Masterpiece Minute

Episode 78: The Primal Wing by Agnes Lawrence Pelton

Escape into the delicate whisper of the morning sky with artist Agnes Pelton, who lived an independent and solitary life in the desert following a tumultuous childhood. Painting, for Pelton, was an integrated part of her multifaceted spiritual practice, which included meditation, prayer and poetry. Hear how her unique background and interests informed her art, including The Primal Wing, shown here.

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Episode 77: The Ka’ba in Mecca and The Tomb of the Prophet in Medina. Illustrations from a manuscript of the Dala’il al-khayrat (Guide to Good Deeds, a collection of prayers for the Prophet Muhammad)

In celebration of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, today’s episode highlights a beautiful and richly detailed double-page illustration from seventeenth-century India. Explore the abundance of structural details and decorative elements shown in this double-page illustration of Mecca and Medina, two sanctuaries for Muslims around the world. Plus, get to know these sites and how these illustrations would have originally been used in this month’s Masterpiece Minute podcast.

Episode 76: The Trinity

Explore this work featuring the trinity as separate but identical figures, an icon at one time banned by the Catholic church. Though the artist’s name has been lost to history, the time and place still provide important insight to the work’s origins and significance. Listen to this month’s Masterpiece Minute podcast episode for these insights and how this work builds on indigenous Nahua cultural significance.

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Episode 75: Virgin and Child with the Young Saint John the Baptist by Francisco de Zurbarán

Francisco de Zurbarán, artist to the Spanish elite and royal court, painted Virgin and Child with the Young Saint John the Baptist later in his career and following personal tragedy, which may be why recent technical analysis shows a change on the final work that is steeped in symbolism. Explore the depths of Zurbarán’s career and Virgin and Child with the Young Saint John the Baptist in this month’s Masterpiece Minute podcast.

Episode 74: Metropolitan Life Building, New York by Berenice Abbott

Famed photographer Berenice Abbott, renowned for her portraits of avant-garde artists, writers, and other cultural figures, adjusted her focus to capture New York City in the 1930s. Set your sights on this soaring image of a skyscraper, Metropolitan Life Building, New York, shown here and explored in this month’s podcast episode. Tune in to hear about this work and learn about Abbott and her “Changing New York” series of over 300 black-and-white photographs.

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Episode 73: Kīlauea Caldera, Sandwich Islands (Hawaiʻi) by Jules Tavernier

A painter, reporter, and onetime soldier, Jules Tavernier moved to Hawaii in 1884 and was immediately captivated by its people, landscapes, mountains, and volcanos. Hear about Tavernier’s fascinating life from Dr. Michael Brown, Curator of European Art at the Museum, and explore the bubbling volcanic vent of the active Kilauea volcano on the island of Hawaii, known colloquially as the Big Island, in this month’s Masterpiece Minute podcast episode.

Episode 72: The Seventh Trial: Slaying of the White Div by Hamid Rahmania

Explore an exciting contemporary twist on centuries-old artistic traditions seen in Persian and South Asian illustrated manuscripts. This dynamic color print on paper by artist Hamid Rahmanian depicts a scene from a story told in the Shahnameh, or “Book of Kings”, a great Persian epic replete with tales from pre-Islamic oral tradition about semi-mythical kings, warriors, rivals, heroes, villains, and lovers, written into verse around 1010 by the poet Abu’l Qasim Firdawsi.

Join us as we dive into this image that recounts the last of seven trials performed by Rustam, the celebrated warrior-hero of the Shahnameh, before he can rescue his king from the hands of the White Div, or demon.

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Episode 71: High Priestess by Leonora Carrington

Be swept away by the enchanting life of British-born Mexican artist, Leonora Carrington as we take a look at her etching High Priestess.

A true free spirit from an early age, artist Leonora Carrington embraced the freedom and ideas of the Surrealist movement. Seeking refuge from Nazi-occupied France, Carrington eventually settled in Mexico where she remained for the rest of her life. Hear about Carrington’s sweeping journey to Mexico and how she linked Mexican Catholicism with her Irish ancestry to create a highly personal visual world through her art.

