Waldemar Januszczak

Actor

January 12, 1954 (72 years)

Basingstoke, Hampshire, England, UK

Biography

Januszczak was born in Basingstoke, Hampshire, to Polish refugees who had arrived in England after the Second World War. After studying history of art at the University of Manchester, Januszczak became an art critic – and then arts editor – of The Guardian. In 1990 he was appointed head of arts at the UK's Channel 4 television and in 1992 he became art critic for The Sunday Times. He has been voted Critic of the Year twice by the Press Association. Januszczak has been described as "a passionat…

Filmography

6.0

Celebrity Antiques Road Trip

Self - Participant

Antiques experts accompany celebrities on a road trip around the UK searching for treasures and competing to make the most money at auction

5.3

Manet: The Man Who Invented Modern Art

Narrator

Manet is one of the main candidates for the title of the most important artist there has been. As the reluctant father of Impressionism, and the painter of Dejeuner sur l'herbe, he can probably be accused of inventing modern art. But his story is fascinating on many other levels. As a piece of compelling biography, Manet's is the unlikely tale of the stubborn son of the most highly placed judge in France who decides to become an artist and embarrass his father. The resulting family tensions are the stuff of legend. Then there was Manet's dramatic private life, including exotic romantic affairs and a particularly horrible death. Always cited as the father of the Impressionists, Manet stubbornly refused to show with them, and was careful to maintain an aesthetic distance from Monet, Renoir and the others. While they worshipped him, he looked down on them.

10.0

The Impressionists: Painting and Revolution

Himself

Art writer Waldemar Januszczak explores the revolutionary achievements of the Impressionists.

8.0

The Dark Ages: An Age of Light

Self - Presenter

Christianity slowly emerged from being a persecuted minority to the state religion of the Roman Empire. This episode is a history of the ways believers grappled with a way to depict Jesus. Simple symbolic meaning developed into splendid art and churches.

N/A

The Lost Supper

Self - Narrator

This rare film tells the strange, disquieting and protracted story of the restoration of Leonardo da Vinci’s famous masterpiece, The Last Supper. Some say the results of the restoration are glorious. Others have called them tragic. Da Vinci’s famously fragile fresco was always going to be a challenge for its secretive Italian restorers. No one, however, could have foreseen how problematic and strange their task would become. Marked by a series of extraordinary mishaps, mistakes, and miscalculations, the incredible restoration is hilarious to watch but may have resulted in the loss of a masterpiece.

7.7

Baroque! From St Peter's to St Paul's

Host

In this three-part documentary series Waldemar Januszczak discovers paintings, sculptures and architecture of the Baroque period. Starting from the square of Saint Peter's Basilica in Italy to St Paul's Cathedral in England.

10.0

Art's Wildest Movement: Mannerism

Self

Art critic Waldemar Januszczak delves into the heart of Mannerism, as he explores the development of the art style, examines its characteristics, and questions what it achieved.

N/A

The Renaissance Unchained

Self - Presenter

Four-part series in which Waldemar Januszczak challenges the traditional view of art's most important epoch - the Renaissance.

N/A

Handmade in Bolton

Narrator

Shaun Greenhalgh and Dr Janina Ramirez research and remake a selection of precious objects from the past using traditional materials and methods.

N/A

Here Comes the Summer: The Undertones Story

Himself

In 1978 the Undertones released Teenage Kicks, one of the most perfect and enduring pop records of all time - an adolescent anthem that spoke to teenagers all over the globe. It was the first in a string of hits that created a timeless soundtrack to growing up, making the Undertones one of punk rock's most prolific and popular bands.

N/A

Ugly Beauty

Documentary in which art critic Waldemar Januszczak argues that beauty is still to be found in modern art, despite several recent books claiming the contrary.

N/A

Rococo: Travel, Pleasure, Madness

Host, Narrator

Rococo art is often dismissed as frivolous. But Waldemar Januszczak disagrees and in this three-part series he tries to bring Rococo art closer to us, and argues that the Rococo was the age in which the modern world was born.

10.0

Paradise Found

Himself

We imagine many things when we think of this word. However, we do not think about Islamic Architecture, which influenced the art of Europe so profoundly. This documentary tours through the Muslim world, in search of that "atmosphere of Paradise," hidden away in mosques and palaces.

7.3

The Art Mysteries with Waldemar Januszczak

Host, Narrator

Art historian Waldemar Januszczak uncovers the secret meanings hidden within some of the greatest paintings by Van Gogh, Gauguin, Cezanne and Seurat .

10.0

Gauguin: The Full Story

Presenter

Art critic and broadcaster Waldemar Januszczak wrote and directed this examination of a man who was not only a great painter but sculptor, wood carver, musician, print maker, journalist and ceramicist. As well as telling the remarkable story of Gauguin's life, Januszczak also celebrates Gauguin's achievements and examines the various accusations of sexual misconduct, familial neglect and racism that are frequently made against him.

N/A

Big Sky, Big Dreams, Big Art: Made in the USA

Host, Narrator

A history of American art with Waldemar Januszczak

3.0

Mary Magdalene: Art's Scarlet Woman

Presenter

Waldemar Januszczak explores the impact of Mary Magdalene's myth on art and artists. In art all Christian saints are inventions but Mary Magdalene has been the subject of more invention and re-invention than any other.

N/A

Rubens: An Extra Large Story

Presenter

These days, nobody takes Rubens seriously. His vast and grandiose canvases, stuffed with wobbly mounds of female flesh, have little appeal for the modern gym-subscriber. And it's not just the bulging nudity we don't like. The entire tone of Rubens's art offends us. Everything in it is too big - the epic dramas full of tragedy, the fantastical celestial scenery, the immense canvases and murals adorning the walls and ceilings of Europe's grandest palaces. All of it seems too much for modern sensibilities. But Waldemar Januszczak begs to differ. In Waldemar's eyes, Rubens has been traduced by modern tastes, and a huge misunderstanding of him has taken place. By looking in detail at Rubens's fascinating life, by understanding his art in more enlightened ways, Waldemar sets out to correct the extra-large misconceptions that have arisen about Rubens.

6.8

B movie

Himself

This mini documentary features a rare interview with infamous graffiti artist Banksy, delving into how he started out as a graffiti writer up to his shift to gallery art, installations, CDs, and more. Til this day only a hand full of people know his real identity, such as friends appearing here: 3D of Massive Attack, Damien Hirst, and others.

2.0

Beijing Swings

Self - presenter

Art critic Waldemar Januzczak explores Beijing's controversial and challenging modern art scene.