Art historian Tim Marlow hosts a quick but informative tour of the Easter story, told mostly through various paintings from antiquity. It must be noted that one should bring a familiarity of Jesus of Nazareth and Easter to a viewing of this program, as Marlow's intent is not to preach theology; rather, his aim is to show how the various events of the Easter story have been depicted artistically throughout history.
He accomplishes this well, spanning 1500 years or so, from 500 to 2000 A. D., but the majority of the pieces discussed range from 1300-1700 A. D. Some of the most famous works of art, like Da Vinci's "The Last Supper" and Michelangelo's "La Pieta," are analyzed, but I would say the artist reviewed the most was Caravaggio. Marlow also dips into modern times and shows the viewer a few pieces likely unfamiliar to the majority of viewers, myself included. These tended to be perhaps too modern for the traditional art lover, but I don't blame Marlow for the effort.
Probably my only real complaint is the brevity of the program. It's broken into three parts (Betrayal, Crucifixion, Resurrection) and each one runs less than 25 minutes. Because Marlow covers so many works in each program, that means he can only linger a few minutes on any one of them before he moves on to the next. As interesting as his analysis was, it left me wanting more!
7/10. Interesting and informative. Could easily have been 3 hours without missing a beat. Would I watch again (Y/N)?: Yes.