Episode 70:  The White Flower (White Trumpet Flower) by Georgia O’Keeffe

Get an up-close view to the white trumpet flower, one of the many flowers and natural forms that Georgia O’Keeffe closely examined and painted in grand scale. Tune in to this month’s Masterpiece Minute podcast to learn how O’Keeffe borrowed photographic principles and achieved her signature clean lines in this and many of her works.

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Episode 69: Untitled by Wifredo Lam

Delve into the world of Wifredo Lam, a Cuban-born artist who played a significant role in the development of modern art in the twentieth century. Lam’s boundary-crossing art is characterized by a fusion of African, Caribbean, and European artistic traditions. His untitled painting from 1969, which is a recent acquisition to the Museum’s permanent collection, encapsulates the artist’s peripatetic life and distills signature elements he developed throughout his career. Hear more about Lam’s career, famous friends, and the significance of the symbols shown in this work in this month’s Masterpiece Minute podcast.

Episode 68:  Catskill Landscape by Robert S. Duncanson

Step into this lush landscape by Robert Duncanson, the grandson of an enslaved person from Virginia, who rose to international fame in the 1850s and 1860s. Inviting the viewer into the scene by including tiny figures in the foreground of a large atmospheric landscape, Duncanson’s approach was informed by his travels and interest in photography, specifically stereographic prints. Hear how Duncanson benefited from the advent of photography, helped establish the Canadian landscape tradition, and what geographic region might actually be shown in the above painting.

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Episode 67:  Plane Trees II by Ruth Asawa

Created in 1965, Plane Trees II is one of the fifty-four prints Ruth Asawa created with a team of master printers during her residency at the Tamarind Lithography Workshop in Los Angeles. In fluid and brushy black ink on white paper, the work features a series of trees receding into the distance and beyond the edge of the paper. Learn more about the artist and hear how Asawa came to believe that the white expanse of paper, such as shown in Plane Trees II, is just as important as the subject depicted.

Episode 66:  Moses’ staff becomes a serpent and devours Pharaoh’s followers

This painting from an Arabic manuscript of the Qisas al-anbiya, or “Tales of the Prophets,” most likely produced in India in the late 16th or early 17th century, depicts the biblical story of the duel between the prophet Moses and the Pharaoh’s sorcerers. Listen in to hear why Moses was later painted over, the significance of the serpent’s presence, and how artists deployed comedy to instill moral lessons to their readers.

Episode 65:  Sultan Ibrahim Adil Shah II standing attributed to the Bodleian Painter

Step into an intimate portrait of Sultan Ibrahim ‘Adil Shah II, a 16th century king of the Sultanate of Bijapur, a Muslim dynasty in central India, and gain insights on the ruler portrayed. Hear the significance of this melancholic portrait and the tie between the Sultan, the elephant lurking in the portrait distance, and the poetry produced by Ibrahim ‘Adil Shah II himself.

Episode 64:  Untitled by Sam Gilliam

Feel the flow in this brilliant screenprint by Sam Gilliam. Made in 2001 for New York’s Lincoln Center, the work is now on view as part of the reinstallation of Visible Vaults. Tune in to this month’s Masterpiece Minute podcast episode to hear more about this work and learn how Gilliam became a leading innovator of the Washington Color School and set himself apart from other American abstract painters.

Episode 63:  Wooden Doll by Gabriele Münter

Bold colors, folk art inspiration, and domestic life combine in this work from Gabriele Münter. Get to know this important German Expressionist painter and explore her work in this month’s Masterpiece Minute podcast.

Episode 62:  Saint Nicholas of Bari by Giovanni Bonsi

Explore the history of Saint Nicholas, how he came to inspire the modern myth of Santa Claus, and how the punchwork of this detailed 14th century panel helped attribute the work to Giovanni Bonsi, a leading innovator in fourteenth-century Florence.

