Episodes

In a complete 180 from the spiritual contemplation of our last episode, today we're looking at the portrait of Jeanne Bécu, who became Madame du Barry, the last mistress of Louis XV of France. She lived and loved (a lot!) in the days before the French Revolution. We'll find out her fate along with that of her portraitist, Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun. I'll give you a hint–only one of them survives!

See the artwork at https://alonglookpodcast.com/portrait-of-madame-du-barry-by-elisabeth-louise-vigee-...

Welcome back for Season 3! We're starting with one of Vermeer's gorgeous, mysterious paintings. We'll discover the layers of meaning in this simple domestic scene, what's in the balance and just what the Jesuits have to do with her.

We'll also find out how a guy who started out as a butcher ended up donating this painting to the Gallery.

You can find reading recommendations and a transcript at the end of the post.

See the artwork at https://alonglookpodcast.com/woman-holding-a-balance-by-joha...

I just wanted to let you know I'm hard at work on Season 3! We're going to start off with another Gallery favorite, this time by Vermeer.

The new season starts soon, and in the spirit of spring rejuvenation, I've updated the intro to give new listeners a better idea of what to expect when they click play.

So, get ready to listen while strolling through the spring blooms and cherry blossoms. For those of you with low vision, you can listen with Apple Podcasts or the Overcast app on your iOS dev...

We've reached the end of Season 2! Thanks to everyone who came back and all the new listeners and subscribers who joined us. I appreciate your support!

I'll be taking some time off for the holidays and to plan Season 3. The gallery has some fantastic shows up, so visit if you can! There's Corot's Women, a retrospective of Gordon Park's photography, the Birmingham Project by Dawoud Bey, the Rachel Whiteread retrospective and more.

There are also a few more dates for senior lecturer David Gariff...

The Gallery calls Giorgione "one of the most mysterious artists in the history of art." We'll talk about his innovative landscape style and where he got the idea for this gorgeous and unusual depiction of the Nativity.

We'll also find out the meaning of rocks and just what the heck is up with those floating baby heads at the top of the cave!

See the artwork at https://alonglookpodcast.com/the-adoration-of-the-shepherds-by-giorgione/
SHOW NOTES

"A Long Look" theme is Ascension by Ron Gelinas

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This full-length portrait of Scottish lawyer William Grant was Stuart's first but already he was innovating. We'll find out how a cold day in the studio led to this creative variation on a standard portrait pose and just what the heck the Serpentine greeting is!

We'll also find out how despite his fame and plenty of work, Stuart ripped off the first First Lady, Martha Washington!

See the artwork at https://alonglookpodcast.com/the-skater-portrait-of-william-grant-by-gilbert-stuart/
SHOW NOTES
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Camille Pissarro was an Impressionist painter who created this sun-drenched view of a famous park in 1900. We'll find out where this lovely scene takes place and how and why just 5 small strokes of color can conjure up a fashionista.

We'll also discover its connection to Hermann Goering and how a Gallery director was instrumental in the formation of the Monuments Men program.

See the artwork at https://alonglookpodcast.com/place-du-carrousel-by-camille-pissarro/
SHOW NOTES

"A Long Look" theme...

A big naked guy is shown sitting around with a bunch of lions in Rubens' over-the-top painting. Meet Daniel, a favorite counselor to the Persian king Darius. Daniel has made some powerful enemies which is how he got here. We'll find out who ends up being the lions' breakfast and how paintings like this allowed Rubens to become a successful diplomat.

We'll also hear about how a painting the owners thought was just a copy and maintenance headache became one of the most highly praised pieces in th...

"Ghost," the ambitious sculpture by Rachel Whiteread tells a story of family, memory, impending loss and survival.

We'll find out the mind-blowing idea behind it, the tenacity of a young artist and its connection to a rock legend.

"Ghost" is part of a survey of Whiteread's work at the Gallery which runs through January 13, 2019.

See the artwork at https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.131285.html
SHOW NOTES
"A Long Look" theme is "Ascension" by Ron Gelinas.

Episode theme is "Sad Amb...

Just like the Annunciation I talked about a while ago, there's a lot going on in this scene portraying the birth of the Virgin Mary. This stunning panel is one of a trio showing events from the lives of Anna and Joachim, the parents of the Virgin Mary. We'll find out the surprising way their struggle with infertility ended and how di Bartolo used small touches to turn this religious scene into something wonderfully warm and very human.

And there's a mystery here! The catalog says this was very ...

John Singer Sargent was famous for his high society portraits set in elegant rooms like this. Find out why he gave up what he called "a pimp's profession" and began painting just for his own pleasure, doing landscapes and scenes of his family. His niece Rose-Marie, pictured here, became one of his favorite subjects.

Painted just before World War I, we also find out what happened to them after this peaceful afternoon.

See the artwork at https://alonglookpodcast.com/nonchaloir-repose-john-singer...

This evening scene celebrates the peace and prosperity the Dutch were finally enjoying after 80 years of war with Spain. But don't be fooled by its bucolic vibe. The backstory of its ownership is something straight out of Indiana Jones.

We'll find out why the cow is a Dutch icon and the clever way one family screwed with the Nazis to keep this out of their hands.

See the artwork at https://alonglookpodcast.com/river-landscape-with-cows-aelbert-cuyp/
SHOW NOTES

"A Long Look" theme is "Ascensio...

