‘85新潮運動，是中國當代藝術擺脫社會主義束縛的分水嶺。 1989年轟動一時的「越界，中國先鋒藝術」展覽會， 走在時代前端的中國先鋒派藝術家大膽地創新和標新立異， 這是中國當代藝術發展的里程碑。 他們的創作征服了世界。 　　從北京到雲南，這批藝術家或繪畫、或雕刻、或攝影， 把他們眼中所見的中國，化為一件件藝術。 或幽默，或諷刺，如岳敏君所繪的＜處決＞， 描繪三個僅著內褲的男子，在面臨槍決前，仍笑得樂不可支。 這幾位當代藝術師把中國近代的歷史事件化為藝術作品， 不僅獲得國際藝術界的肯定，更重要的是他們代表了中國的覺醒， 現代的一輩將他們的所知所聞化為藝術， 讓世人都明白中國已從睡夢中甦醒！

20世纪70年代末，随着文化大革命的结束，压制许久的艺术界终于破土而出，用鲜嫩的苗芽迫不及待的探寻着春的气息。

中国绘画艺术历史悠久，源远流长，经过数千年的不断丰富、革新和发展，以汉族为主、包括少数民族在内的画家和匠师，创造了具有鲜明民族风格和丰富多彩的形式手法，形成了独具中国意味的绘画语言体系，在东方以至世界艺术中都具有重要的地位与影响。

卡尔·纳格尔（欧文·威尔逊 饰）是美国一位画家，他的声音轻柔，几十年来一直在佛蒙特州的公共电视台主持自己的绘画节目。多年来，他的艺术吸引了许多妇女的注意，特别是那些在电视台工作的妇女。但卡尔的生活一成不变，节目收视率也不高。当一个新的画家被雇用来振兴这个频道时，卡尔自己对他作为一个画家的天赋的恐惧被带到了前台。

卡尔·纳格尔（欧文·威尔逊 饰）是美国一位画家，他的声音轻柔，几十年来一直在佛蒙特州的公共电视台主持自己的绘画节目。多年来，他的艺术吸引了许多妇女的注意，特别是那些在电视台工作的妇女。但卡尔的生活一成不变，节目收视率也不高。当一个新的画家被雇用来振兴这个频道时，卡尔自己对他作为一个画家的天赋的恐惧被带到了前台。

探索发现—中国绘画艺术（第一集）笔墨春秋 　　探索发现—中国绘画艺术（第二集）胸中造化 　　探索发现—中国绘画艺术（第三集）缤纷万象 　　探索发现—中国绘画艺术（第四集）丹青妙绘 　　探索发现—中国绘画艺术（第五集）三分鼎足 　　探索发现—中国绘画艺术（第六集）物华天宝

探索发现—中国绘画艺术（第一集）笔墨春秋 　　探索发现—中国绘画艺术（第二集）胸中造化 　　探索发现—中国绘画艺术（第三集）缤纷万象 　　探索发现—中国绘画艺术（第四集）丹青妙绘 　　探索发现—中国绘画艺术（第五集）三分鼎足 　　探索发现—中国绘画艺术（第六集）物华天宝