Episode 61:  Untitled 13 (Rubaiyat series) by Pouran Jinchi

Explore the interplay between word and image in this new acquisition by Pouran Jinchi inspired by medieval Persian poet and polymath Omar Khayyam. Listen now to hear more about this contemporary artist’s exploration of classical Persian calligraphy through a deconstruction of Khayyam’s verses into single letters, which then transform into a brilliant composition of form and color.

Episode 60:  Broadside: To Our Lady of Guadalupe by José Guadalupe Posada

She’s a legend, a symbol, an icon. Get to know the story of the Virgin of Guadalupe, understood as a beacon of freedom and national pride in Mexico. The Lady of Guadalupe, as she is also known, is famously depicted here by José Guadalupe Posada, a trailblazing printmaker, cartoonist, and graphic artist active in Mexico from the 1880s to the 1910s.

Episode 59:  Bottle with landscape and flowing river

Take a closer look at the above pear-shaped ceramic bottle created in Iran at the end of the seventeenth century. Hear how this decorative object combines Chinese and Iranian art traditions, exemplifies the innovation of the era, and even shows a semi-hidden figure.

Episode 58:  Black Pitcher and the Death’s Head by Pablo Picasso

Examine Black Pitcher and the Death’s Head, a magnificent still life created on the heels of World War II in 1946 by the renowned giant of Modernism, Pablo Picasso. Hear how Picasso’s defiance—of Nazism, of Fascism, of the horrors of war and genocide—can be found in the objects depicted and how this work alludes to one of Picasso’s single-most defiant works of art.

Episode 57:  Salare by Fernando Casasempere

Take a closer look at the wall-based Salares created by renowned contemporary Chilean sculptor Fernando Casasempere. Made of clay and ink on felt, the Salares pieces hang like arid landscape formations, paying homage to the Atacama Desert of Chile, the driest warm desert on Earth. Hear about the artist’s process and inspiration in this month’s Masterpiece Minute podcast.

Episode 56:  Rescue by Nick Cave

Discover the newest addition to the Museum collection: an assemblage of ceramic birds, beads, metal flowers, and a bull dog from a series called “Rescue” by Chicago-based contemporary artist Nick Cave. Like so many of Cave’s works, Rescue invites several layers of interpretation, often challenging historical associations to heighten a collective awareness of longstanding social injustices. Explore multiple interpretations of the work in this month’s Masterpiece Minute podcast.

Episode 55:  King Mihrab of Kabul learns of Rudabeh’s affections for Prince Zal

Step into a tense scene of family conflict from a nineteenth-century page from the Shahnameh, or Book of Kings, the Persian epic by the 11th-century author Abul Qasim Firdawsi (d. 1020). Shown here, Rudabeh is on the floor and at the mercy of her father, King Mihrab, while Rudabeh’s mother, Queen Sindokht (shown above in red), fights to protect her daughter. It is all part of a larger romantic love story between Rudabeh and Zal, a great warrior of Iran, with elaborate political negotiations by both families. Hear how Sindokht’s motherly love, intelligence, and political acumen ultimately carve a path for her daughter’s happiness.

Episode 54:  Girl Reading (Portrait of Julie Manet at Gorey) by Berthe Morisot

Discover Impressionist leading lady Berthe Morisot and meet her daughter, Julie Manet, shown above at age 7 reading. The intimate portrait by Morisot is a fitting introduction to Julie Manet’s art-filled life. Hear how Morisot became a founder of the Impressionist movement and how Julie Manet’s long life was surrounded by art and artists.

Episode 53:  A Sudden flight is reported: Umar and Landhaur converse outside Hamza’s tent. Page from a Hamzanama (Adventures of Hamza)

Discover the layers of story and drama detailed in this illustrated manuscript depicting a scene from the epic poem Hamzanama (Adventures of Hamza).

