Art of History: Recent Episodes
Amanda Matta
Episodes from history, viewed through great works of art. No pre-reqs required! New episodes every month. Hosted by Amanda Matta, art historian and TikTok's favorite royal commentator.
When historians first made the link between a book of hours at Trinity College, Cambridge and two others belonging to Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn, they weren't just identifying who owned it. Yes, yes - the book was owned by Henry VIII's right-hand-man (for a time, at least): Thomas Cromwell. But this remarkable book has now become the only object from any 16th-century portrait to survive to this day. What can such an item tell us about the man who owned it, his times, and what he wanted everyone who saw his portrait to know? Today's artwork(s): Hans Holbein the Younger, Portrait of Thomas Cromwell, Earl of Essex (1532-33). Oil on panel, 30.7 in × 25.2 in. Frick Collection, New York. AND the 1527 Book of Hours, on display at Hever Castle through November 2023. __________ New episodes every month. Let's keep in touch! Email: artofhistorypod@gmail.com Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/matta_of_fact Instagram: @artofhistorypodcast Twitter: @ArtHistoricPod TikTok: @artofhistorypod // @matta_of_fact __________ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Divorced, beheaded, died... divorced... A house connected to Anne of Cleves (1515-1557), Henry VIII's fourth wife, is currently on the market! Let's discuss the Grade I listed property and a tidbit of Anne's story in this Art Bite. _________ Thanks HelloFresh! Go to HelloFresh.com/arthistory50 and use code arthistory50 for 50% off plus free shipping! _________ New episodes every month. Let's keep in touch! Email: artofhistorypod@gmail.com Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/matta_of_fact Instagram: @artofhistorypodcast TikTok: @artofhistorypod // @matta_of_fact Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Grant Wood (1891-1942) is probably best known for his double portrait depicting a man and woman on a farmstead - that icon of American painting, American Gothic. But his career encompassed so much more, and was marked by an uncanny ability to weave and deconstruct "American values"—whatever those are.
In The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere, Wood builds us a dreamscape in which we can confront the fables and myths of our national identity head-on. And I'm bringing it to you just in time for Independence Day!
Today's artwork: Grant Wood, The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere (1931). Oil on Masonite. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. ______ New episodes every month. Let's keep in touch! Email: artofhistorypod@gmail.com Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/matta_of_fact Instagram: @artofhistorypodcast TikTok: @artofhistorypod // @matta_of_fact Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
I’m so excited to be bringing you the first of a NEW offering on the Art of History podcast! 🎉 These “Art Bites,” as I’m calling them, will be a casual place to discuss pieces of news that pertain to topics we’ve either discussed on the show, or which activate my art history brain. Our first Art Bite is centered on an upcoming auction at Sotheby's, where a privately-owned portrait of Katherine Parr will go up for sale in July. Tune in to hear me geek out about the power display going on in this representation of Henry VIII’s sixth and final queen. (We also chat about royal jewelry). See more on the Old Masters auction and the Coronation auction here. Today's artwork: Katherine Parr, attributed to “Master John” and dated to the mid-1540s ______ New episodes every month. Let's keep in touch! Email: artofhistorypod@gmail.com Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/matta_of_fact Instagram: @artofhistorypodcast Twitter: @ArtHistoricPod TikTok: @artofhistorypod // @matta_of_fact Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
85 years ago, a groundbreaking art exhibition was held in Munich. It showcased the work of 120 artists, many of these internationally renowned modernists. The show was attended by one million people in its first six weeks. But this landmark show, while one-of-a-kind, is not something to be celebrated. Entartete Kunst (‘Degenerate Art’) was organized at the behest of Adolf Hitler, under Joseph Goebbels' Ministry of Propaganda, to showcase works of art that “undermined” the ideals of the Nazi regime. The term ‘degenerate’ is making a comeback in contemporary discussions of non-traditional art and culture. The sinister undertones associated with the term could easily be missed by this generation, but to label subversive art forms ‘degenerate’ is a dangerous act. Today on Art of History, we unpack how the term was weaponized, sometimes literally, against avant-garde artists in Hitler’s Reich. ______ New episodes every month. Let's keep in touch! Email: artofhistorypod@gmail.com Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/matta_of_fact Instagram: @artofhistorypodcast Twitter: @ArtHistoricPod TikTok: @artofhistorypod // @matta_of_fact Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Tulipmania has stuck in our collective memory as one of the biggest economic calamities to ever strike the western world. The popular narrative holds that in 17th century Holland, homes were mortgaged, reputations were ruined, and livelihoods were lost—all so that tulip bulbs could be bought at higher and higher prices. And when the “bubble” burst, chaos ensued. In fact, the truth was far less sensational. But contemporary 17th-century artworks can shed some light on