Support your local PBS station in our mission to inspire, enrich, and educate.
Watch Civilizations
Survey the history of art, from antiquity to the present, on a global scale. Civilizations reveals the role art and creative imagination have played in forging humanity, and introduce viewers to works of beauty, ingenuity and illumination across cultures.
Watch Video from Episode 6 of Civilizations
Nature Becomes the Story
Albrecht Altdorfer sidesteps religious conflict between Protestants and Catholics by using nature.
Clip
3m 1s
Clip
Nature Becomes the Story
3m 1s
Albrecht Altdorfer sidesteps religious conflict between Protestants and Catholics by using nature.
Show More
Clip
Landscape as Ideology
34s
In Li Cheng's hands, landscape art became not a depiction of the natural world, but a kind of official ideology, promoting
Show More
Clip
Heavenly Paradises on Earth
55s
In Islamic architecture, landscapes reflect a mastery over the natural world.
Show More
Preview
Paradise on Earth
30s
Explore one of humanity’s deepest artistic urges: the depiction of nature. But landscape painting is seldom a straightforw
Show More
The PBS 'What to Watch' Weekly Newsletter
What to Watch delivers the best shows and content PBS has to offer each week.
By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy
About the Author
Sam is the director of multiplatform discovery and production for PBS. When not geeking out about the latest Ken Burns documentary or Call the Midwife season, you can find him playing video games with the cool kids.