The epic is inspired by popular legends recited by storytellers about the Prophet Muhammad’s uncle, Amir Hamza, who spreads the word of Islam as he travels the world and encounters a wondrous spectrum of characters, from kings and nobility to handmaidens, giants, fairies, and dragons.

The illustrated version of the epic was commissioned by Mughal emperor Akbar in 1562 and was a monumental undertaking, ultimately encompassing 14 volumes with 1,400 paintings by Indian and Iranian artists, less than 150 of which survive today.

Step into this epic tale of cunning foes and loyal friendships to hear the story unfolding on the page, as well as the history behind the making of the monumental manuscript to which this magnificent work belongs.

Episode 52:  Reclining Figure: Arch Leg by Henry Moore

Explore the human form with sculptor Henry Moore. Hear how Moore created his larger-than-life sculptures, including Reclining Figure: Arch Leg in the Museum’s sculpture garden, and used his work to expose the interdependent relationship between figure and landscape. 

Episode 51:  The Anchorite by Mariano Fortuny

Explore this dramatic etching by nineteenth-century Spanish artist Mariano Fortuny, the most internationally acclaimed Spanish artist of his day. Hear how the artist achieved the depth and emotion displayed in The Anchorite and what influenced his work in this Masterpiece Minute podcast episode.

Episode 50:  Susanna and the Elders by Jusepe de Ribera

Step into a tense scene from the Biblical story of Susanna and the Elders, depicted here by Jusepe de Ribera. A recent acquisition, the painting by Ribera explores themes of virtue, faith, and power. Hear how this scene leads to a tense courtroom drama in which virtue ultimately wins over evil.

Episode 49:  Migration by Mohammad Barrangi

Take flight with a new mixed media work that is the Museum’s first acquisition of contemporary art from Iran. Learn about the traditions upon which this large work on canvas was developed and hear how the artist uses his work to explore immigration in a diasporic world.

Episode 48:  Manet Seated, Turned to the Right by Edgar Degas

Manet Seated, Turned to the Right is one of three etched portraits Edgar Degas completed of his friend and artist Édouard Manet. Hear the story behind this copper plate of Manet created by Degas in the 1860s and what work of art, created years later, led to the souring of their friendship.

Episode 47:  Pancharaksha (The Five Protections)

Bask in the beauty of a masterpiece of Himalayan art. This month’s Masterpiece Minute podcast introduces a 12th-century illustrated copy of the Pancharaksha, or Five Protections, a work composed of five hymns addressed to five Buddhist protective goddesses. Each goddess is painted in a different color, with specific gestures, anatomical features, and various objects held in their numerous hands.

Hear the reason for the long-lasting popularity of the Pancharaksha in the Himalayan country of Nepal and what makes this Museum’s copy of the manuscript unique.

Episode 46:  Maharaja Gaj Singh of Bikaner by Ammadin

How realistic is this court portrait of the Maharaja of Bikaner, Gaj Singh II? Step into the Rajput court of Bikaner, located in the desert region of Rajasthan located in northwest India, and take a closer look at a masterful painting depicting wealth and status. This Masterpiece Minute podcast episode shares how this and other court portraits from the region use symbols and artistic technique to show the subject’s high social status and wealth. Plus, learn about the context in which this was portrait was originally shared.

Episode 45:  Standing figure holding object above head 

What is being communicated through this wooden figure, carved by a Dogon blacksmith? Hear the layers of meaning associated with this fascinating work and learn about the Dogon peoples, who live primarily in the Bandiagara escarpment of Mali, Africa, in this Masterpiece Minute podcast episode.

Episode 44:  Saint Anthony Reading by Albrecht Dürer

What is Saint Anthony reading in this print? Find out and explore the work and life of Albrecht Dürer, a leading European portraitist and printmaker of the sixteenth century, in this Masterpiece Minute podcast episode. Travel with him from his hometown of Nuremberg in present-day Germany to Venice and throughout Italy. Plus, hear how Dürer fought against the plagiarism of his works.

