Civilisations: Encounters/The Cult of Progress

What happened to art in the great Age of Discovery when civilisations encountered each other for the first time?

In the Americas, the Spanish were so baffled by Aztec art that they melted the gold treasures they looted, repurposing it to make their own glorious art. David Olusoga explores the reactions of Europeans in Africa amidst the Ife and Kongo, and show Albert Eckhout’s incredible studies of Brazilians as encountered by the Dutch. Olusoga explains how the Japanese remained steadfast to their own artistic identity in the face of their own increasing influence from the Dutch, and show how on the other hand India was changed forever by the arrival of the East India Company.