ArtCurious News This Week: January 27, 2023

Conservators are art heroes: they transform damaged or dirty works of art into beautiful, fresh works for public consumption. Then why is it that conservation has been at the center of some of the biggest art historical controversies of the last fifty years? What does a conservator really do, and what happens when conservation goes too far?           // Please SUBSCRIBE and REVIEW our show—we can’t thank you enough! Check our website for images from today’s show, as well as information about our other episodes. And come find us on Twitter and Instagram! Many thanks to the incredible Stephanie Pryor for research assistance! Looking for a transcription of this episode? Check it out here. Not to be used for distribution or any other purpose without permission.  Want more art-historical goodness? Check out the links below: NPR: Art Conservators at Work: A Living Exhibit Smithsonian Magazine: "True Colors" Hyperallergic: With Its Own Arts Center, Beast Jesus Rises Again Huffington Post: “Elderly Woman’s Hilarious Failed Attempt At Restoring A 19th Century Fresco In Borja, Spain.” ArtNet News: “Appalling Restoration Destroys Giotto Frescoes at the Basilica of Saint Francis in Assisi Parts of the priceless medieval frescoes are now lost forever.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

8 Touko 201727min

We are incredibly thrilled to release a bonus episode with our friend, Andrea Parrish, at A Thousand Things to Talk About! This daily podcast is the perfect start to your morning, with a brief 2-3 minute episode with thought-provoking questions and research. A Thousand Things to Talk About also offers the occasional "deep dive," and we're so excited to be a part of this one-- What is Art? It's a question that seems simple, but in reality, is it? LEARN MORE: Artcuriouspodcast.com SUBSCRIBE and REVIEW: h Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

29 Huhti 201713min

Over the centuries, there have been numerous examples of fine artists creating works of art that deliberately work with and within contemporaneous medical thought, portraying people with particular ailments or diseases. But what about if we turn that concept around a little bit? What happens when those in the medical field turn to paintings or sculptures from the past and retroactively investigate the health of the individuals depicted therein? What happens when art history turns into a diagnosis?                 // Please SUBSCRIBE and REVIEW our show—we can’t thank you enough! Check our website for images from today’s show, as well as information about our other episodes. And come find us on Twitter and Instagram! Looking for a transcription of this episode? Check it out here. Not to be used for distribution or any other purpose without permission.  Want more art-historical goodness? Check out the links below: Boston Globe: Monet? Gaugin? Using Art to Make Better Doctors New York Times: Studying Art with the Eye of a Physician Wall Street Journal: Doctors Enlist Paintings to Hone Skills The Guardian: The Fine Art of Medical Diagnosis The Guardian: Did the Mona Lisa Have Syphilis?   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

24 Huhti 201728min

Venice-- it's the most serene and beautiful city in Italy, and possibly the whole world. But Venice at night-- all darkened and quiet-- takes up the most space in my imagination. I seriously love the depictions of Venice as enigmatic, shadowy, and even dangerous. Without cars or streetlights or other modern comforts, you might feel like you’ve stepped back in time and that around any given corner, you could find… anything. All of this lends Venice this air of inscrutability and mystery. And over time, locals and visitors alike have reveled in this sensation as fodder for myth-making and storytelling. Some stories really stick, lasting for centuries and becoming embedded into the city itself, through its buildings, monuments, and specific locations. And there’s one building that has had plenty of legends built around it. This particular elegant structure had an illustrious past, having once been a meeting place where Italian Renaissance artists discussed their craft, caroused, and gambled. But it’s also the location where relationships soured, crimes were committed, and death inevitably followed. Today, some people won’t even enter this particular building because it is feared to be haunted, cursed… or both. // Please SUBSCRIBE and REVIEW our show—we can’t thank you enough! Check our website for images from today’s show, as well as information about our other episodes. And come find us on Twitter and Instagram! Looking for a transcription of this episode? Check it out here. Not to be used for distribution or any other purpose without permission.  Want more art-historical goodness? Check out the links below: Glory of Venice exhibition at the North Carolina Museum of Art Read Vasari's take on Morto da Feltre Wikipedia's Entry on Morto da Feltre Mysterious Venice: The Casino of the Spirits (In Italian) Italian Mysteries: Haunted Venice Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