Episode 43:  Canto I (from Dante’s Inferno) attributed to Baccio (Bartolommeo) Baldini

Commemorate the work of Dante Alighieri, author of the Divine Comedy, also known as Dante’s Inferno, on what is the 800th anniversary of his death in 1321. Explore a scene from Dante’s epic poem depicted above in Canto I (from Dante’s Inferno), a print from 1481 attributed to Baccio Baldini. Plus, learn about the mystery surrounding this work and why it is only attributed to Baldini.

Episode 42: The Arrest of Santa Engracia by Bartolomé Bermejo

Who was Santa Engracia, depicted here as part of a larger altarpiece by Bartolomé Bermejo, and what led to her arrest? Also, where are the other three panels of this altarpiece now located? Learn this and more as you get to know Spanish artist Bartolomé Bermejo and explore the life of Santa Engracia in this week’s Masterpiece Minute podcast about The Arrest of Santa Engracia.

Episode 41: Food bowls with covers, late 18th–early 19th century China

Explore the delicate details and rich history of this pair of jade covered food bowls of probable Mughal origin that were traded to China during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and gifted to the Museum in 1924. Venture to hear a history of jade in the region and how it inspired an emperor.

Episode 40: Lajvardina seven-part dish, 13th–14th century Iran

What might have been the use of this seven-compartment dish and how did Chinese designs influence the intricate patterns on display? Explore the many layers of stories present in this unique Lajvardina seven-part dish from 13th–14th century Iran in this week’s Masterpiece Minute podcast. Journey with this Lajvardina seven-part dish from the Museum’s permanent collection to learn about a distinct decorative technique developed in Mongol Iran, cross-cultural transmissions from China, the Persian new year called Nawruz, and how objects can relay stories about their journeys over space and time.

Episode 39: Sunday Afternoon by Hughie Lee-Smith

Enjoy a stroll and learn about this 1953 painting, Sunday Afternoon, by Hughie Lee-Smith. Hear what life experiences influenced his work and how he used his art to give both a social commentary of American city life and provide profound psychological insight.

Episode 38: El Capitan, Sunrise Winter, Yosemite National Park [from Portfolio VII] by Ansel Adams

Explore breathtaking views of Yosemite National Park with Ansel Adams. Learn about his early life, first camera, and ties to Yosemite National Park, all in this week’s Masterpiece Minute podcast episode.

Episode 37: Nun’s Shield by Fray Miguel de Herrera

What is a nun’s shield and why were these miniature works of art created? Journey to 17th and 18th century Mexico and learn the fascinating history of nun’s shields, or badges, as exemplified in Nun’s Shield by Fray Miguel de Herrera, in this week’s Masterpiece Minute podcast episode.

Episode 36: Christ Child Triumphant by Juan de Mesa y Velasco

Step into the world of Spanish sculpture with the Christ Child Triumphant by Juan de Mesa y Velasco and Workshop. Hear how Christ Child sculptures such as this one were made and then adorned in sumptuous wardrobes, complete with crowns and props, in this week’s Masterpiece Minute podcast.

Episode 35: The Frugal Repast by Pablo Picasso

How did Picasso come to capture this couple and what themes is he exploring? Hear the meaning and provenance of Pablo Picasso’s The Frugal Repast in this week’s Masterpiece Minute podcast, plus hear what previous work is hiding in the background of this piece.

Episode 34: The Virgin and Child attributed to Basawan or Manohar

How did this traditionally European image of the Virgin Mary nursing the infant Jesus come to 16th century Mughal India? Explore the blend of cultures and styles shown in The Virgin and Child, which was completed in the 1590s for the Mughal emperor Akbar, then mounted onto the gilded page of an album made for his son and successor, Jahangir. Learn the history and significance of this beautiful work of art and folio page in this week’s Masterpiece Minute podcast.

