A Long Look Podcast

Our next stop is Carpaccio's "Virgin Reading." We discover a hidden Jesus, a still-unsolved art mystery, and how Carpaccio broke the rules in his unusual depiction of the Virgin Mary. Check out the episode at alonglookpodcast.com to see the images mentioned. Click to view artwork SHOW NOTES "A Long Look" theme is "Ascension" by Ron Gelinas https://youtu.be/jGEdNSNkZoo Episode music is "Goldberg Va...

Next up in our tour of Vittore Carpaccio is "Saint Augustine in His Study." Carpaccio was a specialist in creating series of huge paintings designed to hang in sequence to tell the story of a saint or other Biblical story and "St. Augustine" is one of these.  We'll find out how an unexpected visitor told the saint to get over himself, how Carpaccio created an immersive media experience in a Veneti...

We kick off Season 7's spotlight on Renaissance artist Vittore Carpaccio with his majestic, "Lion of St. Mark." This enormous painting announces Venice's return to power after a run-in with the League of Cambrai.  We'll find out how a winged lion became the symbol of Venice, what happens when a couple of tourists get carried away, and how a pope changing his mind led to Venice's resurgence. SHOW N...

Meet Vittore Carpaccio, a famous Renaissance artist you might never have heard of. He's the star of the National Gallery of Art's exhibition, "Vittore Carpaccio: Master Storyteller of Renaissance Venice" which introduces this Venetian favorite to us for the first time! In Season 7, we'll look at stories of lions, saints, puppies, and a reunited painting, and hidden Jesus! SHOW NOTES "A Long Look"...

We're going old school in this Christmas episode as we look at "Madonna and Child" by Giotto di Bondone, a guy who got so famous he goes by one name, Giotto! Kind of like Cher!  We'll find out how he revolutionized religious art in Florence at the end of the Middle Ages. Like so many of the writers around him, he looked to the past in order to move forward. And you'll find out the lengths I go to...

Well, it's fall, my favorite time of year! I decided to celebrate by pulling together three past episodes related to this beautiful season. We'll revisit a stunning view of the Hudson River by Jasper Cropsey and see how Charles Sheeler turned a country stove into a modern image. Last but not least is Alma Thomas and her exuberant "Autumn Drama." So join me for this special expanded episode of "A L...

Woman with a Sunflower looks like one of Mary Cassatt's charming domestic scenes. But when she painted this in 1905, times were changing and this is actually a bold statement of women's rights!  In this episode, art historian Nikki Georgopulos joins us to share the secret of the sunflower, and how her research led to the painting's original name being restored. Click here to see artwork "A Long Lo...

Well, I've wrapped up our virtual road trip! I hope you enjoyed exploring works at other fantastic museums around the country. They all have great online resources if you want to check do a deeper dive into their collections. The show is mostly on hiatus for the summer, although I will be doing another extended episode in a few weeks, so stay tuned! SHOW NOTES "A Long Look" theme is "Ascension" by...

This final episode of our virtual museum road trip takes us to the Cleveland Museum of Art to see the dreamy Vale of Kashmir by Robert S. Duncanson. We'll find out how a self-taught American artist made it big and his connection to First Lady Dr. Jill Biden. Click to see artwork SHOW NOTES "A Long Look" theme is "Ascension" by Ron Gelinas https://youtu.be/jGEdNSNkZoo Episode theme is "Nocturne in...

Today's episode takes us to the Minneapolis Institute of Art for a long look at Claude Monet.  We'll find out how the morning light on a neighbor's haystacks inspired one of his most famous painting series and the hectic practice he developed to paint them! Click here to view artwork "A Long Look" theme is "Ascension" by Ron Gelinas  https://youtu.be/jGEdNSNkZoo Episode theme is "Sonatine - I. Mod...

Isabella d'Este knew a thing or two about bad luck. A philandering husband who was out of town most of the time, the loss of three children, and oh yeah, running the government of Mantua while protecting it from invading armies while hubby was away! But she also knew Fortune can swing both ways. Our next stop is the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, CA where we find out why this majorly influen...

In today's episode, we travel to the Art Institute of Chicago for a long look at this iconic print by Japanese artist, Hokusai. You might remember from the Van Gogh episode that when French artists discovered colorful Japanese woodblock prints like this, it started the enormously popular Japonisme trend and eventually led to Impressionism.  But influence went both ways. In today's episode, we'll f...

