Why look at art? This was the question we posed to several …
Why look at art? This was the question we posed to several of our colleagues at a conference for museum professionals. Special thanks to Laura Mann, Anna Velez, an anonymous professional, and David Torgersen whose voices and insights are included here. Created by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker.
Special thanks Rachel Bower, Nicole Gherry, Livia Alexander, Derek Burdette, Rachel Miller, Kim Richter, and Rachel Barron-Duncan whose voices and insights are featured here. This video was made possible thanks to the Macaulay Family Foundation. Created by Beth Harris, Smarthistory, and Steven Zucker.
Cole feared for the American landscape as his country expanded westward. Thomas …
Cole feared for the American landscape as his country expanded westward. Thomas Cole, The Hunter’s Return, 1845, oil on canvas (Amon Carter Museum of American Art). Speakers: Dr. Maggie Adler, Curator, Amon Carter Museum of American Art and Dr. Beth Harris. Created by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker. Find learning related resources here: https://smarthistory.org/seeing-america-2/
Unknown artist, The Wilton Diptych, c. 1395-99, tempera on oak panel, 53 …
Unknown artist, The Wilton Diptych, c. 1395-99, tempera on oak panel, 53 x 37 cm (The National Gallery, London). Speakers: Dr. Steven Zucker & Dr. Beth Harris
Nike (Winged Victory) of Samothrace, Lartos marble (ship) and Parian marble (figure), …
Nike (Winged Victory) of Samothrace, Lartos marble (ship) and Parian marble (figure), c. 190 B.C.E. 3.28m high, Hellenistic Period (Musée du Louvre, Paris). The sculpture was unearthed in 1863 after its discovery under the direction of Charles Champoiseau, the French Vice-Consul to Turkey. Please note that the theoretical reconstruction of the Nike as a trumpeter mentioned in the video has been largely abandoned; the monument is now thought to have been part of a fountain possibly commemorating a naval victory. Speakers: Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker. Created by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker.
Circle of the Master of Pedret, The Wise and Foolish Virgins, south …
Circle of the Master of Pedret, The Wise and Foolish Virgins, south apse of the Epistle, Sant Quirze de Pedret, late 11th century to the beginning of 12th century, fresco transferred to canvas 325 x 315 x 320 cm (Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, Barcelona) Speakers: Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker. Created by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker.
Zaha Hadid, MAXXI National Museum of XXI Century Arts, 1998 -- 2009 …
Zaha Hadid, MAXXI National Museum of XXI Century Arts, 1998 -- 2009 (opened 2010), Via Guido Reni, Rome. A conversation between Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker. Created by Steven Zucker and Beth Harris.
A Connecticut Klan robe as stark reminder. Ku Klux Klan robe, c. …
A Connecticut Klan robe as stark reminder. Ku Klux Klan robe, c. 1928 (The Amistad Center for Art & Culture at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford) A Seeing America video Speakers: Dr. William Frank Mitchell, Executive Director & Curator at Large, The Amistad Center for Art & Culture and Dr. Steven Zucker. Created by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker. Find learning related resources here: https://smarthistory.org/seeing-america-2/
Part of the challenge of depicting Christ lies in showing his ‘visibility’ …
Part of the challenge of depicting Christ lies in showing his ‘visibility’ as a man who lived on earth, while also indicating the ‘invisibility’ of God eternal. This episode looks at ‘The Virgin and Child with Two Angels’ by Andrea del Verrocchio and Lorenzo di Credi (around 1476–8) and ‘The Vision of the Blessed Gabrielle’ by Carlo Crivelli (probably about 1489), and considers the pictorial device of the ‘threshold’ as a visual response to the simultaneous proximity of divine presence and the utter transcendence of God.
This episode looks at the visual language of signs and symbols known …
This episode looks at the visual language of signs and symbols known as iconography. Chloë Reddaway considers the surprising appearance of a snail in Crivelli’s ‘The Virgin and Child with Saints Francis and Sebastian’ (1491) and asks how it might help in the seemingly impossible task of painting Christ.
How do artists handle the challenge of attempting to depict a figure …
How do artists handle the challenge of attempting to depict a figure who lived a human life on earth – at a specific time and in specific places – but who was simultaneously divine, beyond place and time? In this episode Chloë Reddaway shows how artists have used ‘place’ in their paintings to point to the limitations of our vision and understanding when pondering this mystery, focusing on the mysterious location of Lorenzo di Credi’s ‘The Virgin and Child’ (about 1480–5) and the spatial metaphors at work in Filippo Lippi’s ‘The Annunciation’ (about 1450–3).
This episode explores three popular picture types which have no gospel basis …
This episode explores three popular picture types which have no gospel basis but which use temporal and spatial ambiguity to reflect on the mystery of Christ having a temporal life on earth, and also being part of the eternal Trinity. The principal paintings discussed in this episode are ‘The Virgin and Child in a Landscape’ by Jan Provoost (early 16th century), ‘The Virgin and Child Enthroned by Cosimo Tura’ (mid-1470s), and ‘Christ Crowned with Thorns’ by Dirk Bouts (about 1470).
Like place, time is an important theological category and, like the Incarnation, …
Like place, time is an important theological category and, like the Incarnation, it can be hard to comprehend. This episode looks at sophisticated ways of handling different but related time frames in Ercole de’ Roberti’s ‘The Dead Christ’ (about 1490) and the exquisite ‘The Deposition’ by the Master of the Saint Bartholomew Altarpiece (about 1500–5).
No single painting of Christ in the canon of Christian art can …
No single painting of Christ in the canon of Christian art can adequately express what Christians believe about him, but this final episode considers how a painting can point beyond itself, encouraging the viewer not to take the image at face value but to engage with the mystery it presents. Chloë Reddaway explores the use of blank spaces as a radical way of indicating divine activity and looks at the value of unfinished works in stimulating the viewer’s imagination with a close look at Michelangelo’s unfinished masterpiece, ‘The Entombment’ (around 1500–1).
How do you paint a figure who is fully human and fully …
How do you paint a figure who is fully human and fully divine? This episode sets the scene for exploring the problem and considers the inherent audacity of what Christian art attempts to do.
Aaron Douglas, Aspiration, 1936, oil on canvas, 152.4 x 152.4 cm (Fine …
Aaron Douglas, Aspiration, 1936, oil on canvas, 152.4 x 152.4 cm (Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco), a Seeing America video A conversation with Timothy Anglin Burgard, Ednah Root Curator-in-Charge of the American Art Department, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, and Beth Harris. Find learning related resources here: https://smarthistory.org/seeing-america-2/
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