Episode 33: Still Life with Quince, Cabbage, Melon, and Cucumber by Juan Sánchez Cotán

Revisit Still Life with Quince, Cabbage, Melon, and Cucumber by Juan Sánchez Cotán for a tour of Spanish cuisine and history in this week’s Masterpiece Minute podcast. Plus, hear how this painting came to the United States and narrowly avoided tragedy.

Episode 32: Mandrágora by Diego Rivera

What is the significance of the symbols included in this portrait? Take a closer look at Mandrágora, a masterpiece of Surrealist art by the celebrated Mexican muralist, Diego Rivera in this week’s Masterpiece Minute podcast. Hear the story behind the painting.

Episode 31: Self-portrait, ca. 1628 by Rembrandt

How and why did Rembrandt create this and other self-portraits? Be drawn in by this early self-portrait depicting the artist at around 22 years of age, considered by some to be Rembrandt’s first great self-portrait, and hear how he demonstrated his early mastery and willingness to experiment in this week’s Masterpiece Minute podcast.

Episode 30: Bowl with epigraphic design, 10th century Iran

What is the meaning of the designs on this bowl? Travel to 10th century Iran in this week’s Masterpiece Minute podcast and discover the hidden message on this slip-painted bowl with calligraphic decoration. Hear how the distinct look of this piece was achieved, what the calligraphy communicates, and how epigraphic wares such as this reflect a cultural revival of the time and region.

Episode 29: Pocahontas by Marisol

Take a fresh look at a classic portrait of Matoaka, popularly known as Pocahontas. Explore how this 1976 portrait by Marisol, titled Pocahontas, compares to the 1616 Dutch print of the same name by Simon van de Passe. Both works in the SDMA permanent collection feature the same historical figure, but listen along to hear how Marisol updates the portrait to also reflect Matoaka’s indigenous roots. 

Episode 28: Ram Singh on an elephant

Join the royal procession and discover the meaning of this portrait of Maharao Ram Singh II, Rajput ruler of the Rajasthani kingdom of Kota in modern-day India from 1827 to 1866. Plus, hear the clues Ram Singh on an elephant provides about how paintings were conceived, completed, and copied at court.

Episode 27: Saint Bartholomew by Rembrandt

A special long-term loan from the Timken Museum of Art, Saint Bartholomew, painted in 1657, is one of the most important works from the final phase of Rembrandt’s career. Hear about the significance of this work, how Rembrandt uses light to reflect emotion, and why Saint Bartholomew is depicted holding a knife.

Episode 26: An African elephant and mahout

How did a portrait of an African elephant and its mahout, or caretaker, come to be drawn at Mughal Indian court? Hear the story behind this rare drawing and hear how it has been tied with an Italian doctor and arts patron known to have spent time at the Mughal Indian court.

Episode 25: Rainy Night by Charles Burchfield

Journey back in time to Buffalo, New York in 1929 in this episode of the Masterpiece Minute podcast. Hear what inspired American watercolorist Charles Burchfield’s Rainy Night and his reaction upon hearing that the painting was purchased by The San Diego Museum of Art.

Episode 24: Self Portrait, Etching at a Window by Rembrandt

Explore the best-known etching self-portrait by Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, or simply Rembrandt, in this week’s Masterpiece Minute podcast episode. Hear how prints such as Self Portrait, Etching at a Window helped bolster Rembrandt’s fame, and learn how Rembrandt experimented with the process.

Episode 23: San Diego de Alcalá by Pedro de Mena

How did sculptors make this and similar seventeenth-century Spanish statues look so realistic? Learn about Spain’s highly naturalistic sculpture style and how it is shown in this sculpture, San Diego de Alcalá by Pedro de Mena, in this episode of the Museum’s Masterpiece Minute podcast.

Episode 22: Étienne-René Cardinal Potier de Gesvres by Pompeo Batoni

This eighteenth-century Roman portrait, Étienne-René Cardinal Potier de Gesvres by Pompeo Batoni, has a history of deception and redemption tied to World War II. Hear its story, including how it was rescued by the Allied officers of the famed Monuments Men division.

