Edmonia Lewis (1844-1907) was history’s first internationally recognized sculptor of African American and Native American descent, and (as you might expect!) a woman with a multifaceted life story.

Today's Image: Edmonia Lewis, Forever Free (The Morning of Liberty) (1867). Marble, 41.25 x 22 x 17 in. Howard University Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

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Ilya Repin (1844-1930) was one of Russia’s leading realist painters, known for his evocative portrayals of 19th-century working conditions. He was also known for his charged depictions of episodes from Russia’s past - such as an 1885 canvas showing Ivan the Terrible moments after striking his son and heir with a deadly blow. 

We’ll dive deep into this…unique father-son bond, and explore the motivations that led Repin to put this controversial image on display 300 years after the event in question took place.

Today's Image: Ilya Repin, Ivan the Terrible and his Son Ivan (1883-1885). Oil on Canvas, 78.5” x 100”. Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow.

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Two things are true of history podcasts: Everyone loves a bit of Tudor History, and everyone loves a good ghost story. Today, we explore a bit of both!

When visiting Henry VIII’s magnificent Hampton Court Palace, it’s often the darker episodes from its past that get the best reactions. Using Tudor portraiture as our guide, let’s explore the origin of some of the Palace’s ghostly tales and the lives at the center of them.

Today's images:

Jane Seymour (unfinished), after Hans Holbein the Younger (1537). Oil on panel. National Portrait Gallery, London.

Jane Seymour, by Hans Holbein the Younger (1536/37). Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.

Portrait of a Lady, perhaps Katherine Howard, by Hans Holbein the Younger. (ca. 1540). Watercolor on vellum laid on playing card (the 4 of Diamonds). Royal Collection Trust.

Effigy of Dame Sybil Penn, from Hampton Church

British School, The Family of Henry VIII (c.1545). Oil on canvas. Hampton Court Palace, Royal Collection Trust.

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This episode comes to you courtesy of Kyle Wood, host of an art podcast that fans of Art of History NEED to have on their radar.

Who ARTed brings you weekly art history for all ages. Whether you are cramming for your art history exam, trying to learn a few facts so you can sound smart at fashionable dinner parties, or just looking to hear something with a more positive tone, Kyle's got you covered. 

Be sure to subscribe to both Who ARTed and Art Smart, both Airwave Media Podcasts, for a weekly art history fix.

Thank you for letting me feature this episode on Han van Meegeren, Kyle. Art of History will return in its regular format, with TWO new episodes next month.

The late 1930s were a rough time in Europe. Nazis were on the rise, and museums began hiding their most treasured works or even shipping them off to safe locations. As all of these works were floating around in the art world and many pieces being hidden, Hans van Meegeren emerged as an art dealer with some lost Vermeers. As I explained in the previous episode about the Vermeer stolen from the Isabella Steward Gardner museum, there aren’t a lot of Vermeer paintings and much of his biography is unknown. There are some historians who believe Vermeer studied under an artist who was heavily influenced by Caravaggio.

Van Meegeren was celebrated for bringing the world the gift of these lost Caravaggio-influenced Vermeer paintings. The critics loved the paintings and they loved Van Meegeren for discovering these lost works. He sold them for huge amounts and over just a few years amassed a fortune of about $30 million in today’s money. The thing is Van Meegeren would sell to anyone with money, including the Nazis. Hermann Goering, Hitler's vice chancellor was an art lover. He particularly loved the Vermeer painting he got from Van Meegeren. In the 1940s, the allies came knocking to ask why Han van Meegeren was doing business with the Nazis. Now whatever they expected to hear as his response, I guarantee they were surprised. Van Meegeren declared that he deserved to be treated as a hero for his dealings with the Nazis because all of the works he sold them were fakes. He claimed that by selling and trading these forgeries he was able to get 137 authentic Dutch masterpieces from the Nazis. It was an interesting defense, that he was not a war criminal but simply a forger. It would be hard for anyone to feel sympathy for the victims of this crime but most found it too hard to believe.

You can find images of the work being discussed at www.WhoARTedPodcast.com and please leave a rating or review on your favorite podcast app. You might hear it read out on the show.

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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