Smart Secrets of Great Paintings — Season 1, Episode 6: The Martyrdom of Saint Appolonia (1461) by Jean Fouquet

Episode synopsis

With a tiny and delicate paintbrush, Jean Fouquet adds the golden threads of a tentative humanism to "The Martyrdom of Saint Apollonia" (circa 1450) and unveils a glimmer of the modern era, crouching behind the horizon of the Middle Ages. This film analyzes the illumination for clues of what Fouquet sought to convey to viewers. Completed for a book of hours commissioned by one of Charles VIII's financial advisors, it portrays Apollonia's martyrdom as a mystery play- theatrical performances of Biblical stories popular in medieval towns- to distance viewers from the act of violence. The film also discusses Fouquet's journey to Italy, where he learned about perspective from Renaissance artists, and talks about his propaganda work as the Hundred Years' War drew to a close.

About Smart Secrets of Great Paintings

The great works of the past portray abundant testimonies, and are imbued with secrets and are teeming with mysteries. Beneath the surface of the painting, details awaken, to recount the spirit of the times and the vagaries of History, such as wars, revolutions, economic transformation, scientific discovery, beliefs and schools of thought.

More episodes from Season 1

• E1The Moneylender and his Wife (1514) by Quentin Massys
• E2The Artist's Studio (1855) by Gustave Courbet
• E3Bathers at Asniers (1884) by Georges Seurat
• E4Las Meninas (1665) by Diego Velazquez
• E5The Wedding at Cana (1563) by Paolo Veronese
• E7A Lady in Her Bath (1571) by Francois Clouet
• E8Marie-Antoinette de Lorraine-Habsbourg, Queen of France and Her Children (1787) by Elisabeth Vigée Le Brun
• E9Women of Algiers in Their Apartment (1834) by Eugène Delacroix
• E10Colorful Life (1907) by Wassily Kandinsky
• E11Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going? 1897, Paul Gauguin
• E12Temptations of St. Anthony, 1501, Hieronymus Bosch
• E13Western Port in Frankfurt am Main, 1916, Ludwig Kirchner