In today's A Long Look , we'll find out how German artist Albrecht Dürer pushed the limits of engraving by experimenting with tools used by armorers and goldsmiths. And we'll discover how his love of Italian art and fascination with the human body led to this work.  Plus, we'll find out the meaning of that menagerie of animals surrounding these two. You won't believe who the parrot might represent...

Talk about a bad rep. Poor Judas Thaddeus has had to contend with the shame of being confused with Judas Iscariot, the traitor who sold out Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. But somewhere along the line he was rebranded as St. Jude, the patron saint of hopeless causes. He's so popular, he's even the namesake of St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital which is devoted to treating children with cancer...

Season 6 is finally here but with a twist! We'll start at the Gallery but then travel virtually to other museums with fantastic online offerings.  The new episodes will roll out on the show's new website alonglookpodcast.com ! Of course, you'll still be able to listen on your favorite app or streaming service.  If you have any questions or comments on the changes, email me at alonglookpodcast [at]...

It's been a busy 2021 at A Long Look! I'll be launching a new site at its new home, alonglookpodcast.com. The new home page features a grid of the latest episodes that's a lot easier to navigate. No more constant scrolling looking for past episodes! You'll now find the entire back catalog under the "Episodes" tabs in the nav bar. But don't worry, I'll still be bringing you the descriptions and bac...

I wasn't sure I wanted to celebrate Christmas after this dumpster fire of a year. But we're starting to have some good news, so I've become cautiously optimistic.  But did I feel optimistic enough to do a holiday episode? Would anyone want to hear one? I put the question to you in Instagram (@alonglookslowart) and the answer was a resounding yes! You guys are the best! So I pulled together three p...

I've been trying to practice gratitude this year to fight against the fear and toxicity that's felt overwhelming at times. So, I decided to make a special, extended Thanksgiving episode to share this idea with you. I chose works from former episodes by Richard Norris Brooke , Bartolomé Esteban Murillo , and Aelbert Cuyp that reflect some aspect of family, generosity, or forgiveness that really res...

  We've reached the end of Season 5 and as this unbelievable year comes to a close, I'll be taking some time off to figure out what's next for the show. It's been a huge pleasure bringing you all the great stories I found and sharing the incredible variety of works in the Gallery. And talking to the occasional guest like Bruce Campbell and Sandy Bellamy was great! I think what made this season spe...

Did you know the US government once actually paid artists to work? During the Great Depression, the Works Progress Administration helped launch the career of Edward L. Loper, a prominent artist from Wilmington, Delaware. We'll find out how his lifelong curiosity, study, and teaching built a successful career lasting more than 60 years. You can see Loper's beautiful illustrations for the Index of A...

Margaret Taylor Burroughs was an author, painter, sculptor, printmaker, curator, museum director, activist, and teacher who left an amazing artistic and historic legacy in Chicago. In today's episode we'll find out how she helped launch the Chicago Renaissance in the '40s and how she combined her social activism with art. "Still Life" by Margaret Burroughs, American, 1943 Corcoran Collection (The...

Henry Ossawa Tanner became one of America's most famous Black artists by depicting dream-like Bible scenes like this one. Click here to see it on the Gallery's site . Clicking the image on their page will open a viewer that allows you to zoom in and pan around. In today's episode we'll find out how he went from working in a flour mill to a successful artistic career in Paris and what he has in com...

Click here to view "Autumn Drama" on the Gallery's site. Clicking the image on their page will open a viewer that allows you to zoom in and pan around. Talk about a second act! Alma Thomas was a longtime art teacher in Washington DC, who began her art career after 35 years of teaching. She took inspiration from nature, color theory, and the works of artists she met through her involvement in the D...

Welcome back to "A Long Look!" For the rest of the season, I'll be presenting paintings from the Evans-Tibbs Collection, one of the most important collections of works by Black artists in America. It was the mission of Thurlow Evans Tibbs Jr. to raise the profile of Black artists by collecting and exhibiting their work in his Washington DC gallery from the 1970s through the early '90s and by docum...

This colorful panel painting depicts an episode early in Jesus's career–the moment he called Peter and his brother Andrew to join his ministry. It was part of an enormous altarpiece for the cathedral of Siena. We'll find out what prompted the cathedral powers to hire Duccio, Siena's top artist and how innovative he was in depicting stories of Mary and Jesus's lives. And we meet a few friendly fish...