ArtMuse

Listen to Part Two of ArtMuse's episode on Luisa Casati. In this episode, we honor Luisa's immense life and give her the recognition she deserves. There are few other figures in history who lived as authentically, inspired as much genius, and had such avant-garde visions of fashion, design, and self-image as Luisa Casati. She set trends and elicited awe everywhere she went. As author Scot Ryersson...

She could be seen strutting through Venice in the dark of night, with nothing but a fur coat on, as she walked her two pet cheetahs. Once described “ as beautiful as a black panther, and also as dangerous ”, this mysterious woman was one of the wealthiest and most outlandish characters in all of the 20th century. In this episode we share the incredible life story of the Marchesa Luisa Casati, an I...

Listen to Part Two of ArtMuse's episode on Lady Emma Hamilton. In Part One we explored Emma’s impoverished beginnings, how she became the mistress to Charles Greville, and her successful partnership with the painter George Romney.  In Part Two we continue Emma's incredible story. In it we are taken from Marie Antoinette's prison cell, to the heart of the Napoleonic war, and finally back to England...

Listen to Part One of ArtMuse’s episode on  Lady Emma Hamilton. Born into severe poverty, Emma Hamilton worked her way to eventually become England’s first female celebrity. Her life story is so unfathomable, that it almost sounds like a riveting work of fiction. In it, we are taken from the filthy streets of London’s back alleys, to England’s fashionable countryside, to the dazzling royal courts...

In Part One we explored Madame de Pompadour's beginnings, the fortune teller’s prophecy that she would one day become the King’s mistress, and the magical start of her romance with the King.  In Part Two we explore Madame de Pompadour's patronage of the arts, the many wondrous portraits of her by Boucher, and her eventual rise from mistress to political advisor, taking charge of France's domestic...

Listen to Part One of ArtMuse's episode on Madame de Pompadour, the official mistress of King Louis XV, who became the first woman of Bourgeoisie origins to ever become the King’s mistress in the French Royal Court. And she was much more than just a mistress. As the years went on, Madame de Pompadour eventually graduated from mistress to the King’s political advisor and became involved with domest...

She stands, tall, in her black dress, the epitome of class, style, and grace. Suspended in time as a relic from a gilded age of the past, her effortless attitude has made her cooler than cool for well over a century. Dubbed Madame X , her identity has been clouded in mystery, only adding to her allure. But in this episode we give Madame X back her name and share her incredible life story. Listen t...

Listen to ArtMuse’s episode on Simonetta Vespucci, a Genoese noblewoman living in Florence during the 15th century. Deemed the most beautiful woman in all of Florence, Simonetta captured the heart of Florence’s greatest leaders, artists, poets, and intellectuals of her time.  It is believed that Simonetta was the model for Botticelli’s two greatest works; The Birth of Venus and Primavera. But Simo...

Listen to Part Two of ArtMuse’s episode on Audrey Munson, America’s first supermodel, who not only modeled for countless important sculptures in New York City, but all across the United States. Sadly, Audrey Munson is perhaps America’s first example of the cruel rise and fall of celebrity status. By the early 1920’s, Audrey’s life was filled with continuous challenges and tragedies. Today her face...

She stands with her wings spread high above New York City’s Municipal Building, greets readers at the entrance to the New York Public Library, welcomes visitors to the Brooklyn Museum, and salutes guests of the Plaza Hotel. New Yorkers pass her sculpted image every day, but few know her name, or that her life story is one of the most riveting and tragic stories to come out of the 20th century. Lis...

ArtMuse will be returning for a second season on July, 12th 2024. Season Two continues to share the life stories of the women pictured in famous works of art, this time with a theme of society women and social sensations. Season Two honors the legacies of ten different women, plus a secret bonus episode. We cannot wait to share these amazing women’s stories with you.   In the meantime, we hope you...

In Episode Ten we shared Sue Tilley's fun-filled life story, and now it's time for you to hear from Sue herself! Host Grace Anna speaks with the lovely Sue Tilley about her time modeling for Lucian Freud, her portrait's record breaking sale, and her adventure packed life at large. We are so excited to be able to share Sue's own words with you. Listen to ArtMuse's official interview with Sue Tilley...

In 2008, Lucian Freud’s Benefits Supervisor Sleeping broke a world record for the most expensive painting sold by a living artist. While this sale turned Freud into a household name, the woman featured in Freud’s painting has been unjustly overlooked as an integral part of what makes the work so remarkable. In this ArtMuse episode, we give Sue her rightful dues in our appreciation of Freud’s famed...

