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Daydreams and Nightmares

Andrew Graham-Dixon shows how the Low Countries rose again to become a cultural leader in the modern age, with artists like van Gogh, Mondrian and Magritte.

Following a brief period of decline, the entrepreneurial and industrious region of the Low Countries rose again to become a cultural leader in the modern age. Despite its small and almost insignificant size it produced important forward-thinking artists like van Gogh, Mondrian, Magritte and Delvaux, who changed the face of art forever.

Andrew's journey takes him to a remote beach in north west Holland that inspired Mondrian's transition to his now-renowned abstract grid paintings. Andrew digs deep into the psychology and social history of the region, exploring how the landscape of the past has informed the culture and identity of the Low Countries today and the impossibility of the Dutch drive to turn the philosophy of Mondrian's geometric order into a way of living.

59 minutes

Music Played

  • Max Richter

    Organum

Credits

Role Contributor
Presenter Andrew Graham-Dixon
Producer Colette Camden
Series Producer Silvia Sacco
Executive Producer Basil Comely

Broadcasts

Andrew Graham-Dixon Interview

Read Andrew's thoughts on the art and culture of the Low countries