All tagged episode
This season, I’m rounding up stories about modern artists in love, in lust, in relationships— digging into these individuals, see how their liaisons, marriages, affairs, and connections played in or on their respective works of art, and how, if anything, they affected art history as we know it. I, for one, believe that it’s time for Modern Love.
Today: we’re enjoying the story of one supremely confident couple, incredibly supportive of one another and individually talented, two makers who epitomized the explosion of creativity that was the Harlem Renaissance, and who helped shape American art. Meet Jacob Lawrence and Gwendolyn Knight.
This season, I’m rounding up stories about modern artists in love, in lust, in relationships— digging into these individuals, see how their liaisons, marriages, affairs, and connections played in or on their respective works of art, and how, if anything, they affected art history as we know it. I, for one, believe that it’s time for Modern Love.
Today: we’re highlighting a powerful artist couple who taught at a landmark place at a singular moment in history—Anni and Josef Albers.
Anyone familiar with Abstract Expressionism will tell you that this art movement was one where all the insiders or practitioners were more closely involved than many other art movements. Such close confines also made for some serious rivalries, too. But there were other artists who were more intimately involved with one another and their artistic process-- they were married, or were lovers. Such is the case with both Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning --both of whom married women who were incredible artists in their own right. Interestingly, and sadly, when these two spouses are mentioned, it’s very rare that we are treated to sincere commentary just about their works of art. More often than not, we are, instead, given explanations of how these women measure up to their (admittedly more famous) husbands, and are relegated either to a supporting role, or just plain seen as not good enough in comparison. Why is it that such talented women continue to have their posthumous careers and stories marked and shaped by their husbands?
Today: Another day, another nun! But Plautilla Nelli’s story is an interesting one, involving a great lost-and-found twist, and the opportunity to discuss how some artists can be “forgotten” and then rediscovered. From Breaking Barriers: Women of Renaissance Europe, please enjoy “Plautilla Nelli: Lost and Found.”
Today’s subject is a major one: Properzia de’ Rossi, a Renaissance sculptor who was (gasp!) female. Why was this a big deal, why was de’ Rossi a rarity? We dig into the details and learn about the highly masculinized world of sculpture. From Breaking Barriers: Women of Renaissance Europe, please enjoy “Properzia de’ Rossi: The “Rare Female Sculptor.”
Today: Finding a signed, confirmed work by Levina Teerlinc isn’t an easy task, as we know of no surviving works with her signature. But we do know that Levina Teerlinc was almost single-handedly responsible for the popularization of the miniature portrait, and obviously she was good at it: Queen Elizabeth I commissioned her portrait from Teerlinc no less than eight times. From Breaking Barriers: Women of Renaissance Europe, please enjoy “Levina Teerlinc: Tiny Tudor Treasures.”