All tagged women
This season, I’m rounding up stories about modern artists in love, in lust, in relationships— digging into these individuals, see how their liaisons, marriages, affairs, and connections played in or on their respective works of art, and how, if anything, they affected art history as we know it. I, for one, believe that it’s time for Modern Love.
Today: we’re highlighting a powerful artist couple who taught at a landmark place at a singular moment in history—Anni and Josef Albers.
Max Ernst and Dorothea Tanning
Episode #107: Bits of "Breaking Barriers": Plautilla Nelli (Season 12, Episode 8)
Today: Another day, another nun! But Plautilla Nelli’s story is an interesting one, involving a great lost-and-found twist, and the opportunity to discuss how some artists can be “forgotten” and then rediscovered. From Breaking Barriers: Women of Renaissance Europe, please enjoy “Plautilla Nelli: Lost and Found.”
Episode #106: Bits of "Breaking Barriers": Properzia de’ Rossi (Season 12, Episode 7)
Today’s subject is a major one: Properzia de’ Rossi, a Renaissance sculptor who was (gasp!) female. Why was this a big deal, why was de’ Rossi a rarity? We dig into the details and learn about the highly masculinized world of sculpture. From Breaking Barriers: Women of Renaissance Europe, please enjoy “Properzia de’ Rossi: The “Rare Female Sculptor.”
Episode #105: Bits of "Breaking Barriers": Levina Teerlinc (Season 12, Episode 6)
Today: Finding a signed, confirmed work by Levina Teerlinc isn’t an easy task, as we know of no surviving works with her signature. But we do know that Levina Teerlinc was almost single-handedly responsible for the popularization of the miniature portrait, and obviously she was good at it: Queen Elizabeth I commissioned her portrait from Teerlinc no less than eight times. From Breaking Barriers: Women of Renaissance Europe, please enjoy “Levina Teerlinc: Tiny Tudor Treasures.”
Curious Callback: Jennifer Higgie's "The Mirror and the Palette: Rebellion, Revolution, and Resilience: Five Hundred Years of Women's Self Portraits"
Last year, I enjoyed a fantastic live conversation on Fireside with author and art critic Jennifer Higgie about her latest book, The Mirror and the Palette: Rebellion, Revolution, and Resilience: Five Hundred Years of Women's Self Portraits. I love this book and gobbled it up in a day— I meant it when I said that I really love this book!— and I adored talking all things women artists with Jennifer. It only feels right to revisit her book, and our conversation, in connection with our current season about women artists. I hope you enjoy this chat as much as I do.
Episode #104: Bits of "Breaking Barriers": St. Catherine of Bologna (Season 12, Episode 5)
Today: Artist-nuns are not rare: just look at the example of the famed Hildegard von Bingen, long praised as one of the first-known female artists. Today, we’re uncovering the story--and the myth--behind St. Catherine of Bologna, a mystical member of the Poor Clares whose artistic talents may (or not!) have been exaggerated. From Breaking Barriers: Women of Renaissance Europe, please enjoy “St. Catherine of Bologna: The Patron Saint of Artists.”
Episode #103: Bits of "Breaking Barriers": Marietta Robusti (Season 12, Episode 4)
Today: Lots of women artists have gotten a head-start in their careers thanks to their families. Fathers, in particular, often led their remarkable daughters to find great success in the arts, and Marietta Robusti was no exception: her dear old dad was none other than Tintoretto, a Venetian master. But did Tintoretto’s adoration of his daughter hold her back from achieving greater heights? From Breaking Barriers: Women of Renaissance Europe, please enjoy “Marietta Robusti: Like Father, Like Daughter.”
Episode #102: Bits of "Breaking Barriers": Diana Scultori (Season 12, Episode 3)
Today: One of the earliest-known female printmakers in Europe, Diana Scultori (sometimes identified as Diana Ghisi or Diana Mantuana), Diana was a grand marketer of her own work, even requesting a particular “Papal Privilege” to sell and promote her engravings while living in Rome. Rock on, Diana!
Episode #101: Bits of "Breaking Barriers": Fede Galizia (Season 12, Episode 2)
Today: She might not have had the backing of royal patrons or the fancy aristocratic connections that Levina Teerlinc and Sofonisba Anguissola had, but Fede Galizia still did well for herself with commissions. And she was an innovator, to boot, often noted as the first-known Italian artist to have completed a still life painting at a time where the genre was not yet fashionable From Breaking Barriers: Women of Renaissance Europe, please enjoy “Fede Galizia: Early Still-Life Adopter.”
Episode #100: Bits of "Breaking Barriers": Lucia and Elena Anguissola (Season 12, Episode 1)
For this season of ArtCurious, I’m doing something a little bit different. I’m treating you to renditions of eight of my favorite segments from Breaking Barriers: Women Artists of Renaissance Europe, my online course found exclusively at avid.fm. Every other week through January, I’ll share selections from Breaking Barriers, and encourage you that if you like it, you can purchase the whole course. Today, I’m sharing a story about the family of one of the most well-known female artists of the Renaissance. You might know a bit about Sofonisba Anguissola--but how much do you know about her sister, Lucia? And how about another Anguissola daughter? From Breaking Barriers: Women of Renaissance Europe, please enjoy “Lucia Anguissola (and Elena Anguissola): In Their Sister’s Footsteps.”
