Works that we take for granted today as masterpieces, or as epitomes of the finest of fine art, could also have been considered ugly, of poor quality, or just bad when they were first made. With the passage of time comes a calm and an acceptance. But that doesn’t change the fact that there are many works peppered throughout art history that were straight-up shocking to the public when they were first presented decades, or even hundreds of years ago.

Today's work of "shock art:" Eakins’ The Gross Clinic.

This is a callback of our episode from April 15, 2019.

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Episode Credits

Production and Editing by Kaboonki. Theme music by Alex Davis.  Additional writing and research by Adria Gunter. Additional editing assistance by Hannah Roberts.

ArtCurious is sponsored by Anchorlight, an interdisciplinary creative space, founded with the intent of fostering artists, designers, and craftspeople at varying stages of their development. Home to artist studios, residency opportunities, and exhibition space Anchorlight encourages mentorship and the cross-pollination of skills among creatives in the Triangle.

Additional music credits

"The First Day of Spring" by David Hilowitz is licensed under BY-NC 4.0; "Mystery Forest (ID 1143)" by Lobo Loco is licensed under BY-NC-ND 4.0; "Phase 5" by Xylo-Ziko is licensed under BY-NC-SA 4.0; "Murmuration (Pon IX)" by Kai Engel is licensed under BY-NC 4.0; Ad Music: "Cardboard Engineering" by Jesse Spillane is licensed under BY 4.0 (Lightstream); "West in Africa" by John Bartmann is licensed under CC0 1.0 Universal (Indeed); "A Perceptible Shift" by Andy G. Cohen is licensed under BY 4.0 (Acorn TV).

Recommended Reading

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Links and further resources

Metropolitan Museum of Art: Thomas Eakins

Philadelphia Museum of Art: The Gross Clinic