Sister Wendy's Story of Painting VHS

These series are a surrealist masterpiece in their own right! Who would have imagined a sweet old Catholic nun describing 'Les Demoiselles d'Avignon' with such passion and expertise! Sister Wendy deserved to be painted by Andy Warhol as a pop-art icon!Not that the BBC programs are flawless, mind you: Velázquez, for instance, is not as thoroughly analized as, say, Turner, although he's a far superior artist, if not the greatest of them all. And, due to the scope it tries to cover, the show I think merely gives a somewhat simplistic overview of its infinitely much richer subject. But hey, let's not forget this is TV, and as such, this is the best ever made on this matter!If I were you, I'd buy both the box and the book. What a match made in Heaven!

Who'd've thought that a nun, a woman dedicated to a life of religion and chastity and serving the church would have such an insight on the sexual content of works of art? Well, that sounds a bit ignorant on my part, but Sister Wendy does do an excellent job at giving us a guided tour and commentary of some of history's most beloved and admired works of art. Some works are not included in art history books used by educational institutes and some are so discussed that the viewer can almost take pride in hearing that Sister Wendy shares their opinion. This is a great collection to add to any art education/art history curriculum (high school/college and edited versions for middle school).

I am taking an art class that is based on Sister Wendy's book, The Story of Painting, so the documentary series is the perfect companion to the book. It is delightful to see Sister Wendy in action.

Excellent. If you love art and insight that is deep and brief, then Sister Wendy is for you. I love her and have the whole collection now. Too bad they are not on DVD

Sister Wendy is always a pleasure. With her incisive sharp perceptions of people and their motives, she is enjoyable and very funny too.

good

Thank you!

...because this is one quick story! Is it wrong to think that five hours isn't enough time for so lengthy a subject? In this case, it didn't seem like enough, but I understand that the producers had to stop somewhere.Sister Wendy does a masterful job of showing you things in art you might not see otherwise. Her passion is alive and real, and she doesn't hesitate to show the viewer exactly what she sees. And the topics aren't muted because she's a nun - whether it is love or hate or sex or suicide - doesn't matter to Sister Wendy. She tackles them all. Not only does she explain various masterpieces of art, she also tells you about the artists that made them, and why.Sadly, though, there is so much to cover and so little time. Because of this Sister Wendy is only able to spend a few minutes on any given artist - whether it is da Vinci or Monet, they all get the same treatment. And although it is understandable, for there is a lot of ground to cover, it left me wanting more - like I hadn't seen it all (and indeed I hadn't).To adequately cover this material Sister Wendy would probably have to produce a 10 or 15 hour documentary. But again, there's only so much you can cover. In view of that, Sister Wendy has done as good a job as any!Four stars.