In the process of crafting millions of porcelain sunflower seeds, Chinese artist …
In the process of crafting millions of porcelain sunflower seeds, Chinese artist Ai WeiWei creates a work of art as well as a positive social project for the village in rural China he employed to make the seeds. Follow Sunflower Seeds on its remarkable journey from conception to delivery, and hear the artist talk about his unique socio-political approach to making art. Created by Tate.
House Altar depicting Akhenaten, Nefertiti and Three of their Daughters, limestone, New …
House Altar depicting Akhenaten, Nefertiti and Three of their Daughters, limestone, New Kingdom, Amarna period, 18th dynasty, c.1350 BCE (Ägyptisches Museum/Neues Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin). Created by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker.
The albumen silver print, invented in 1850, was the most popular photographic …
The albumen silver print, invented in 1850, was the most popular photographic printing process of the 19th century. To make albumen silver prints, a sheet of paper is coated with albumen (egg white) and salts, then sensitized with a solution of silver nitrate. The paper is exposed in contact with a negative and printed out, which means that the image is created solely by the action of light on the sensitized paper without any chemical development. Because the paper is coated with albumen, the silver image is suspended on the surface of the paper rather than absorbed into the paper fibers. The result is a sharp image with fine detail on a smooth, glossy surface. This project is made possible by a grant from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services, grant number MA-10-13-0194.
Some of the most vivid pigments in medieval manuscripts were manufactured through …
Some of the most vivid pigments in medieval manuscripts were manufactured through alchemy, an experimental practice that predates modern chemistry. Today, chemistry deepens our knowledge about paint colors, their identification, and potential continued transformations.
Alexander Mosaic, c. 100 B.C.E., Roman copy (Pompeii) of a lost Greek …
Alexander Mosaic, c. 100 B.C.E., Roman copy (Pompeii) of a lost Greek painting, c. 315 B.C.E., Hellenistic Period (Archaeological Museum, Naples). Speakers: Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker. Created by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker.
The Alexander Sarcophagus, c. 312 B.C.E., Pentelic marble and polychromy, found in …
The Alexander Sarcophagus, c. 312 B.C.E., Pentelic marble and polychromy, found in Sidon, 195 x 318 x 167 cm (İstanbul Archaeological Museums). Speakers: Dr. Elizabeth Macaulay-Lewis and Dr. Steven Zucker. Created by Steven Zucker and Beth Harris.
The Bier of Iskandar (Alexander the Great), folio from the Great Mongol …
The Bier of Iskandar (Alexander the Great), folio from the Great Mongol Shahnama (Il-Khanid dynasty, Tabriz, Iran), c. 1330, ink, opaque watercolor and gold on paper, 57.6 x 39.7 cm (Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment, F1938.3) This video focuses on one particular painting within one particular 14th century manuscript now commonly called the Great Mongol Shahnama. This is only one of many versions of the Shanama, the great epic of Iran. Speakers: Dr. Massumeh Farhad, Chief Curator and The Ebrahimi Family Curator of Persian, Arab, and Turkish Art, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution and Dr. Steven Zucker.
Chiricahua Apache artist Allan Houser’s “Earth Song” is the signature sculpture on …
Chiricahua Apache artist Allan Houser’s “Earth Song” is the signature sculpture on display at the Heard Museum in Phoenix, AZ. Created in 1979 from Alabama marble, it depicts an Apache man singing a song of respect, a prayer to Mother Earth. Houser is considered the Grandfather of Contemporary Native American Sculpture for creating works that are grounded in a respect for all indigenous cultures. Discover more reasons why “Earth Song” is a masterpiece with David Roche, Dickey Family Director and CEO of the Heard Museum. Video by Bank of America. Created by Smarthistory.
Washington Allston, Elijah in the Desert, 1818, oil on canvas, 125.09 x …
Washington Allston, Elijah in the Desert, 1818, oil on canvas, 125.09 x 184.78 cm / 49 1/4 x 72 3/4 inches (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston). Created by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker.
Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, A Reading from Homer, 1885, oil on canvas, 36-1/8 …
Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, A Reading from Homer, 1885, oil on canvas, 36-1/8 x 72-1/4 inches / 91.8 x 183.5 cm (Philadelphia Museum of Art). Created by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker.
Infrared cameras now reveal concealed drawings under the surface of many of …
Infrared cameras now reveal concealed drawings under the surface of many of the Renaissance's most revered paintings. Learn how this radical drawing technique was done.
In this art history video discussion Beth Harris and Steven Zucker examine …
In this art history video discussion Beth Harris and Steven Zucker examine Albrecht Altdorfer's "The Battle of Issus," 1529, oil on panel. Alte Pinokothek, Munich.
Ambrogio Lorenzetti, Allegory of Good Government, Effects of Good Government in the …
Ambrogio Lorenzetti, Allegory of Good Government, Effects of Good Government in the City and the Country, and Allegory and Effects of Bad Government in the City and the Country, Siena c. 1337-40, fresco, Sala della Pace (Hall of Peace) also know as the Sala dei Nove (the Hall of the Nine), 7.7 x 14.4 meters (room), Palazzo Pubblico, Siena Speakers: Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker For more information visit: http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/the-allegories-and-effects-of-good-and-bad-government.html. Created by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker.
Found marking the grave of an important individual, this gorget was worn …
Found marking the grave of an important individual, this gorget was worn as a neck ornament during life. Gorget, c. 1250-1350, probably Middle Mississippian Tradition, whelk shell, 10 x 2 cm (National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution, 18/853) Speakers: Dr. David Penney, Associate Director for Museum Scholarship, Exhibitions, and Public Engagement, National Museum of the American Indian and Dr. Steven Zucker A Seeing America video. Created by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker. Find learning related resources here: https://smarthistory.org/seeing-america-2/
American Encounters provides a narrative of the history of American art that …
American Encounters provides a narrative of the history of American art that focuses on historical encounters among diverse cultures, upon broad structural transformations such as the rise of the middle classes and the emergence of consumer and mass culture, and on the fluid conversations between "high" art and vernacular expressions. The text emphasizes the intersections among cultures and populations, as well as the exchanges, borrowings, and appropriations that have enriched and vitalized our collective cultural heritage.
Millard Sheets, Tenement Flats, oil on canvas, 102.1 x 127.6 cm (Smithsonian …
Millard Sheets, Tenement Flats, oil on canvas, 102.1 x 127.6 cm (Smithsonian American Art Museum). A conversation with Dr. Virginia Mecklenburg, Chief Curator, Smithsonian American Art Museum and Dr. Steven Zucker This Seeing America video was made possible thanks to major grants from the Terra Foundation and the Alice L. Walton Foundation. Find learning related resources here: https://smarthistory.org/seeing-america-2/
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