What’s On BBC Four Today Monday 27 February 2023
A full run down of everything airing on BBC Four today.
19:00
Great British Railway Journeys
S09E12
Michael Portillo explores York, Leeds and Bradford
Armed with his Edwardian Bradshaw’s guide, Michael Portillo conducts important research in an historic tea room, built by an Edwardian immigrant to the city of York. In Leeds he discovers the city’s textile heritage, and also investigates Bradford’s musical heritage
19:30
The Joy of Painting
S01E24
Bob Ross paints a tropical seascape
20:00
Da Vinci: The Lost Treasure
A recently discovered painting by Leonardo da Vinci
Fiona Bruce travels to Florence, Milan, Paris and Warsaw to tell the story of Leonardo da Vinci’s life, exploring why a man whose reputation rests on only a few pictures – including the Mona Lisa – is regarded as one of the greatest painters of all time. She also visits New York to see a recently discovered piece by the artist
21:00
Art of France
S01E01
Andrew Graham-Dixon examines the history of French art
Andrew Graham-Dixon examines the history of French art, revealing how it emerged from a struggle between tradition and revolution, and rulers and citizens. Starting with the invention of Gothic architecture, he traces its development up until the arrival of Classicism and the Age of Enlightenment
22:00
Bent Coppers: Crossing the Line of Duty
S01E01
Documentary examining corruption in the police in the 1970s
Documentary examining corruption in the police in the 1970s, revealing a secret network of officers was operating illegally throughout London and led to the formation of the first internal anti-corruption unit A10, which inspired the BBC drama Line of Duty. The story begins in 1969, when a desperate south London criminal tipped off the Times about how he was being extorted for money by a detective in the Metropolitan Police
23:00
Big Sky, Big Dreams, Big Art: Made in the USA
S01E02
The work of George Bellows, Reginald Mash, Thomas Wilfred and Mark Rothko
Waldemar Januszczak focuses on the art of the new cities of the east coast of America, with their futuristic skylines and lofty skyscrapers. He explores the squalid boxing rings painted by George Bellows, Reginald Mash’s decadent away days on Coney Island and the escape into theosophy and abstraction mounted by Thomas Wilfred. He ends by looking at the harsh immigrant experience of Ellis Island and the profound impact that rootlessness had on the art of Mark Rothko.
00:00
The Story of Welsh Art
S01E03
How 20th-century artists found new and radical ways to portray Wales
Huw Stephens reveals how, as the 20th century dawned, artists found radical new ways to depict Wales, pushing themselves to extremes and redefining what art could be. His venture takes him to the National Museum Wales in Cardiff, Bardsey Island off the Llyn Peninsula, Colwyn Bay and Swansea
01:00
Romancing the Stone: The Golden Ages of British Sculpture
S01E02
The trend-bucking works of John Flaxman, Francis Chantrey and Alfred Gilbert
Alastair Sooke tells the stories of sculptors John Flaxman, Francis Chantrey and Alfred Gilbert, who bucked trends in the 18th and 19th centuries. He examines the technical breakthroughs behind their key works – such as carving in marble with a pointer machine and the lost-wax technique – which were produced at a time of increased interest in sculptural projects to celebrate the size of the British Empire
02:00
Great British Railway Journeys
S09E12
Michael Portillo explores York, Leeds and Bradford
Armed with his Edwardian Bradshaw’s guide, Michael Portillo conducts important research in an historic tea room, built by an Edwardian immigrant to the city of York. In Leeds he discovers the city’s textile heritage, and also investigates Bradford’s musical heritage
02:30
The Joy of Painting
S01E24
Bob Ross paints a tropical seascape
03:00
Art of France
S01E01
Andrew Graham-Dixon examines the history of French art
Andrew Graham-Dixon examines the history of French art, revealing how it emerged from a struggle between tradition and revolution, and rulers and citizens. Starting with the invention of Gothic architecture, he traces its development up until the arrival of Classicism and the Age of Enlightenment
