CURIOUS CALLBACK: Episode #61--The Coolest Artists You Don't Know: Angelica Kauffman

Hi listeners! I’m traveling this month and so I am re-airing some older episodes for you to enjoy here once again. In celebration of our recent “Cherchez La Femme” season, I’m choosing three of my favorite episodes on female artists-- and, hint hint, the last of these episodes refers directly to our upcoming season, so keep your eyes peeled for that one next month. Today, though, I’m returning to tell the story of Angelica Kauffman, one of the prized painters of the 18th century.

Author Interview: Eden Collinsworth's "What the Ermine Saw: The Extraordinary Journey of Leonardo da Vinci's Most Mysterious Portrait"

I’ve got a great interview for you today— this time, I’m featuring a conversation with Eden Collinsworth on her fascinating book, What the Ermine Saw: The Extraordinary Journey of Leonardo da Vinci's Most Mysterious Portrait. This extraordinary work of narrative non-fiction traces the remarkable history of Leonardo da Vinci’s enigmatic portrait: The Woman with an Ermine, from its original creation, including the fascinating story of its subject, Cecilia Gallerani, and on to its mysterious disappearance for 250 years after which it emerged in the hands of an aristocratic Polish family. Now on display in Krakow, the painting was exiled in Paris, and kept hidden from the Nazis by a brave housekeeper. These defining moments in history comprise a portrait of Europe’s past as vivid and complex as the painting itself.

The magic of Collinsworth’s book is the powerful combination of research-based non-fiction— reminiscent of Walter Isaacson (Leonardo da Vinci) and Mary Gabriel (Ninth Street Women)— with a character-driven narrative that will keep readers glued to the page until the very end. Perfect for fans of Donna Tartt’s The Goldfinch or Céline Sciamma’s film Portrait of a Lady on Fire, What the Ermine Saw pulls back the curtain on the fascinating history behind the astonishing portrait.

Episode #99: Cherchez La Femme, or The Woman Behind the Art--Gertrude Stein (Season 11, Episode 8)

There’s a phrase in the French language that goes, “Cherchez la femme.” In translation, it means “find the woman,” or “look for the woman,” and typically it’s derogatory, a phrase used as an explanation for the reasons why a man may be behaving badly. Cherchez la femme, some say, meaning that “woman troubles” are assumed to be at the core of any man’s real problems. But I like the idea of appropriating the phrase “cherchez la femme” to mean that we’re going to look for the women who made things right in art history, who bolstered and brought attention to some big-name artists.

In season 11 of ArtCurious, we’re highlighting the lives and work of the women who supported some of the world’s favorite artists. Today, for our season finale, we’re discussing Gertrude Stein, a writer and art collector whose world-famous Paris salon was a meeting place for several giants of Modernism: Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Suzanne Valadon, and many more.