A History of Art in Three Colours

Art historian James Fox follows up his British Masters series by investigating artists' use of blue, white and gold, and explains how, by choosing these colours, painters have stirred emotions, changed the way people behave and had an impact on the course of history. He begins with gold and its use in early sun worship, before reinterpreting the treasures of the pharaohs, the mosaics of Byzantium and the work of Renaissance master Benvenuto Cellini. He also explores Gustav Klimt's The Kiss and discovers a Birmingham inventor who tried to achieve the alchemist's dream - turning base metals into gold.