Gang of Four 　　Episode 1 of 4 　　Duration: 1 hour 　　Art writer Waldemar Januszczak explores the revolutionary achievements of the Impressionists. In the first episode, Waldemar delves into the back stories of four of the most influential Impressionists - Pissarro, Monet, Renoir and Bazille - who together laid the foundations of the artistic movement. He finds out what social and cultural influences drove them to their style of painting, how they were united and how ultimately they challenged and changed art forever. 　　Waldemar journeys from the shores of the West Indies, to the progressive city of Paris to the suburbs of South London, where these four artists drew inspiration from the cities and towns in which they lived. Whether it be the infamous spot on the river Seine - La Grenouillere - where Monet and Renoir beautifully captured animated people, iridescent light and undulating water or the minimalist, non-sensationalised illustrations of Pissarro's coarse countryside paintings, Waldemar discovers how the Impressionists broke conventions by depicting every day encounters within the unpredictable and ever changing sights around them. 　　------ 　　Painting outdoors 　　Episode 2 of 4 　　Duration: 1 hour 　　Waldemar Januszczak continues his investigation of the Impressionists by taking us outdoors to their most famous locations. Although Impressionist pictures often look sunny and relaxed, achieving this peaceful air was hard work. Trudging through fog, wind and rain, across treacherous coastal rocks and knee-deep snow, Waldemar shows how the famous spontaneity of the Impressionists is thoroughly misleading. 　　This episode visits the French riverside locations that Monet loved to paint, and where Renoir captured the bonhomie of modern life. Waldemar also introduces a number of technical and practical developments of the age which completely revolutionised Impressionist painting - the invention of portable easels; the use of hog's hair in paint brushes; as well as the introduction of the railway through France. And a scientific demonstration in a Swedish snowdrift explains just how right the Impressionists were to paint brightly coloured shadows in their winter scenes, despite being accused of 'hallucinating' at the time. 　　Finally, Januszczak explains Cezanne's part in the Impressionist story from his dark and challenging early work to his first rural landscapes in France, and then his departure from Paris and separation from the Impressionist gang. 　　------ 　　Painting the People 　　Episode 3 of 4 　　Duration: 1 hour 　　Waldemar Januszczak continues his investigation of the Impressionists, focusing this time on the people they painted and in particular the subjects of Degas, Caillebotte and the often forgotten Impressionist women artists. The Impressionists are famous for painting landscape but they were just as determined to paint people. 　　Looking closely at one of Impressionism's finest painters, Edgar Degas, Waldemar reveals how he consistently challenged traditions and strove to record real life as it appeared in the city, from sculpting the contorted movements of horses in motion at the Longchamp race course in Paris to encapsulating extravagant 3D viewpoints of the ballet dancers at the Paris Opera. 　　Waldemar also uncovers the intoxicating haziness the pastel produced in Degas' work when visiting his supplier Pastels de Roche. He also reveals the unusual viewpoints and dramatic perspectives of Caillebotte's paintings from the Place de L'Europe and the rebellious and revolutionary art of Morisot, Bracquemond and Cassatt, three impressive female artists who were eagerly embraced by the progressive movement of Impressionism 　　------ 　　Final Flourish 　　Episode 4 of 4 　　Duration: 1 hour 　　This episode takes a closer look at the late years of Impressionism, using the last show these artists did together as a starting point. 　　Waldemar looks in considerable depth at the work of Georges Seurat, taking into consideration his academic training at the Beaux-Arts School in Paris and the artists that influenced him, such as Piero della Francesca and Puvis de Chavannes. 　　There is also an insight into the complex but fascinating world of optics and art, and the ways in which the Impressionists were using the new discoveries in light and eyesight to influence their work. A fascinating 'after-image' experiment brings to life the ways in which our own eyes see colour, both in its presence and its absence. 　　Van Gogh's time in Paris, a period very little is known about, is also covered, charting the incredible journey the artist made from his brown and dull canvases to the splendid colour and light that pervaded his work on the cusp of his departure for the South of France. 　　The film finishes with a revisiting of Monet and his later waterlily paintings in the Orangerie in Paris. Waldemar investigates how a bad case of cataracts was responsible for a seismic shift in his colour palette and his brushstrokes. Spending time with an ophthalmologist, he finds out how old age and a fairly common ailment of the eyes caused Impressionism to shift and become radical again at the turn of the century and into the 20th century

