Sense and Sensation: English Culture in the Eighteenth Century

Synopsis: An exploration of the arts in eighteenth-century London, written and presented by historian John Brewer. The film considers the world of commerce and celebrity in which Georgian culture was created. A world, Brewer argues, that has many parallels with today. John Brewer relates the remarkable stories of entrepreneur Jonathan Tyers, who oversaw the high art and low morals of Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens, and of Anna Larpent, a voracious reader, gallery-goer and theatre-lover. Actor-manager David Garrick and literary giant Samuel Johnson are other key characters, as is John Gay, the writer of the ‘The Beggar’s Opera’.

The film is illustrated with prints and paintings of the period and also features reconstructions in its analysis of the arts and their audiences as English high culture first emerged.
Language: English
Country: Great Britain
Year of release: 2002
Year of production: 2002
Notes: First broadcast on BBC4 on 5/8/02
Documentation: Accompanying book ‘The Pleasures of the Imagination’ by John Brewer, available separately
Subjects: Arts and Humanities; History
Keywords: arts; cultural evolution; history of England; history of the 18th century; social history; Georgian culture

Name: Illuminations
Email: louise@illuminationsmedia.co.uk
Web: http://www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk External site opens in new window
Phone: 020 7288 8400
Address: Studio 121, ScreenWorks
22 Highbury Grove
London
N5 2EF
Notes: Illuminations produces and distributes programmes on arts-related subjects, some of which are made for television and others in conjunction with cultural institutions to accompany specific exhibitions. Many titles are available for sale on DVD, including continuing series on leading contemporary and twentieth century artists and modern architecture, as well as a few programmes on religion, drama, history and ideas.

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