Episode 21: Basin or Charger, 16th century Spain

What makes this large serving dish shine and how did the trade secret travel from medieval Iraq to 16th century Spain and beyond? Learn about the fascinating history of this closely guarded technique, called luster, in this Masterpiece Minute podcast episode.

Episode 20: Still Life by José Agustín Arrieta

Visit Mexico and hear how José Agustín Arrieta reinvented still life painting in the region with works including this masterpiece, titled Still Life.

Episode 19: Krishna steals clothes of the milkmaids

Hear why stories of Krishna and other narratives about Hindu deities are popular subject matter and learn some of the history of printmaking in India in this episode of the Masterpiece Minute podcast. Plus, hear the story behind Krishna steals clothes of the milkmaids.

Episode 18: The Adoration of the Shepherds by El Greco

How did Spanish master El Greco begin and how did he create his signature style? Learn about El Greco and the significance of this oil painting on copper, The Adoration of the Shepherds, in this episode of the Masterpiece Minute podcast.

Episode 17: The Prodigal Son

How did European-style imagery and themes come to the Iranian court? Specifically, how did an engraving of The Prodigal Son with the Swine, created in 1538 by prolific German printmaker Sebald Beham, travel to and inspire the 17th century Iranian print of The Prodigal Son shown here?

Explore how art and ideas travel in this Masterpiece Minute podcast episode.

Episode 16: Hercules and Omphala by Bartholomaeus Spranger

How is Bartholomaeus Spranger exploring gender identity in this work? What is the meaning of the iconography shown in this engraving of Hercules and Omphale?

Explore this work and learn about Flemish painter Bartholomeus Spranger, the leading court artist to Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II in Prague (now Czech Republic), in this episode of the Masterpiece Minute podcast.

Episode 15: Zahhak enthroned

What’s the cautionary tale for rulers shared in this illustrated manuscript page? What’s happening here and how does it relate to Iranian tradition?

Do you see the snakes in this manuscript page? Hear the cautionary tale for rulers shared in this illustrated manuscript page in the second of a two-part podcast series on the arts of the book in Iran. Learn about legendary Iranian kings, Persian folklore, how the Shahnama helped promote refined conduct, and more.

Episode 14: Gurdiya advises her brother

What’s the significance of this early 14th century folio page? What’s happening here and how does it relate to Iranian tradition? Hear this and more in the first of a two-part podcast series on the arts of the book in Iran.

Episode 12: A Vase of Flowers by Rachel Ruysch

Is the placement of the flowers painted in this piece random or quite purposeful? Explore this and hear about the family life and career success of celebrated Dutch painter Rachel Ruysch in this Masterpiece Minute podcast episode.

Episode 11: Delta Doo by Alison Saar

What is the meaning of the symbolism in this portrait? Hear how Los Angeles-based artist Alison Saar explores race, gender, and identity in the African diaspora. Learn about the bottle tree tradition and its significance in this powerful woodcut portrait in this Masterpiece Minute podcast episode.

Episode 10: God the Father with Angels by Giotto

The oldest European painting in the Museum collection, God the Father with Angels has a fascinating history. Learn about this work, including how it was rediscovered, and the hidden feature the artist left for future generations.

Episode 9: Indra, mounted on Airavata, proceeding into battle with his army

Who were Indra and Airavata and why are elephants so important in South Asian art? Learn the history and context of Indra, mounted on Airavata, proceeding into battle with his army, a page from an illustrated manuscript of the Bhagavata Purana (Ancient Tales of the Lord Vishnu).

Episode 8: The Hands of Dr. Moore by Diego Rivera

What influenced this surreal portrait? Explore the layers of meaning and depth of this work by Diego Rivera and be sure to listen all the way to the end for a science fun fact.

Episode 7: Elephants and Drivers Fighting for Sport

Enter the world of ancient south Indian courtly art and learn the many roles of elephants in this latest Masterpiece Minute podcast episode.