the real Tulip Fever, and perhaps give us some clues as to why Tulipmania continues to hold such power over our notions of the Dutch Golden Age. Today's Images: Jan Breughel the Elder, Still Life with Tulips, Chrysanthemums, Narcissi, Roses, Irises and other Flowers in a Glass Vase (1608-1610). Oil on copper. The National Gallery, London. and Jan Brueghel the Younger, A Satire of Tulip Mania (c. 1640-1650). Oil on Panel. Frans Hals Museum, Netherlands. Jan Brueghel the Younger, Allegory of Tulipomania (c. 1640-1650). Oil and gold on Panel. Private collection, France. ______ New episodes every month. Let's keep in touch! Email: artofhistorypod@gmail.com Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/matta_of_fact Instagram: @artofhistorypodcast Twitter: @ArtHistoricPod TikTok: @artofhistorypod // @matta_of_fact Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte (1785-1879) was one of America’s first international celebrities and self-made women. But how did this Baltimore girl come to count royalty among her in-laws—a century or two before the likes of Wallis Simpson and Meghan Markle snagged their princes? The answer may lie in her unique triple-view portrait by Gilbert Stuart…or is that only part of Elizabeth’s story? Today's Image: Gilbert Stuart, Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte (1804). Oil on canvas. Private collection. New episodes every month. Let's keep in touch! Email: artofhistorypod@gmail.com Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/matta_of_fact Instagram: @artofhistorypodcast Twitter: @ArtHistoricPod TikTok: @artofhistorypod // @matta_of_fact Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Andrew Wyeth (1917-2009) is considered one of American’s greatest modern artists. His works combine a regionalist simplicity with a surrealist view of the inner world. But without the people and places that inspired him and allowed him to channel his emotions onto the canvas, we might never have seen that inner world at all. Let’s take a walk through the life of Andrew Wyeth, encountering the several muses that played an integral part in his creative process, as we endeavor to answer, “What is a muse?” Today’s artwork: Andrew Wyeth, Christina’s World (1948). Tempera on Panel. Museum of Modern Art, New York. New episodes every month. Let's keep in touch! Email: artofhistorypod@gmail.com Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/matta_of_fact Instagram: @artofhistorypodcast Twitter: @ArtHistoricPod TikTok: @artofhistorypod // @matta_of_fact Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sandro Botticelli (c.1455-1510) is credited as the man behind some of the greatest mythological paintings in Western art history—a great feat, especially considering that we still don’t fully know the meaning behind his most ambitious work. Primavera, or Spring (c. 1480) is brimming with allegorical puzzle pieces. Rather than using the Primavera to tell a story from the past, this week we’ll take a step into the painting itself in an effort to demystify what was once a prized possession of Florence’s Medici dynasty. Today's Image: Sandro Botticelli, Primavera (Spring) (c. 1480). Tempera grassa on wood. Uffizi Gallery, Florence. New episodes every other month. Let's keep in touch! Email: artofhistorypod@gmail.com Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/matta_of_fact Instagram: @artofhistorypodcast TikTok: @artofhistorypod // @matta_of_fact Twitter: @ArtHistoricPod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In this episode, I put my art history degree to good use (finally) as we discuss a lesser-known portrait of Elizabeth I as she appeared late in the reign of her sister, Mary I, or early in her own reign. Painted in the image of her father, Henry VIII, Elizabeth is trying to communicate many things to many people all at once in this image. How can a single portrait represent her desire to overcome the struggles of her youth and be taken seriously as a pious, powerful female monarch? Today's Image: English School, Queen Elizabeth I (“The Hever Portrait” or “The Chawton Portrait”) (1558). Oil on Panel. Hever Castle. New episodes every month. Let's keep in touch! Email: artofhistorypod@gmail.com Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/matta_of_fact Instagram: @artofhistorypodcast Twitter: @ArtHistoricPod TikTok: @artofhistorypod // @matta_of_fact Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This episode has everything: snakes, missing limbs, a true crime case, and sculptor Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni being annoyed. Today’s artwork: Agesander of Rhodes, Athenodoros, and Polydorus (attr.), Laocoön and His Sons (Hellenistic Period?). Marble. Vatican Museums, Vatican City. New episodes every month. Let's keep in touch! Email: artofhistorypod@gmail.com Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/matta_of_fact Instagram: @artofhistorypodcast Twitter: @ArtHistoricPod TikTok: @artofhistorypod // @matta_of_fact Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The depiction of Queen Charlotte (1744-1818) as a woman of color in the Netflix series Bridgerton brought her to the forefront of a conversation about non-white historical figures. There’s been much debate over this Georgian queen’s character as a result. Was Queen Charlotte that formidable? And was she really mixed race? Much of the speculation over Charlotte’s ancestry comes from interpretations of Sir Allan Ramsay’s portraits of her, in which her features are, in one historian’s words, “conspicuously African.” We’ll examine the actual historical evidence that addresses Queen Charlotte’s background, but we’ll also try and get to know