ThenewseriesonRenaissancepainting,writtenandpresentedbyMatthewCollings,beginswithanartisticinvestigationintooneofthemostradiantandbeautifulimagesinallofarthistory,TheMadonnaoftheMeadow,paintedin1505byRaphael. Renaissancearthasbecomepartofthe21st-centuryheritageindustrybutwhenRaphaelwasalive,itwasastartlingnewformofvisualexpression,andRaphael'svibrant'realism'wasstrikingandfresh.Itbecamethemodelforwesternartforthenext400years,rightupuntilthebirthofModernism. Asmuchasitwasacultural'rebirth',theRenaissancewasalsoarevolutioninideasaboutreality.MatthewCollingssetsouttoremindusofhowradicalRenaissancepaintingswerewhentheyweremade,aswellasopeningoureyestowhatisstilltrulygreataboutthem.InthisprogrammehedeconstructsTheMadonnaoftheMeadowwiththehelpoftheverylatesthigh-resolutiondigitaltechnology,whichallowshimtoexploretheinnersecretsofRaphael'spainterlyeffectswithaclarityandatalevelofdetailneverbeforeseenontelevision. AsMatthewsays,itisajourney'totheothersideofanillusion',revealinghowRaphaelcreatedthealluringimagesthatweresoappealingtohiswealthyRenaissanceclients-includingthePope-andwhichentrancedartistsforcenturiesafterhisdeath.MatthewexplainsthesecrettoRaphael'svibrantcolourharmonies,whichtheartistgraspedintuitively,longbeforetheadventofcolour'theory';andRaphaelalsoknewhowtoexploitcoloureffectstocreatetheimpressionofextraordinarydepthinhispaintings.
