AllMovie

Per its title, the documentary series 1000 Great Masterpieces from the World of Art leads viewers on a systematic journey through art history, with each installment focusing on a specific school or collection. The programs draw on insights by the authors of short art surveys, who provide incisive commentaries that are then illustrated onscreen with specific works. This particular volume travels to the end of the Belle Époque, when a rise in global industrialization prompted artists to rebel against classicism in a diverse series of ways. Among these rebels were the Symbolists, who set out to create visual depictions of such elusive areas as subjective emotional states and the dream world. Meanwhile, the Jugendstil emerged, offering a linear, planar style which meshed with that of the Symbolists even as it stood on its own. Artworks glimpsed here include "Salome" by Franz von Stuck, "Madonna with Lilies" by Alfons Mucha and "Spring Awakening" by Arnold Böchlin. Reiner E. Moritz directs.