In Part One we explored Gala’s childhood, how she met her first husband Paul Eluard and traveled alone through Europe in the midst of World War I to be with him, their marriage and later menage-a-trois relationship with Max Ernst, and finally the fateful meeting of Gala and Dali. Part Two picks back up on Gala's story and honors Gala's complex legacy. Whether critical of Gala’s behavior or not, on...

Behind every great man, is an even greater woman, and this sentiment couldn’t be more true than in the case of Salvador Dali. Hidden in the shadows of Dali’s massive legacy, is the woman who can be credited with making Dali a household name and one of the strongest forces of nature to ever walk this earth.  Gala was the the wife and companion of Salvador Dali for over 50 years, who not only inspir...

While Whistler's Mother has continued to captivate the imagination of viewers through the centuries, the name and story of Whistler’s real mother has been wrongfully overlooked. Who was Whistler’s mother? And how would she have liked to be remembered?  Listen to ArtMuse’s episode on Anna McNeill Whistler, not only the mother of James McNeill Whistler, but also his artistic manager and agent. One m...

Listen to ArtMuse’s episode on Fillide Melandroni. Fillide was the most consistent model that Caravaggio ever used and became an important figure in his life. She could pose as Saint Catherine one day and Judith the next, but Fillide herself was just as fierce as the biblical heroines she modeled as; a fearlessly confident prostitute with a crooked hand and gaze that could pierce as sharply as a s...

Andrew Wyeth’s Christina’s World is one of the most iconic paintings in the history of American art. It was Christina’s World that turned Andrew Wyeth into a household name and claimed him one of the best American realist painters. But who was Christina? And what kind of world did she live in? Listen to ArtMuse’s episode on Anna Christina Olson and the world she lived out her noble life in; the sm...

If I were to ask you who the world’s most famous modern artist is, chances are that you would answer Pablo Picasso. But if I were to ask you who was the mastermind behind Picasso’s most revered works, how many of you would know her name? Listen to ArtMuse’s episode on Dora Maar. Known as the woman with a thousand faces, Picasso painted Dora Maar countless times, most famously as his Weeping Woman....

Sir John Everett Millais’s Ophelia has become one of the world’s most renowned paintings; a reminder of the fragility of life. Much like Ophelia, the woman in Millais’s famed work met her own devastating end. Listen to ArtMuse’s episode on Elizabeth Siddall, a 19th century English artist, poet, model, and the heart and soul of the Pre Raphaelite Brotherhood. ArtMuse is produced by Kula Production...

Gustav Klimt’s The Kiss has come to embody love and romanticism. It depicts an intimate moment between a man and woman; two lovers suspended in time within a brilliant gold background, and a kiss being bestowed upon the cheek of a woman.  What many viewers may not know is that the woman in Klimt’s wondrous work is in fact a real woman from history, with her own name and story to share.  Listen to...

Olympia is now celebrated as the first modernist painting. However it was not just Manet’s artistic innovation, but the presence of two identifiable women; one of the streets, and one of a newly emerging black working-class community, that made Olympia one of the most earth-shattering works ever to be created. Listen to ArtMuse’s episode on Victorine Meurent and Laure; the two superstars of Olympi...

Listen to Part Two of ArtMuse's episode on Lisa Gherardini, aka the Mona Lisa. In Part One, we were introduced to Lisa’s story: her challenging upbringing, her marriage that defied all odds, and the fortuitous and mysterious circumstances that led to Leonardo’s creation of Lisa’s portrait.  In Part Two, we continue Lisa’s story, and together examine the Mona Lisa from a new perspective: through th...

Arguably the world’s most famous work of art, thousands of viewers pour into the Louvre everyday to catch a glimpse of the Mona Lisa. While her image is universally recognizable, the woman behind Leonardo Da Vinci’s celebrated portrait has been largely forgotten. Who was the Mona Lisa? Listen to Part One of ArtMuse’s Two Part episode on Lisa Gheradini, a tried and true Florentine noblewoman living...

Check out our trailer for Season 01 of ArtMuse. ArtMuse aims to reshape the ways in which we interpret well-known works of art by paying dues to the women whose images have been immortalized but whose names and stories have been wrongfully overlooked. Each episode will focus our attention on the female muse, sharing their important lives and legacy. Be sure to follow ArtMuse on Instagram & Tik...