Stuff about Things: An Art History Podcast

Ciphers, cosmology, cryptology — oh my! This long-awaited episode delves into the pages and the mystery of what some have called the most mysterious manuscript in the world: the Voynich Manuscript, now in the collection of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University. Come for the discussion of a medieval plumbing fantasy, stay in spite of the limp vellum and the parts where Li...

Come to learn about the life of Isabella Stewart Gardner and her museum, stay in spite of the purring and the ludicrous number of chimneys. C’est mon plaisir. See images and sources over at StuffAboutThingsPodcast.com. And if you're feeling spicy, you can buy Lindsay (that's me) a coffee at buymeacoffee.com/stuffaboutthingspodcast. All contributions are deeply appreciated and go towards...

**busts through wall** SHE’S BACK WITH A HALLOWEEN TREAT! That is, if you’re into 3.5-hour podcast episodes about stolen art. It’s the gift that keeps on giving, mostly because it never ends. This episode covers all 13 works stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in March 1990. Come for rarely shared information about 13 fascinating works of art and glace plombier, stay in spite of the am...

**PART II is still coming! It'll be worth the wait. Should be up by late September-ish** IT’S HAPPENING. That’s right. I’m (finally) doing it. You asked, and I have answered. Put on your cop costumes, stick on that wax mustache, and buzz that buzzer. We’ve got some heistin’ to do. Except not, because we care about art and museums and, y’know, the law. Please join me for my longest episode eve...

Anne of Cleves or Anne of Catfish? This minisode pays homage to Anne of Cleves, wifey #4 to King Henry VIII—namely the portrait of her by Hans Holbein the Younger. Was Anne really the most unattractive of Henry’s wives? Did Holbein really pull one over on his murdery boss by engaging in too much Renaissance face-tuning? How many people died as a result? Come for the thumb ring, stay in spite of He...

THE QUEEN IS DEAD! LONG LIVE THE QUEEN! This episode is a deep dive into one of the few oil paintings that can claim TikTok fame: the Execution of Lady Jane Grey by Paul Delaroche, which has been a beloved fixture of the National Gallery in London for decades. Come for the so-called Nine Days’ Queen, stay in spite of the 15-minute tangent about the Third Act of Succession.

This episode is a deep dive into the so-called “Holy Grail of Shipwrecks”: the San Jose Galleon. Come for the Dutch gin bottles and hypothetical emeralds, stay in spite of the monster demon fish (dolphins) and my meltdown over dodgy research methodologies. Episode features track "Enigmatic and Alluring" by Universfield, sourced from Freesound.

An ancient shipwreck, filled with magnificent treasures from around the world--every maritime archaeologist's dream, right? But when does dream become delusion? Join me for the podcast's longest (!) ever (!!) episode (!!!), during which we take a DEEP DIVE (ha) into Damien Hirst and the 2017 Treasures from the Wreck of the Unbelievable exhibition. Come for the blow-by-blow of the documen...

**insert Jaws theme song here** A new episode swimmin’ straight for you! This one features the classic trio: sharks, death, and formaldehyde. That is to say, it is a deep dive (ha) into Damien Hirst’s The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living, AKA The Shark One. Come for facts about optimal methods for shark taxidermy, stay in spite of the bleeped f-bombs. Please note that...

🌊🗿 🌊🗿🌊 The emojis say it all: this episode is a deep dive into the monolithic moai of Rapa Nui—also known as Easter Island. Come for the in-depth discussion of how generations of Rapanui (i.e. the people of Rapa Nui) made and moved moai; stay in spite of the bad puns about 🌋 volcanoes 🌋. The wave noises are courtesy of Tim Kahn via FreeSound.

As R.L. Stein would say, “Say 🧀 and ☠️!” In this episode, it’s more like “The 💀👻 say 🧀!” This episode explores the strange world of spirit photography, a whacky offshoot of early photography that had its heyday in the 1860s and 1870s. Come for the lite sarcasm regarding Spiritualism, stay in spite of the primordial ooze.

