Episode Highlights
Episode 1: Mr and Mrs Andrews by Thomas Gainsborough
Highlights
In his portrait of two aristocratic 18th-century British landowners, Gainsborough may have intended to depict bird carcasses in the unfinished area in the lady's lap as a not-so-subtle comment on the couple's marriage and social position.
Questions to Consider
- Does the painting appeal to you? Why do you think critics consider it a masterpiece?
- Other critics have speculated that the artist could have intended to paint a child's portrait or book in the void in Mrs. Andrew's lap. What significance do you think those objects would have had? Why else might Gainsborough have left the area unfinished?
- If Mr. and Mrs. Andrews did indeed stop Gainsborough from including a symbolic social critique in the painting, how do you think the incident could have affected his ability to get commissions to paint the celebrities of his day?
Other Works Featured
Mary, Countess Howe (ca. 1763), Thomas Gainsborough
Mrs Sarah Siddons (1785), Thomas Gainsborough
William Poyntz (1762), Thomas Gainsborough
Thomas Gainsborough with His Wife and Elder Daughter, Mary (ca. 1751), Thomas Gainsborough
Two Daughters with Cat (ca. 1759), Thomas Gainsborough
Peter Darnell Muilman, Charles Croake, and William Keable in a Landscape (ca. 1750), Thomas Gainsborough
Girl with Pigs (1782), Thomas Gainsborough
The Four Elements: Air (1570), Joachim Beuckelaer
Episode 2: The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Tulp by Rembrandt
Highlights
Rembrandt suggests Christian iconography in his portrait of a criminal's cadaver and puts us, the viewers, in the position of the audience often depicted in such paintings.
Questions to Consider
- Why do you think the 17th century Dutch were so fascinated by cadaver dissections?
- What elements of the painting appeal to you? In your opinion, what identifies it as a Rembrandt?
- Do you think the fascination with dissection has any parallels in modern painting, photography, or film? Why or why not?
Other Works Featured
Self Portrait as the Apostle St. Paul (1661), Rembrandt
The Descent from the Cross (1633), Rembrandt
Flayed Ox (1655), Rembrandt
Dead Peacocks (ca. 1639), Rembrandt
Anatomy drawing from the Leiden Anatomy Theatre (1609), J.C. Woudanus
The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Sebastiaen Egbertszoon (ca. 1601-03), Aert Pieterszoon
Dr. Sebastiaen Egbertszoon's Osteological Presentation (1619), Nicolaes Eliaszoon Pickenoy
The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Frederick Ruysch (1683), Jan van Neck
Self Portrait (1628), Rembrandt
Still Life with Flowers (1639), Hans Bollongier
The Night Watch (1642), Rembrandt
The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Joan Deyman (1656), Rembrandt
Episode 3: The Tempest by Giorgione
Highlights
In The Tempest, Giorgione depicts the ancient Greek story of the goddess Demeter and her mortal lover Iasion, whom Zeus struck down with a lightning bolt.
Questions to Consider
- How do you react to the painting on a personal level?
- What elements of the painting give it such a "charged" atmosphere?
- In some versions of the Greek myth, Iasion and Demeter's dalliance produced not one, but two sons–Plutus (god of wealth) and Philomelus (who invented the plough). How does this version influence the interpretation of the painting?
Other Works Featured
Sleeping Venus (ca. 1510), Giorgione
Judith (ca. 1504), Giorgione
Laura (1506), Giorgione
Three Philosophers (ca. 1508/09), Giorgione
The Vendramin Family (mid 1540s), Titian
Miracle of the True Cross at the Bridge of San Lorenzo (1500), Gentile Bellini
Portrait of Lord Byron in Albanian Dress (ca. 1835), Thomas Phillips
Feast in the House of Levi (1573), Paolo Veronese
Danae (ca. 1560), Titian
Diana and Callisto (1556-59), Titian
Jupiter and Io (1532), Antonio da Corregio
Rape of Ganymede (1635), Rembrandt
Episode 4: The Birth of Venus by Botticelli
Highlights
Botticelli depicts Venus not as a primarily erotic figure, but as a symbol of fertility.
Questions to Consider
- What do you appreciate most about The Birth of Venus?
- Have you seen the painting elsewhere in popular culture? Does that impact your experience of the painting?
