Exploring Art History

Ep. 5. VISUAL LITERACY - A History of Illustration: A conversation with D.B. Dowd

Illustrator, writer and scholar D.B. Dowd, Washington University, discusses fascinating aspects of the historical development of illustration as an integral part of the reading experience, often serving to visualize, enhance, or respond to a text. This richly illustrated conversation begins with an examination of relief prints and woodcuts in ancient China and Japan before moving to printing and platemaking in early modern Europe, followed by an exploration of the role of illustration linked to more recent developments such as the illustrated news, recreational reading, ad-driven consumer culture, advertising, social media and propaganda based on Dowd's recent book Reading Pictures: A History of Illustration. *Host: Howard Burton Chapters: 0:00 Introduction  1:36 D.B Dowd's motivations and unique perspective to write a history of illustration 19:50 Illustrations in Japan and China, colonialism and mixed moments across history 25:29 Caricaturists, Charles Dickens and Robert Seymour 38:25 Belle Époque posters, Japanese prints, movable type and xylography 42:46 Japan opens up to the West, Japonisme and its effect on French illustrations 47:27 Late 19th-century racial stereotyping, Darwin and pseudoscience 53:07 Making illustrations more visible while examining the harm that illustration has caused

Ep 4. MICHELANGELO: Contemporary Artistic Impact - A conversation with Bill Wallace, Part 2

Renaissance artist Michelangelo was both influenced by, and strongly influenced, other great artists from his contemporary world. In this illustrated video podcast Michelangelo scholar Bill Wallace, Washington University in St. Louis, discusses his research on the artistic relationship between Michelangelo and the great Venetian master Titian and how we can use the power of imagination in combination with art historical knowledge to understand the artists' time. You'll also learn about the different colourists - Pontormo, da Volterra, Venusti - that Michelangelo worked with, his collaboration with Del Piombo, Titian's daughter Lavinia who was a great artist herself, Vasari's divergent descriptions of Michelangelo and Titian in his Lives of Artists and more. Host: Howard Burton Chapters: 0:00 Introduction 1:30 Michelangelo's The Fall and Titian's The Jealous Husband 8:20 Michelangelo's Rebellious Slave and Titian's St. Sebastian 9:58 The power of informed imagination to understand an artist's time 14:52 Documentary evidence on Michelangelo's encounters with Titian and his art 19:37 Michelangelo's use of influences to create radically original art 28:05 The effects of the collaboration between Michelangelo and Del Piombo 31:40 Colourist collaborators of Michelangelo: Pontormo, da Volterra, Venusti 37:45 Michelangelo's influences on Titian 39:44 Vasari's Lives of Artists and Titian's Judith and Holofernes 43:22 Titian's daughter and painter Lavinia and attribution 46:16 It's too bad Venetians never learned how to draw * 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 podcast is licensed from Artlist. The music in this video is licensed from ArtList.

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Ep. 3 MICHELANGELO: The Making of Art - A conversation with Bill Wallace, Part 1

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 Introduction 1:28 From the Louvre to visits to Italy, Wallace's journey to become a Michelangelo expert 4:16 Breaking down stereotypes about Michelangelo 7:25 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 literature 12:34 Visiting Michelangelo's quarry in Carrara and the story of his work in the quarries 19:23 Drawings made in companionship, his creative process and attribution 27:38 Frescoes: from spending a minor time in Ghirlandaio's to painting the Sistine ceiling 33:40 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 Basilica 52:44 The function and misunderstandings about architectural models in the Renaissance 1:01:18 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 Artlist.

Ep. 2. THE ART OF MAPS: A history of Rome in maps - A conversation with Jessica Maier

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 Introduction 1:21 From an antique map store to an academic career in maps 6:30 Flexible membership to the map historian's club 12:56 Alberti's synthesizing treatises on maps in the 15th century 15:39 Detective work to reconstruct Francesco Rosselli's maps 22:21 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 tells 47:04 Piranesi's representations of Rome and the Forma Urbis Romae 51:19 Surprising new interpretations of maps and the process of discovery 55:26 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 Artlist.