Ahoy hoy! A new minisode is upon thee: the early history of photography! Come for the history, stay in spite of the science (or vice versa). Episode 38 will follow in about 3 weeks. Until then, your girl is headed on vacation.

All aboard! This minisode covers a trifecta of Titanic gemstones and the diamond links that may--or may not--bind them. Come for information about a movie prop and its replicas, stay in spite of the very bad dramatic rendition of the interlude from Britney Spears's 2000 masterpiece of a music video, Oops I Did It Again!

Diamonds are a girl’s best friend. Marilyn Monroe and Madonna told me so! That is… unless those diamonds are cursed! This episode is a deep-dive into the Hope Diamond, a 45.52 carat blue diamond in the collection of the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. Come for an almost too-thorough history, stay for stories about a blingy great dane named Mike.

This episodes is a deep-dive into the mysterious (and, as of 1945, missing) Amber Room. Come for the in-depth research into the Amber Room's 300-year existence, stay in spite of the unhinged reference to the lickability of its peanut-brittle-esque panels.

This minisode delves into the million-year-old material that is amber. Come for the references to Jurassic Park, stay in spite of me using the word "excrete."

Bonjour, mes bijoux! Yes, that's you--my jewels. Speaking of a jewel... this minisode celebrates an art historical jewel known as the Clothilde Missal, an early twentieth-century illuminated manuscript by Clothilde Coulaux in the collection of the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore. Come for the jewel-toned escapism into an idealized version of the Middle Ages, stay in spite of the toxic white l...

This episode covers the wonderful, majestic, so-detailed-it-almost-hurts Book of Kells, from cover to cover and page to page. Come for the resolution to Episode 34's reference to "pendulous breasts," stay in spite of a rant about mis-matched mustache and beard colors. Slainte, friends!

Dia dhuit! That means "hello!" in Old Irish. This episode is the first in a two-part series on the world's most famous book: The Book of Kells. Part I focuses on the uncertain history of the book, a history that may (or may not, but probably does...) go back 1,200 years. That's real old, y'all. Come for the into-the-weeds tramp through the book's history, stay in spit...

This minisode is dedicated to the illuminated manuscript, an art form whose heyday stretched from the 5th to the 15th centuries. Come for the cover-to-cover breakdown of the manuscript production process, stay in spite of the Silence of the Calves joke.

This half-hour ‘sode discusses the exciting discovery of a previously unknown self-portrait by Van Gogh, which he painted on the back of his painting known as Head of a Peasant Woman in the collection of the National Galleries of Scotland. Come for the knowledge, stay in spite of your hypothetical broken ankle.

Did you know that there are TWO Starry Nights? Well, you do now! This minisode covers the harrowing, fascinating, and infuriating story of Van Gogh's drawing of Starry Night. Come for the intrigue, stay in spite of the bad Russian pronunciation.

Art history nerds, lend me your… ear? Because there’s a new episode in town! This episode is a one-and-a-half-hour deep dive into the life of Vincent Van Gogh and one of his most famous works: The Starry Night! Come for the bashing of Paul “Googy” Gauguin, stay in spite of the ear-severing and alleged paint-eating. Edit 8/9 - Small corrections made to the episode. Gustave Courbet's L'Ori...

Howdy, you rootin' tootin' listener! This episode is the second in a two-part series on the Benin Bronzes, a group of a few thousand objects looted from the Kingdom of Benin in 1897. This episode covers the 1897 Benin Punitive Expedition, the subsequent scattering of the bronzes throughout the world, demands for the bronzes to be sent back to Nigeria, and why museums are saying “no” (or,...

Ahoy, there! This episode is the first in a two-part series exploring the Benin Bronzes, a body of several thousand objects in bronze and brass that were looted from the Kingdom of Benin by the British in 1897. In this episode, we explore the historical and cultural context in which these magnificent bronze works were created, used, and beloved before talking about the bronzes themselves: what do...