Episode Four

In this programme, art critic Andrew Graham-Dixon travels to Venice to tell the story of one of the greatest purchases in the Royal Collection's history. Andrew finds out that as a young king, George III paid Canaletto's agent Consul Joseph Smith for a superb collection including over 50 paintings by the Venetian master. And George III, like Charles II, would be feted with gifts including the Padshahnama - an illustrated Indian chronicle of the Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan (famous for commissioning the Taj Mahal). Andrew discovers the incredible painting, so delicate that it was, legend tells us, painted with brushes made with hairs taken from the necks of baby kittens. Because of his restless curiosity, by the end of his reign George III had overseen some of the greatest acquisitions in the Royal Collection's history.