Exploring Art History

Watch a short trailer about the new Exploring Art History video podcast.

In this illustrated video podcast Michelangelo scholar Bill Wallace, Washington University in St. Louis, discusses fascinating and often surprising aspects of how Michelangelo created his masterpieces and the materials he used. Being an internationally recognized authority on Michelangelo, Bill Wallace is able to break down the many stereotypes that exist and provide us with a deep sense of Michelangelo's world and art. Find out about Michelangelo's inexplicable, genius ability to master different techniques and the methods he used to create his drawings, frescoes, sculptures, including his non finito or unfinished works, architectural designs and buildings plus the wide variety of challenges he faced and overcame.Host: author and filmmaker Howard Burton.CHAPTERS:0:00 Introduction1:28 From the Louvre to visits to Italy, Wallace's journey to become a Michelangelo expert4:16 Breaking down stereotypes about Michelangelo7:25 The difficulties of carving marble to explain Michelangelo's unfinished, non finito works 8:58 Unfinished, non finito art by Michelangelo and stereotypes created by scholarly literature12:34 Visiting Michelangelo's quarry in Carrara and the story of his work in the quarries19:23 Drawings made in companionship, his creative process and attribution27:38 Frescoes: from spending a minor time in Ghirlandaio's to painting the Sistine ceiling33:40 The aspiration to lift the labouring process of making sculptures into sublime art 40:21 God's Architect: Michelangelo and the complexity of building Saint Peter's Basilica52:44 The function and misunderstandings about architectural models in the Renaissance1:01:18 Michelangelo's difficulties and courage in dealing with design errors as a professional builder* For essays about art by Howard Burton, visit our Exploring Art History blog: https://ideasroadshow.substack.com/* Website: https://ideasroadshow.com/The music in this video is licensed from Art List.

In this illustrated video podcast art historian Jessica Maier, Mount Holyoke College, talks passionately about her extensive research into the history of Rome through the eyes of mapmakers and artists who have reimagined, reconstructed, and represented Rome and its landmarks over the course of the past three millennia, as The Eternal City changed on the ground.Host: author and filmmaker Howard Burton.Chapters:0:00 Introduction1:21 From an antique map store to an academic career in maps 6:30 Flexible membership to the map historian's club12:56 Alberti's synthesizing treatises on maps in the 15th century15:39 Detective work to reconstruct Francesco Rosselli's maps22:21 The Bufalini map of Rome, a hybrid of science and imagination 29:39 Renaissance fashion of mapping past and present together 36:33 A close look at Nolli's satellite-like map and the art framing it 40:35 Vasi's panoramic-style Prospetto map and the stories it tells47:04 Piranesi's representations of Rome and the Forma Urbis Romae51:19 Surprising new interpretations of maps and the process of discovery55:26 Maps as communication tools for news* For essays about art by Howard Burton, visit our Exploring Art History blog: https://ideasroadshow.substack.com/* Website: https://ideasroadshow.com/The music in this video is licensed from Art List.

In this illustrated video podcast UCLA print specialist Susan Dackerman and host Howard Burton discuss Dürer's most enigmatic print projects - The Sea Monster, The Knots, and Landscape with Cannon - which all feature Muslim subjects, figures and artifacts. Rather than looking through the mirror of conflict and war, Dackerman places those artworks within a broader historical context that reflects Dürer's astute knowledge of the productive collaborations between Christendom and Islam, from the artistic and commercial to the ideological and political. Dackerman's research is captured in her compelling book Dürer's Knots (2024, Princeton University Press). Chapters:0:00 Introduction 1:28 Dürer's depictions of Muslim figures and decorations in his prints.4:28 The Ottoman siege of Constantinople and Gutenberg’s printing. 7:26 The Holy Roman Empire, the Ottoman Empire, the Mamluk Sultanate. 9:04 Exchanges between 15th-16th century Venice and Nuremberg.11:50 Looking at a broader historical context during war and conflict.17:31 Dürer's The Sea Monster and the Queen of Cyprus Caterina Cornaro.32:07 Unraveling Dürer''s Knots.37:58 A comparison between Dürer's knots and Leonardo da Vinci's knots.41:44 A re-interpretation of Dürer's Large Landscape with Canon.57:37 The reception of Dackerman's new readings of Dürer's prints.* For essays about art by Howard Burton, visit our Exploring Art History blog: https://ideasroadshow.substack.com/* Website: https://ideasroadshow.com/The music in this video is licensed from Art List.