CURIOUS CALLBACK: Episode #20: Sofonisba Anguissola: Great (Woman) Artist
Hi listeners! I’ve been traveling over last month, and am preparing to hit the road again, and to begin sharing new episodes to your feed next week. So, things have been a bit busy over here. So while we put the finishing touches on next week’s episode, I’m re-airing one of my old favorites from the first season of the podcast. And guess what? It’ll prepare you nicely for the next season. Wink wink. Today, I’m returning to share the story of Sofonisba Anguissola, one of the most prominent female artists of the Italian Renaissance.
Author Interview: Eden Collinsworth's "What the Ermine Saw: The Extraordinary Journey of Leonardo da Vinci's Most Mysterious Portrait"
I’ve got a great interview for you today— this time, I’m featuring a conversation with Eden Collinsworth on her fascinating book, What the Ermine Saw: The Extraordinary Journey of Leonardo da Vinci's Most Mysterious Portrait. This extraordinary work of narrative non-fiction traces the remarkable history of Leonardo da Vinci’s enigmatic portrait: The Woman with an Ermine, from its original creation, including the fascinating story of its subject, Cecilia Gallerani, and on to its mysterious disappearance for 250 years after which it emerged in the hands of an aristocratic Polish family. Now on display in Krakow, the painting was exiled in Paris, and kept hidden from the Nazis by a brave housekeeper. These defining moments in history comprise a portrait of Europe’s past as vivid and complex as the painting itself.
The magic of Collinsworth’s book is the powerful combination of research-based non-fiction— reminiscent of Walter Isaacson (Leonardo da Vinci) and Mary Gabriel (Ninth Street Women)— with a character-driven narrative that will keep readers glued to the page until the very end. Perfect for fans of Donna Tartt’s The Goldfinch or Céline Sciamma’s film Portrait of a Lady on Fire, What the Ermine Saw pulls back the curtain on the fascinating history behind the astonishing portrait.
Author Interview: Ruth Millington's "Muse"
We’re back on ArtCurious with another great interview episode for you today. I recently enjoyed a conversation with the acclaimed art historian, critic, and author Ruth Millington, all about her new book, Muse: Uncovering the Hidden Figures Behind Art History’s Masterpieces . Muse follows the fascinating true stories of thirty incredible muses—and their roles in some of the world’s most iconic artworks.
Author Interview: Kevin Townley's "Look, Look, Look, Look, Look Again: Buddhist Wisdom Reflected in 26 Artists"
Want a cool, fun, and funny book about art? How about one about Buddhism? Just want a great read? You’ve got all of it covered with Look, Look, Look, Look, Look Again: Buddhist Wisdom Reflected in 26 Artists. In this book, Kevin Townley Kevin leads you to, invites you in, and sometimes springs upon you, the perennial wisdom in the worlds of artists from Artemisia to Hilma af Klint to Marilyn Minter. (All 26 artists are women.) This book is a mad riot of interconnections: art, Buddhism, mandala principle, spiritual pursuits, growing up goth in the 90s, the theories of Marshall McLuhan, and a mongoose–to name but a few. Listen to our latest interview on ArtCurious, wherever you find your favorite podcasts.
Author Interview: John Higgs's "William Blake vs. The World"
What a great conversation I had recently with John Higgs about his new book, William Blake vs the World! Poet, artist, and visionary, William Blake is an archetypal misunderstood genius. His life passed without recognition, and he worked without reward, often mocked, dismissed and misinterpreted. Yet from his ignoble end in a pauper’s grave, Blake now occupies a unique position as an artist who unites and attracts people from all corners of society—a rare inclusive symbol of human identity.
Blake famously experienced visions, and it is these that shaped his attitude toward politics, sex, religion, society, and art. Thanks to the work of neuroscientists and psychologists, we are now in a better position to understand what was happening inside that remarkable mind and gain a deeper appreciation of his brilliance. His timeless work, we will find, has never been more relevant.
Author Interview: Barbara Bloemink's "Florine Stettheimer: A Biography"
Recently I interviewed art historian, curator, and museum director Barbara Bloemink, who shared the backstory of one of the most fascinating artists of the early 20th century: American artist Florine Stettheimer. Listen to this bonus episode of "ArtCurious" wherever you find your podcasts.
Episode #89: Art Fact and Fiction: The Problem of Michelangelo's Women (S10E06)
In our tenth season, we’re going at art history with a skeptical eye and a myth-busting attitude to uncover the fictions and facts about some of our favorite artists. We’re circling back to one of our earliest episodes, which we’ve updated and re-recorded, to discuss this controversial subject: was Michelangelo a bad artist, unable to properly depict the female body?
Live on Fireside: Jennifer Higgie's "The Mirror and the Palette: Rebellion, Revolution, and Resilience: Five Hundred Years of Women's Self Portraits"
Did you miss our LIVE bonus show on Fireside, the interactive storytelling platform? Don’t worry— you can catch the replay on Fireside, or enjoy the bonus audio here. On our November 1 live event, I had the great pleasure of speaking with author and art critic Jennifer Higgie about her latest book, The Mirror and the Palette: Rebellion, Revolution, and Resilience: Five Hundred Years of Women's Self Portraits. I love this book and gobbled it up in a day— I meant it when I said that I really love this book!— and I adored talking all things women artists with Jennifer.