Waldemar Januszczak is an acquired taste as a broadcaster, there's something of the wideboy about him: the brash Londoner. However, stick with him because he's created two very good BBC Television series about art.

Firstly, his series on the Impressionists showed more of the art and the background than I've seen before. I learned new and interesting details that made things fresh again, including learning of an artist I hadn't heard of before: Gustave Caillebotte. More recently, his Renaissance Unchained series has covered the expected (Michelangelo, Leonardo, Durer) but also the more unexpected, such as St George and the Dragon by Bernt Notke or the Compianto sul Cristo morto by Niccolo dell'Arca.

From the beginning, Januszczak posits that Vasari, author of the famous Lives of the Artists, was less than fair with the Northern masters, precursors of the new artistic rebirth in the 15th Century. Artists like Jan Van Eyck, Hans Memling, Rogier van der Weyden and Hieronymus Bosch. A bit like a football fan, Vasari, from Florence, was "rooting for the home team" a bit perhaps. There is a compelling argument to be made here: Italy did reach the pinnacle of artistic achievement of course, but the Northern Renaissance also happened. Waldemar Januszczak attempts to redress this a little and made four very good programs, well worth catching.

And if anyone is wondering about what they might be missing, not having heard of Niccolo dell'Arca or Bernt Notke, take a look. The Lamentation over the Dead Christ is especially powerful and must contain some of the most powerful and emotionally charged figures I have ever seen. More here.

Niccolò dell'arca, Compianto sul Cristo morto (detail), Terracotta. 1460's. Bologna

St. George and the Dragon, Bernt Notke. Storkyrkan, Stockholm. 1470's.