BBC World Histories - 08.2019 - 09.2019

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FROM GRAFFITI TO GIOTTO

If you’re wondering why hip-hop

pioneer Fab 5 Freddy – memorably

namechecked in Blondie’s 1980 song

‘Rapture’ – is pictured astride a horse

in Florence (above), it’s all in the service

of a new BBC documentary on the

art of the Italian Renaissance. That’s

because Freddy, as well as being a

groundbreaking musician, is a graffiti

artist and art lover. (The horse, mean-

while, seems to be merely a nod to the

way in which people navigated the city

in the 15th century.)

Such equine hi-jinks shouldn’t

detract from the serious intent of

the hour-long documentary, which

foregrounds the diversity of society

during the period in which the

Renaissance flourished – roughly, the

14th to the 17th century. This diversity

is reflected in representations of African

and African-Italian people in the art

of the period, too – images that have

not always been highlighted to the

same degree as those by masters such

as Giotto and Leonardo da Vinci.

The programme promises to offer

a fresh look at this well-covered but

pivotal era. Viewers in the United

Kingdom who miss its original airing

will be able to catch it again online

via the BBC iPlayer service at

bbc.co.uk/iplayer.

A Fresh Guide To Florence with Fab 5 Freddy

27 July, BBC Two (UK)

bbc.co.uk/bbctwo

Multiple exposures of the moon, captured

between 1846 and 1852, probably by French

photographer Antoine François Jean Claudet

SHOOTING FOR

THE MOON

This July marks the 50th anniversary

of the Apollo 11 moon landing– an

event that offered a new perspective

of the Earth, and of humanity’s place

in the universe. These shifting

perspectives provide the starting point

for a new exhibition at New York’s

Met Museum, which explores the ways

in which people have attempted to

capture images of, and make sense of,

the moon for over a century. Featuring

photos, drawings, prints, paintings and

films, it’s a refreshing take on a subject

set to receive much coverage over the

summer months.

Apollo’s Muse: The Moon

in the Age of Photography

until 22 September at the Met Museum

Fifth Avenue, New York City

metmuseum.org

BBC STUDIOS - PHOTOGRAPHER: EDDIE KNOX /PUBLIC DOMAIN

WORDS M AT T ELTON

Fred Brathwaite – AKA Fab 5 Freddy – in

Florence. His new documentary reveals

that the Renaissance was more diverse

than is sometimes thought

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