10 Huhti 201730min

Sometimes when I am looking at a particularly fascinating work of art, I find myself overwhelmed with awe-- for the creative act itself and the technical prowess that was needed to bring it to fruition. I’ve often had those moments where I have thought to myself, “Wow. How did this all come about? What is the inspiration behind this piece?” And any conversation about inspiration in the arts inevitably brings up a discussion about muses. This episode looks at the relationship--and occasional romance-- between artists and their muses, with a particular emphasis on one woman whose connection to two brothers illustrates this exchange in a compelling way.  // Please SUBSCRIBE and REVIEW our show—we can’t thank you enough! Check our website for images from today’s show, as well as information about our other episodes. And come find us on Twitter and Instagram!        Looking for a transcription of this episode? Check it out here. Not to be used for distribution or any other purpose without permission.  Want more art-historical goodness? Check out the links below: Artventures Blog: Manet and Morisot: The Tale of Love and Sadness in the Portraits Saper Galleries: The Women of Pablo Picasso Huffington Post: Ten Amazing Female Artists and Their Male Muses The Telegraph: Picasso's Muses Projection Systems Blog: The Origin of Painting   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

27 Maalis 201723min

A few months ago, I began looking into occurrences of art vandalism-- the purposeful destruction or harm of works of art that have occurred consistently, especially throughout the 20th century. As I read up, I saw that most of these events were one-offs: single moments where one person made a rash and ridiculous choice to lash out at a particular work of art. But then, I began to notice one name popping up over and over again- a German man who, over his lifetime, damaged over fifty works of art, creating a name for himself and a lasting impression on the art world. This episode, in a continuation of our Bigger Picture series, digs deeper into art attacks and examine the life and legacy of the vandal Hans-Joachim Bohlmann. // Please SUBSCRIBE and REVIEW our show—we can’t thank you enough! Check our website for images from today’s show, as well as information about our other episodes. And come find us on Twitter and Instagram!             Looking for a transcription of this episode? Check it out here. Not to be used for distribution or any other purpose without permission.                                              Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

16 Maalis 201729min

How many know that the inventor of the telegraph and co-creator of Morse code--Samuel F. B. Morse-- was a successful artist, too? And crazily enough, one of his paintings in particular, foreshadowed his interest in communication tools, providing the impetus for revolutionizing communication--and, indeed, the world as we know it. Listen in for details on Morse's masterpiece, Gallery of the Louvre.                // Please SUBSCRIBE and REVIEW our show—we can’t thank you enough! Check our website for images from today’s show, as well as information about our other episodes. And come find us on Twitter and Instagram!        Looking for a transcription of this episode? Check it out here. Not to be used for distribution or any other purpose without permission.  Want more art-historical goodness? Check out the links below: The National Gallery of Art's exhibition page: with video, exhibition brochure, and more great info The History Blog's Profile on Morse the Artist Samuel Morse's Other Masterpiece: Smithsonian Magazine Samuel Morse's Early Works Six Things You May Not Know about Samuel Morse: History.com Samuel Morse website for more details: Samuelmorse.net                                                               Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

27 Helmi 201731min

Glamour. Curiosity. Excitement. A love story for the ages. Such are the types of descriptors that you hear when you ponder the life and love of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera. Truly, in the pantheon of great artistic relationships, they are one of the top couples out there. And they had the great fortune, or whatever you want to call it, of living their exciting lives in front of the camera, as well as on canvas. Google them, and all kinds of lovey-dovey images come up-- images of Diego nuzzling Frida, images of them kissing, of her embracing him around his wide middle section. But what some people neglect, or possibly even forget, is that their relationship was by no means perfect. There were great ups, of course, but the downs? Incredible. Even Diego Rivera himself was aware of this fact, later writing, quote, “If I ever loved a woman, the more I loved her, the more I wanted to hurt her. Frida was the most obvious victim of this disgusting trait.” Harsh words. But would they always be that way?                        //SUBSCRIBE and review us on Apple Podcasts HERE!   And follow us on Twitter and on Instagram for more artsy goodness: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artcuriouspod/                                                    Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/artcuriouspod Looking for a transcription of this episode? Check it out here. Not to be used for distribution or any other purpose without permission.  Want even MORE information? Check out the links below:  http://kcur.org/post/tempestuous-relationship-between-frida-kahlo-and-diego-rivera#stream/0  http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/1995/09/frida-kahlo-diego-rivera-art-diary Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

13 Helmi 201727min