Bartolomé Esteban Murillo's enormous, dramatic painting focuses on the emotional homecoming in the Biblical story of "The Prodigal Son" in which youth and money make a bad combination.

Murillo painted this as one of eight paintings for a charitable hospital in Seville and we'll find how the king of Spain's top official tried to "borrow" it to place in a royal museum. We'll also discover its connection to Napoleon Bonaparte and a guy nicknamed "Joey Bottles."

See the artwork at https://alongloo...

Welcome back for Season 2! I'm starting off with one of the Gallery's greatest hits, the portrait of Ginevra de' Benci by Leonardo da Vinci. It's the only painting by Leonardo in America!

We'll explore this unusual two-sided work, find out the story behind the strange combination of plants on the back and even learn a little Latin. I'll also tell you where you can find Leonardo's fingerprint!

See the artwork at https://www.nga.gov/artworks/50724-ginevra-de-benci-obverse
SHOW NOTES

"A Long Loo...

Hey everybody, I just wanted to let you know I'm hard at work on Season 2! We're going to start off with one of the Gallery's greatest hits, the only painting by Leonardo da Vinci in America.

The new season will start in August, so you can listen at the beach, at the pool or that great waterfront bar you like so much! And don't forget to download episodes to your device so you can listen in the air, on the train or on the road.

In the meantime, check out any episodes you might've missed and if...

So we've reached the end of Season 1! The show will go on hiatus while I review, assess and prep for Season 2. I hope you've been enjoying the show and maybe even tried some long looking yourself.

Thanks to all of you who've taken time to listen and subscribe, I appreciate your support. I'll be posting updates here, so stay tuned!

In the meantime, you can catch up on any episodes you missed and maybe even go visit the Gallery! They have a lot of great exhibits going on as well as their wonderf...

Joseph Mallord William Turner was quite a painter and quite a character. He's described as vulgar, uncouth, unsophisticated and cheap. And yet, he became one of England's most beloved artists through his groundbreaking vision and skill.

We'll see how his interest in the Industrial Revolution and love of the natural world come together in this dazzling image and take a look at how he created something so gorgeous yet ominous.

See the artwork at https://alonglookpodcast.com/11-keelmen-heaving-in...

Hi everybody!

Just wanted to remind you all that Slow Art Day is this Saturday, April 14!

If you've been listening to the show, you know that Americans on average, spend about six to 10 seconds looking at works of art in museums and the slow art movement encourages people to slow down and spend more time with a work of art. So, let's change that statistic! Go visit your favorite museum or gallery and take a long look. You can find participating locations at www.slowartday.com.

Let us know in ...

This gelatin silver print by American artist Charles Sheeler is one of several images he created while experimenting with the modernist ideas he'd discovered in the breakthrough work of artists like Cezanne, Matisse and Picasso.

We'll find out how these experimental images, created in an old country house in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, led to Sheeler becoming one of the most innovative and important American artists. (By the way, Bucks County is lovely, I highly recommend visiting!)

And we'll ...

This sunny, warm painting is a welcome relief in this miserable March. "Skiffs" is one in a series of young men boating by Gustave Caillebotte who was a lesser known Impressionist painter until a beautiful 2015 exhibition at the National Gallery.

We'll find out about his relationship with his fellow Impressionists, his killer art collection and how he turns up in one of Renoir's most famous paintings.

I'd like to thank the staff at the Phillips Collection for their help with this episode.

See...

This warm and welcoming self-portrait by Dutch master Judith Leyster is a gallery favorite. Join me while I talk about how this remarkable woman accomplished what few women artists did in her time only to disappear from history until an English court case began her revival.

We'll discover the reason why her impractical outfit served a larger purpose and her clever two-birds-with-one-stone marketing technique.

See the artwork at https://alonglookpodcast.com/07-judith-leyster-self-portrait/
SHOW...

Today, I'll be looking at "The Railway" by Édouard Manet. This enigmatic painting has fascinated viewers since its creation in 1873. Set in a rapidly modernizing Paris, the work raised loads of questions (and critics' hackles.)

We'll find answers to some of the mysteries and (just like in "The Mill" episode) discover something I'd never seen before!

See the artwork at https://alonglookpodcast.com/06-the-railway-manet/
SHOW NOTES

"A Long Look" theme is "Ascension" by Ron Gelinas
youtu.be/jGEdN...

Today, I'll be looking at "Blue Morning" by George Bellows. Bellows lived and worked in New York at the turn of the 20th century and studied under artist Robert Henri (pronounced Hen-rye). His classmates included John Sloan and Edward Hopper. "Blue Morning" may have been inspired by Henri's call for his students to paint the world around them instead of more genteel academic scenes.

We'll find out how Bellows is connected to Mary Cassatt and how New Jersey inspired one of the greatest technolog...

In this belated holiday episode, I'll be looking at another favorite of mine, "The Annunciation," by Jan Van Eyck. This complicated and fascinating painting illustrates the Biblical story of the Archangel Gabriel's arrival to announce to Mary that she's been chosen to bear the son of God.

We'll talk about how this innovative painter wove elaborate religious imagery into this composition and the technique he used to create such gorgeous detail. We'll also find out why a zodiac is involved, what ...