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Sheila Hancock Brushes Up: The Art of Watercolours

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20/02/2011

BBC One - Sheila Hancock Brushes Up: The Art of Watercolours

Sheila Hancock explores the history of watercolours, from the Alps and Venice to India.

Sheila Hancock, a fan of watercolours since her childhood, journeys from the Alps and the city of Venice to deepest India, tracing the extraordinary story of the art form.

Watercolours have always been the poor relation of oil painting. And yet the immediacy and freedom of painting in watercolours have made them the art of adventure and action - even war. It has been an art form the British have pioneered, at first celebrating the greatest landscapes of Europe and then recording the exotic beauty of the British Empire. 

Sheila Hancock, an ardent fan of watercolours since her childhood and whose father was an amateur watercolourist, sets out on a journey to trace the art form. It takes in the glories of the Alps, the city of Venice and deepest India as she tracks the extraordinary story of professional and amateur watercolourists, and reveals some of the most beautiful and yet little-known pictures.

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