In the first of five essays about the piano, art critic Alastair Sooke explores how the piano has infused and informed the fine art world since its first entries onto the world stage over two centuries ago. Nineteenth century artists including Renoir, Matisse, Klimt, Whistler, Cezanne and Van Gogh all painted pianos, and in the twentieth century, Dali too was notoriously infatuated with the piano in all its surreal, Freudian glory.

First broadcast in September 2012. Show less