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Art Bites 115: Temples of Ancient Egypt

3m 33s

The great temples of ancient Egypt are where, 4,000 years ago, priests and pharaohs huddled privately with the gods. At the Temple of Karnak in Luxor, with its towering pillars and obelisks, fine carved reliefs, and aura of mystery, you get an appreciation of the sophistication of that ancient kingdom.

Distributed nationally by American Public Television
Extras
With Europe as our classroom, Rick shares the essential skills for smart, smooth travel.
Painters, such as Velázquez, were paid to make royals look more divine than they were.
Neoclassical was a stern, no-frills style that celebrated a new age of science and reason.
The French Revolution came with art that celebrated liberty, equality, and brotherhood.
Rococo art featured aristocrats playing in their Baroque palaces and bucolic backyards.
Versailles, with its heavenly painted ceilings, was the ultimate Baroque palace.
Baroque art was propaganda for the state or for the Church.
Gritty realism, stark lighting, and drama gave Caravaggio’s art an emotional punch.
Rubens painted mythic battles, Catholic miracles, bloody hunts, and “Rubenesque” women.
Pro-Vatican Baroque featured big canvases, dramatic statues, and exuberant architecture.
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  • Rick Steves' Europe Season 11
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  • Rick Steves' Europe Season 6
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  • Rick Steves' Europe Season 4
  • Rick Steves' Europe Season 3
  • Rick Steves' Europe Season 2
  • Rick Steves' Europe Season 1
Greece’s timeless art: Golden Age temples, alluring Venuses, and exuberant Winged Victory.
We marvel at Stone Age cave paintings, mighty megaliths, and mysterious goddesses.
Early Europeans produce diverse art: from Christians to Muslims and Byzantines to Vikings.
Roaming Europe, we admire stately Neoclassical buildings and dramatic Romantic paintings.
The turbulent century and its rule-breaking art—Picasso, Surrealism and edgy architecture.
Shimmering Impressionist canvases by Monet and Renoir, plus Van Gogh, Gauguin and more.
From Portugal to Germany, booming economies and new technologies produce exquisite art.
We marvel at Baroque’s over-the-top churches, palaces, bubbly fountains, and theatric art.
Florence’s bold “rebirth” is powered by the genius of Leonardo, Rafael, and Michelangelo.
The grand cities of ancient Rome’s vast empire and majestic churches of its fall.