the woman behind all the spectacle and rhetoric. So, will the real Queen Charlotte please stand up? Today’s artwork: Sir Allan Ramsay, Queen Charlotte (1762). Oil on canvas. Royal Collection Trust, U.K. New episodes every month. Let's keep in touch! Email: artofhistorypod@gmail.com Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/matta_of_fact Instagram: @artofhistorypodcast Twitter: @ArtHistoricPod TikTok: @matta_of_fact // @artofhistorypod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jean-Honoré Fragonard’s (1732-1806) painting The Swing is an icon of the Rococo era and a widely-celebrated depiction of innocent, carefree leisure. Or...is it? We’re unpacking some of the, er, erotically charged symbols that you might have missed when you first saw this painting in Disney’s Frozen. Listener discretion is advised for this episode, unless you’re a parent who is prepared to get really cool about some adult themes very quickly. Today's Image: Jean-Honoré Fragonard, Les hasards heureux de l'escarpolette (The Happy Hazards of the Swing) (1767). Oil on Canvas, 81 x 64.2 cm. Wallace Collection, London. New episodes every month. Let's keep in touch! Email: artofhistorypod@gmail.com Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/matta_of_fact Instagram: @artofhistorypodcast Twitter: @ArtHistoricPod TikTok: @matta_of_fact Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In 1872, Mary Todd Lincoln (1818-1882) visited the photography studio of one William H. Mumler (1832-1884), who claimed to be able to capture images of deceased loved ones on film. A byproduct of Mrs. Lincoln's spiritualist beliefs, the photograph on which today's episode centers offers us a glimpse at the strange practices which Civil War-era Americans would resort to in their efforts to find comfort and solace in the wake of death and tragedy. Today's Image: William H. Mumler, “Mary Todd Lincoln,” (1872). Lincoln Financial Foundation Collection, Allen County Public Library. Fort Wayne, Indiana. New episodes every month. Let's keep in touch! Email: artofhistorypod@gmail.com Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/matta_of_fact Instagram: @artofhistorypodcast Twitter: @ArtHistoricPod TikTok: @matta_of_fact Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jules Bastien-Lepage's life-size depiction of Joan of Arc (1412-1431) shows her at the very beginning of her journey to sainthood. But a lot happened between her spiritual awakening in 1425 and her canonization as the patron saint of France in 1920. So, how did she get there? And how was her image molded by the national and spiritual needs of a nation? Today's image: Jules Bastien-Lepage, Joan of Arc (1879). Oil on canvas. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. New episodes every month. Let's keep in touch! Email: artofhistorypod@gmail.com Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/matta_of_fact Instagram: @artofhistorypodcast Twitter: @ArtHistoricPod TikTok: @matta_of_fact Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In the mid-1770s, the Earl of Mansfield (1705-1793) commissioned a portrait of his two great-nieces, Elizabeth Murray (1760-1825) and Dido Belle (1761-1804). But it was Elizabeth's name that would be remembered through history, and Dido's would only be rediscovered in the 1990s. In this episode, we discuss her origins, her position in her great-uncles stately home, and how she is portrayed in the only known Neoclassical portrait depicting a black woman and a white woman as equals. Today's image: David Martin, Portrait of Dido Elizabeth Belle and Lady Elizabeth Murray (ca. 1778). Oil on canvas. Scone Palace, Scotland. New episodes every month. Let's keep in touch! Email: artofhistorypod@gmail.com Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/matta_of_fact Instagram: @artofhistorypodcast Twitter: @ArtHistoricPod TikTok: @matta_of_fact Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jean-Paul Marat (1743-1793) was a giant of the French Revolution. I guess you could say that one thing led to another, though, and he ended up dead in a bathtub. His friend, artist Jacques-Louis David (1748-1845), memorialized that gruesome event in today's artwork and in the process, spun the narrative to better serve their shared political aims. Today's image: Jacques-Louis David, The Death of Marat (1793). Oil on canvas. Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Belgium.
New episodes every month. Let's keep in touch! Email: artofhistorypod@gmail.com Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/matta_of_fact Instagram: @artofhistorypodcast Twitter: @ArtHistoricPod TikTok: @matta_of_fact Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Our popular image of Queen Victoria (1819-1901) paints her as a monarch, a mother, a wife, and a widow. But today we are looking at a portrait of Victoria that shows us the woman, not her roles. Join me for a bit of historically sanctioned snooping into the hidden side of Victoria, her relationship with her hubby, and their love language of choice. Today's image: Franz Xaver Winterhalter, Queen Victoria (1843). Oil on canvas. Royal Collection Trust, United Kingdom.
New episodes every month. Let's keep in touch! Email: artofhistorypod@gmail.com Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/matta_of_fact Instagram: @artofhistorypodcast Twitter: @ArtHistoricPod TikTok: @artofhistorypod // @matta_of_fact Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Join me for episodes from history, viewed through great works of art. No pre-reqs required!
Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/amanda-matta/support Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices