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Art of Russia: Smashing the Mould

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Factual: Arts, Culture & the Media

16/03/2013 GMT

Smashing the Mould

Art of Russia

BBC World News - Art of Russia, Smashing the Mould

How art was at the forefront of throwing out 1,000 years of royal rule in Russia.

The final part examines political revolution and how art was at the forefront of throwing out 1,000 years of royal rule.

Series in which art critic Andrew Graham-Dixon tells the incredible story of Russian art - its mystery and magnificence - until now untold on British television. 

The final part examines political revolution and how art was at the forefront of throwing out 1,000 years of royal rule, from its earliest revolutionary days of enthusiasm and optimism when painting died, the poster was king and the machine-made triumphed over the handmade to the dead hand of Socialist Realism. 

Andrew roots out great portraits of Stalin now hidden in museum storerooms and never on public view, looks at the transformation of the Moscow metro into a great public art gallery and visits the most stunning creation of post-war Communist rule, the Space Monument.

Finally, he comes to the confusion and chaos of Russia today and how it is producing some of the world's strangest art - from heroic sculptures of Russian leader Vladimir Putin to the insides of a giant erotic apple; from the recreation of the Imperial royal family facing the firing squad to sculpture in liquid oil; from Russia's embrace of the commercial art market to a return to Socialist Realism. Russia seems to stand on another brink of revolution.

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Art historian Andrew Graham-Dixon travels through time to unlock the world of Russian art.

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