Sister Wendy, an upbeat, 66-year-old Carmelite nun, will host a new 10-part series on art history airing Sundays at 8 p.m. on KUED-Ch. 7. "Sister Wendy's Story of Painting" follows the nun over 30,000 miles and through 12 countries, examining aspects, methods and schools of art.
The series begins Sunday and will be shown in five two-hour blocks concluding Oct. 5.This week, Sister Wendy searches for the roots of Western painting by examining prehistoric cave paintings in Lascaux, France, visiting the remains of the ancient civilization at Pompeii and traveling to the coast of Scotland to discuss The Book of Kells. She also reviews Giotto, Jan Van Eyck and Hieronymus Bosch.
In later episodes, Sister Wendy will consider such events as the beginning of the Renaissance and the Mona Lisa. She'll also spend time on the works of Raphael, Michelangelo, Bellini, Giorgione, Titian, Durer, Caravaggio, Monet, Renoir, Degas, Seurat and Van Gogh. Cezanne, Picasso, Matisse, the painters of the New York School and other modernist movements will be considered in the final episode.
Sister Wendy, a sensation as an art critic on British television, spent most of the last quarter-century sequestered in a trailer in the English countryside, praying and reading art books. Her stoic lifestyle has left her a frail women. And while her neglected teeth protrude boldly from her mouth, they add to the charm of this nun who cannot contain her excitement about art.
In each episode Sister Wendy stands in front of the world's greatest works of art in the Western world and tells us what she thinks. Devoid of pretension, she is able to connect with viewers who care more about gumballs than Goya. Her unconventional approach to art is as entertaining as it is informative.
"Art is about being human," Sister Wendy declares in tonight's episode. "Children make art instinctively. Archaeologists know that when they've found evidence of art, they've found evidence of human beings. It expresses all that is best in us, our desires, our hopes, our truths. And so, art changes, but it doesn't get better."