Gang of Four 　　Episode 1 of 4 　　Duration: 1 hour 　　Art writer Waldemar Januszczak explores the revolutionary achievements of the Impressionists. In the first episode, Waldemar delves into the back stories of four of the most influential Impressionists - Pissarro, Monet, Renoir and Bazille - who together laid the foundations of the artistic movement. He finds out what social and cultural influences drove them to their style of painting, how they were united and how ultimately they challenged and changed art forever. 　　Waldemar journeys from the shores of the West Indies, to the progressive city of Paris to the suburbs of South London, where these four artists drew inspiration from the cities and towns in which they lived. Whether it be the infamous spot on the river Seine - La Grenouillere - where Monet and Renoir beautifully captured animated people, iridescent light and undulating water or the minimalist, non-sensationalised illustrations of Pissarro's coarse countryside paintings, Waldemar discovers how the Impressionists broke conventions by depicting every day encounters within the unpredictable and ever changing sights around them. 　　------ 　　Painting outdoors 　　Episode 2 of 4 　　Duration: 1 hour 　　Waldemar Januszczak continues his investigation of the Impressionists by taking us outdoors to their most famous locations. Although Impressionist pictures often look sunny and relaxed, achieving this peaceful air was hard work. Trudging through fog, wind and rain, across treacherous coastal rocks and knee-deep snow, Waldemar shows how the famous spontaneity of the Impressionists is thoroughly misleading. 　　This episode visits the French riverside locations that Monet loved to paint, and where Renoir captured the bonhomie of modern life. Waldemar also introduces a number of technical and practical developments of the age which completely revolutionised Impressionist painting - the invention of portable easels; the use of hog's hair in paint brushes; as well as the introduction of the railway through France. And a scientific demonstration in a Swedish snowdrift explains just how right the Impressionists were to paint brightly coloured shadows in their winter scenes, despite being accused of 'hallucinating' at the time. 　　Finally, Januszczak explains Cezanne's part in the Impressionist story from his dark and challenging early work to his first rural landscapes in France, and then his departure from Paris and separation from the Impressionist gang. 　　------ 　　Painting the People 　　Episode 3 of 4 　　Duration: 1 hour 　　Waldemar Januszczak continues his investigation of the Impressionists, focusing this time on the people they painted and in particular the subjects of Degas, Caillebotte and the often forgotten Impressionist women artists. The Impressionists are famous for painting landscape but they were just as determined to paint people. 　　Looking closely at one of Impressionism's finest painters, Edgar Degas, Waldemar reveals how he consistently challenged traditions and strove to record real life as it appeared in the city, from sculpting the contorted movements of horses in motion at the Longchamp race course in Paris to encapsulating extravagant 3D viewpoints of the ballet dancers at the Paris Opera. 　　Waldemar also uncovers the intoxicating haziness the pastel produced in Degas' work when visiting his supplier Pastels de Roche. He also reveals the unusual viewpoints and dramatic perspectives of Caillebotte's paintings from the Place de L'Europe and the rebellious and revolutionary art of Morisot, Bracquemond and Cassatt, three impressive female artists who were eagerly embraced by the progressive movement of Impressionism 　　------ 　　Final Flourish 　　Episode 4 of 4 　　Duration: 1 hour 　　This episode takes a closer look at the late years of Impressionism, using the last show these artists did together as a starting point. 　　Waldemar looks in considerable depth at the work of Georges Seurat, taking into consideration his academic training at the Beaux-Arts School in Paris and the artists that influenced him, such as Piero della Francesca and Puvis de Chavannes. 　　There is also an insight into the complex but fascinating world of optics and art, and the ways in which the Impressionists were using the new discoveries in light and eyesight to influence their work. A fascinating 'after-image' experiment brings to life the ways in which our own eyes see colour, both in its presence and its absence. 　　Van Gogh's time in Paris, a period very little is known about, is also covered, charting the incredible journey the artist made from his brown and dull canvases to the splendid colour and light that pervaded his work on the cusp of his departure for the South of France. 　　The film finishes with a revisiting of Monet and his later waterlily paintings in the Orangerie in Paris. Waldemar investigates how a bad case of cataracts was responsible for a seismic shift in his colour palette and his brushstrokes. Spending time with an ophthalmologist, he finds out how old age and a fairly common ailment of the eyes caused Impressionism to shift and become radical again at the turn of the century and into the 20th century