The Best Painters & Masterpieces Documentaries

Art, Music & Design - 40 free documentaries about painters & masterpieces.

Start with Is Van Gogh’s ‘Sunflowers’ Actually A Fake? (49 min, Timeline), then Gen Z Deaf Artist Uses His Paintings To Pay For School In Vietnam (46 min, CNA Insider). All 40 documentaries here are free to watch from their makers' official uploads. To read deeper, the top-rated book on painters & masterpieces is Lust for Life by Irving Stone.

• Is Van Gogh’s ‘Sunflowers’ Actually A Fake? | The Authenticity Of The Sunflowers (49 min, Timeline - World History Documentaries)
• Gen Z Deaf Artist Uses His Paintings To Pay For School In Vietnam | Limitless (46 min, CNA Insider)
• Fake Van Gogh Village: Painting 100,000 Replica Masterpieces (83 min, Real Stories)
• Award-winning Documentary | The Fake Van Gogh Paintings? (49 min, Real Crime)
• Van Gogh's Last Painting: Great Art Explained (16 min, Great Art Explained)
• A stately home tour of Longford Castle's private collection of art | National Gallery (42 min, The National Gallery)
• José Maria Velasco: Great Art Explained (15 min, Great Art Explained)
• The Divine Artist - Alex Grey - Channeling The Cosmic Creative Force (13 min, After Skool)
• Trending Artists of the 17th Century (11 min, The Art Assignment)
• Raphael: The Renaissance Virtuoso | National Gallery (24 min, The National Gallery)
• Canaletto: view paintings of Venice | National Gallery (31 min, The National Gallery)
• How we uncovered the secrets of the Gallery’s oldest painting | National Gallery (16 min, The National Gallery)
• Curator's introduction to 'Wright of Derby: From the Shadows' | National Gallery (60 min, The National Gallery)
• An introduction to Winslow Homer | National Gallery (15 min, The National Gallery)
• Giovanni Bellini: A pioneering Venetian artist | National Gallery (25 min, The National Gallery)
• What can a six-pack tell us about a painting? (12 min, The National Gallery)
• Nicolas Poussin: The painter's painter | National Gallery (13 min, The National Gallery)
• Unexpected Views: Artist Jesse Jones on Savoldo's 'Mary Magdalene' | National Gallery (30 min, The National Gallery)
• Why did Rosa Bonheur need police permission to wear trousers? | National Gallery (13 min, The National Gallery)
• Curator's Introduction to 'José María Velasco: A View of Mexico' | National Gallery (53 min, The National Gallery)
• Unexpected Views: Jananne Al-Ani on 'A View of Delft after the Explosion of 1654' | National Gallery (34 min, The National Gallery)
• A curated look at: working from home | National Gallery (17 min, The National Gallery)
• Why has this painting had so many names? | National Gallery (12 min, The National Gallery)
• [re]curated: David Hockney - The Artist's Eye (1981) | National Gallery (14 min, The National Gallery)
• [re]curated: Lucian Freud - The Artist’s Eye (1987) | National Gallery (17 min, The National Gallery)
• Unexpected Views: Céline Condorelli on Pontormo's 'Joseph with Jacob in Egypt' | National Gallery (47 min, The National Gallery)
• What happened to the Gallery's paintings during WWII? | National Gallery (22 min, The National Gallery)
• The art of Bartolomé Bermejo | National Gallery (63 min, The National Gallery)
• Michael Palin on his favourite paintings | National Gallery (57 min, The National Gallery)
• What is hidden on the back of this painting? | National Gallery (13 min, The National Gallery)
• Unexpected Views: Dexter Dalwood on Joshua Reynolds and English painting | National Gallery (44 min, The National Gallery)
• Unexpected Views: Katrina Palmer on an empty wall in Room 18 | National Gallery (33 min, The National Gallery)
• One painting, many voices | Matejko's 'Copernicus' | National Gallery (12 min, The National Gallery)
• Caption this painting. | David Rathman (8 min, The Art Assignment)
• [re]curated: Richard Hamilton - The Artist's Eye (1978) | National Gallery (14 min, The National Gallery)
• One painting, many voices | Gainsborough's Mr and Mrs Andrews | National Gallery (12 min, The National Gallery)
• Curators' Introduction | Monochrome: Painting in Black and White | National Gallery (50 min, The National Gallery)
• Classical art in the digital vernacular: Making memes from paintings | National Gallery (46 min, The National Gallery)
• Vincent van Gogh's 'Sunflowers': Why? How? When? | National Gallery (62 min, The National Gallery)
• How are artists today inspired by art of the past? | National Gallery (14 min, The National Gallery)

Top-Rated Books About Painters & Masterpieces

1. Lust for Life by Irving Stone (4.3/5) - View on Amazon
2. Leonardo da Vinci by Walter Isaacson (4/5) - View on Amazon
3. The Story of Art by E. H. Gombrich (4.2/5) - View on Amazon
4. Ways of Seeing by John Berger (4.1/5) - View on Amazon
5. Lives of the Artists by Giorgio Vasari - View on Amazon