At age 42, a nun named Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179) decided to heed the command—which she believed came from God—to write down that which she saw and heard. It just so happened that what she saw and heard were visions from Heaven, containing extraordinary sights and sounds that would capture the attention of Popes and Emperors alike for centuries to come.

Today's artwork: Hildegard von Bingen, Self-Portrait frontispiece from Scivias (1142-1152). Ink on parchment. Wiesbaden State Library.

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It may have been easy for Joséphine de Beauharnais (1763-1814) to scoff at the “extraordinary destiny” once promised to her by a fortune-teller. From the Island of Martinique, where she spent her girlhood, to the shadow of the guillotine, where she became a single mother, Josephine likely never would have predicted her remarkable rise to become “more than a queen”—until, that is, she met one Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821).

Today's Image: Sir David Wilkie, Joséphine and the Fortune-teller (1837). Oil on Canvas. National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh.

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Swiss painter Henry Fuseli (1741-1825) was the man behind one of art history’s most famous spooky paintings: ‘The Nightmare.’ But how much do you actually know about this dream-fuelled Gothic image?

Henry Fuseli, The Nightmare (1781). Oil on Canvas. Detroit Institute of Arts, Michigan.

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Last seen in 1945, the Amber Room is the world’s most valuable missing piece of art, valued as highly as $500 million. Looted by the Nazis after Operation Barbarossa, this “Eighth Wonder of the World” once symbolized peace and unity. Today, it instead represents one of art history’s greatest mysteries.

Today's Artwork: The Amber Room. Catherine Palace/Tsarskoye Selo State Museum and Heritage Site.

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Dr. Kathleen B. Jones joins us on the podcast to discuss not only her new book, CITIES OF WOMEN, but also to dive into the life of literary and artistic icon Christine de Pizan (1364/65-1431).

Listen to our conversation to hear how Christine became not only the first professional female writer in Europe, but also the first person in France to earn a living as a writer, period. Plus, we discuss the ins and outs of medieval manuscript-making, and the parallels between the obstacles faced by professional women in Christine's day and our own.

‘Cities of Women’ is out on September 5, 2023 - get your copy here!

Today's Work: Christine de Pizan, ‘The Book of the Queen’ (Harley MS 4431) (c. 1410-1414). Parchment manuscript. 36.5 x 28.5 cm. British Library, London.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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Mark Rothko (1903-1970) was at the forefront of a generation of American artists who revolutionized the scene, right down to the way we understand the very essence of the artistic process.

Even as he rejected both the label of Abstract Expressionism and even the idea that his paintings were technical masterpieces, he is nonetheless a “key protagonist” of the Abstract Expressionist movement and a fierce advocate for the artist’s freedom of expression.

Today's Image: Mark Rothko, ‘Untitled (Red over Dark Blue on Dark Gray)’ (1961). Oil on canvas. Berkeley Art Museum, University of California.

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