The subtitle to this extraordinary series is "Eight Works That Exploded on to an Unsuspecting World." These are works not just wonderful in themselves, but art pieces with an enthralling history. Schama's story telling doesn't use just narration. We see locations, video and well-executed re-enactments, including Andy Serkis' riveting portrayal of Vincent Van Gogh.The eight artists are shown in chronological order. Each is presented primarily through one of his works, but, along the way, you learn about other works and the milieu in which the artist lived and created. Don't forget to re-watch the episodes with the Bonus Extra commentaries. They and the final interview with Simon Schama added to my enjoyment of the series.The series originally aired in 2006. The episodes total 463 minutes. On the DVDs, they are presented in 16:9 aspect ratio and stereo sound. English SDH subtitles are available on the episodes.1. CARAVAGGIO and "David With the Head of Goliath"It's a great introduction to Caravaggio and the whole series: "Italy 1610. Michelangelo Merisis de Caravaggio is on the run again. No stranger to trouble, this artist tangled with the law for most of his life.... We like to think, don't we, that the genius is the hero. That the good guy wins. But this is Caravaggio, and the genius is the villain."Look at the artist's portrait. Isn't this a man who dares the viewer to cross him?2. BERNINI and "Ecstasy of Saint Teresa" sculptureBernini's personality was the opposite of Caravaggio – witty, charming and cultured. Schama narrates: "The whole point of classified sculptures was to make humans less so, to give mortal flesh the heavy-weight smoothness of immortality. So, many of them ended up looking divine but bloodless." And then along came Bernini.See how this star ends up out-Caravaggio-ing Caravaggio.BONUS EXTRA: Commentary track with Simon Schama and Clara Beavan (producer).These collaborators talk about how to light sculpture that can't be moved. They decided to not use English actors for the recreated Italian scenes. It's not just the spoken language, it's the body language.3. REMBRANDT and "Claudius Civilis"As an example of Schama's humor, here's his introduction to one of Rembrandt's portraits, "Elias Trip, head of the dynasty, thought of himself as a pillar of Protestant society. Your old fashioned sober-sided church-going arms dealer."Rembrandt goes out of fashion and files for bankruptcy in 1656. "Claudius Civilis" is supposed to bring him back. Instead, he is reduced to humiliation.Trivia: Schama tells how the burghers were so displeased with the giant painting "The Night Watch" that they refused to pay for it. I've seen elsewhere that this is a misconception, including in the other recommended art series, The Private Life of a Masterpiece: The Complete Seasons 1-54. DAVID and "The Death of Marat"Schama asks, after telling us about David's life, "So why do I like David? Well, I don't. He's a monster. But he makes ideas blaze in dry ice. He is a fantastic propagandist."Trivia: David is pronounced dah VEED. David had a scar on his face from a sword fight. In the fight re-enactment, the scar is shown on the actor's left side. At the end, it's shown on the right.BONUS EXTRA: Commentary track with Simon Schama and Clara Beavan.Beavan remembers shooting one scene: "You were coming along the corridor and there was a huge noise on the other side of the corridors.... I was getting more and more furious. I finally sent James off to see what the h*** the noise was. James came back and said, 'They're filming 'The Da Vinci Code'."5. TURNER and "Slave Ship"Turner became successful very young, invited to join the venerable Royal Academy at only 26 years old. He's known mostly for his serene landscapes, which, even at the time, were mocked for their warm tones.But, Schama says of "Slave Ship": "This is my Turner, extreme Turner. The Cockney poet just short of rudeness."6. VAN GOGH and "Wheatfield With Crows"Schama says this painting "was a revolutionary masterpiece. It's the painting which begins modern art. Yet, within a few weeks the man who had achieved it had killed himself."Vincent's younger brother, Theo, kept his letters. The re-enactments use Vincent's own words, which show an intelligent, well-read, questioning man.Trivia: Van Gogh cut off the fleshy part of his earlobe, not the whole ear. Vincent and Theo are buried next to each other with simple gravestones.BONUS EXTRA: Commentary track with Simon Schama, David Bottom (director) and Andy Serkis (actor, played Van Gogh).The scene where Vincent (played by Serkis) eats a tube of paint is based on a real incident. This is a powerful visual and almost painful to watch. Schama says, "It's the half cry, half laugh at the end which is absolutely brilliant."7. PICASSO and "Guernica"Picasso was apolitical, more from self-absorption than anything else. The Spanish-born artist was in Paris in 1937 when the Nazi Luftwaffe bombed the anti-Franco town of Guernica into near oblivion. For Picasso, life caught up with art.8. ROTHKO and the Seagram seriesThese are paintings you need to sit in front of and melt into. Schama: "While at first sight these paintings seem so still and composed, hang around for a moment and you'll see they're anything but."BONUS FEATURE "Interview with Simon Schama" (24 minutes, no subtitles)Schama tells us how this series came to be, through stories as well as reflections. For the Rembrandt episode, he remembers filming in front of the artist's large self-portrait: "I had this terrible sense he was looking at me and saying, through those fishy eyes of his, 'Well, I've seen people like you before... You come and go. I stay around."Only occasionally does Schama resort to what I call "art speak", that incomprehensible and self-important commentary you too often find in art catalogues. Almost always, his commentary in "The Power of Art" is illuminating, humorous and sometimes pungent!Happy Reader