BBC Documentary - The Art of Gothic

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In this documentary Andrew Graham-Dixon explores how a group of 19th-century architects and artists spurned the modern age and turned to Britain's medieval past to create iconic works and buildings. He also talks about the beginnings with the work of Horace Walpole. Also we are introduced to several figures - Ann Radcliffe, Thomas Chatterton, Jane Austen - who all offered different takes on the power of Gothic to excite readers' imaginations.It then goes onto analyse and weave together the different strands of Gothic’s origins including Romanesque and Renaissance Art; the religious reconstruction of The Reformation and the influence of Marxism. Graham-Dixon guides us through these different movements examining works by, amongst others, Salvator Rosa, John Ruskin and of course Mary Shelley and Bram Stoker. Graham-Dixon's presentational style is both informative yet witty, as he recaptures the serio-comic purpose of the genre. This program serves an ideal introduction to a literary movement that deserves more serious consideration than it has received.