or drug overdoses. Don't even think about them being starving and poor. This documentary says Rubens was celebrated, rich, smart, multi-talented. He was a husband and father. The nobility and aristocracy loved him. He lived into his 60s, which was a ripe-old ages in the 1600s. I once read that the Greek playwright Euripedes was handsome, rich, successful, and had longevity. It seems like Rubens was that same type of consistently blessed man too.

Unlike Rembrandt, Rubens collected ancient art and did not go bankrupt. Unlike Vermeer, he was praised while alive and made self-portraits of himself.

So many academics write that, "Identities are in flux." Most of the time that seems like postmodern mumbo-jumbo meant to dismiss salient identities that have consequences in this world and millennium. However, this Dutch painters series consistently brings traits that are not as important now. Each installation states whether an artist was Catholic or Protestant and whether he studied in Italy or not. Nowadays, no one is concerned whether Haring, Basquiate, or Lichtenstien were Protestant or Catholic. It would not be required that an artist be in a cultural center like New York City or Paris to be known. I guess times do change over 400 years.

The work had male and female interviewees; people at British and Dutch universities. They pronounced "Baroque" with a short O, rather than a long one. The work is gushy. For example, the interviewees praise Rubens for a lion he painted. But I would say the lion was unrealistic. It looked more feral than feline. How do we know if a Northern European artist in the 1600s ever saw an actual lion?

This work would be great to show in classroom settings. There is so much religious art here and I think devout Christians would enjoy looking at it."

Ahhhhh, the masters

desertfox | sinaloa, mexico | 05/28/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have a small coffee and pastries shop on the beach in Mexico. Always trying to enlighten wherever I go, I play these DVD's in the background for my clients in the dining room. I have many in this series. When the room is filled with Spanish speaking only clients, I turn down the sound and play classical music in the background. When we have English speaking tourists, I use the informative soundtrack usually. They are beautiful, informative & set an ambience for my slightly upscale clients. I would recommend any in this series."