- Januszczak draws many clues for his interpretation from the house where the Venus hung and other paintings located there. To what extent should context influence our interpretation of art? Have you ever changed your views of a piece of art, literature, or film upon learning its context?
- How much weight do you give to symbols when evaluating or appreciating a work of art?
Other Works Featured
Other Works FeaturedAdoration of the Magi (1475), Botticelli
Fortitude (ca. 1470), Botticelli
Madonna of the Pomegranate (ca. 1487), Botticelli
Madonna of the Magnificat (ca. 1481), Botticelli
The Adoration of the Magi (ca. 1478/82), Botticelli
Portrait of a Man with Medal of Cosimo the Elder (ca. 1474-75), Botticelli
Venus and Mars (ca. 1485), Botticelli
The Birth of Venus (1863), Alexandre Cabanel
La Primavera (ca. 1482), Botticelli
Episode 5: Boy Bitten by a Lizard by Caravaggio
Highlights
Caravaggio's painting contains a lesson to the viewer about the transience of youth, the perils of sensual pleasure, and the precariousness of life.
Questions to Consider
- How do you react to the painting? Does your impression change after the first glance?
- What elements of the painting give it a sense of intimacy?
- Do you share Januszczak's sympathies with the lizard, rather than the boy? Why or why not?
Other Works Featured
Salome with the Head of St. John the Baptist (1607-1610), Caravaggio
Young Bacchus (1593), Caravaggio
The Fortune Teller (ca. 1595), Caravaggio
The Cardsharps (ca. 1594), Caravaggio
The Taking of Christ (1602), Caravaggio
The Lute Player (ca. 1596), Caravaggio
Contarelli Chapel paintings, Church of San Luigi dei Francesi: The Calling of St. Matthew, The Martyrdom of St. Matthew, The Inspiration of St. Matthew (1597-1602), Caravaggio
The Beheading of St. John the Baptist (1608), Caravaggio
The Sacrifice of Isaac (1601-02), Caravaggio
David (1609-10), Caravaggio
Bacchus (ca. 1596), Caravaggio
Boy with a Fruit Basket (1593), Caravaggio
St. Jerome (1605-1606), Caravaggio
A Table Laden with Flowers and Fruit (ca. 1600-10), Master of the Hartford Still-Life
Episode 6: Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci
Highlights
A robbery and attempted forgery in 1911 helped propel Mona Lisa to its position as the most famous painting in the world.
Questions to Consider
- Do you find Mona Lisa particularly compelling as a painting?
- Can you think of other artworks that have inspired tchotchkes such as ashtrays and refrigerator magnets, as Mona Lisa has? How do those products affect your appreciation of the original work?
- Do you know of other famous forgeries or stolen pieces of art? What effects do you think these had on the artists' reputations, the art community, the public, and the works themselves?
Other Works Featured
Self-portrait in red chalk (1512-15), Leonardo da Vinci
Ginevra de' Benci (ca. 1474/78), Leonardo da Vinci
Madonna Benois (1475-78), Leonardo da Vinci
The Last Supper (1495-98), Leonardo da Vinci
Episode 7: Le dejeuner sur l'herbe by Edouard Manet
Highlights
Perhaps motivated by the hypocrisy of his father, Manet set out to paint a deliberately shocking–even sacrilegious–work, updating and mocking old masters.
Questions to Consider
- What do you think of Januszczak's theory that Auguste Manet had an illicit affair with his sons' piano teacher, Suzanne Leenhoff, whom Edouard married after his father's death?
- How does the truth or falsehood of the senior Manet's alleged affair affect your reaction to the painting?
- What evidence do you find in the paintings to support the notion that Manet felt a sexual attraction to his model, Victorine Meurent?
Other Works Featured
Mlle. Victorine in the Costume of an Espada (1862), Edouard Manet
Young Lady in 1866 (1866), Edouard Manet
Olympia (1863), Edouard Manet
Street Singer (1862), Edouard Manet
Les Romaines de la Decadence (1847), Thomas Couture
Self-Portrait with Palette (1879), Edouard Manet
Portrait of M. and Mme. Auguste Manet (1860), Edouard Manet
Episode 8: The Arnolfini Marriage by Jan van Eyck
Highlights
Rather than documenting the marriage of a rich merchant family, van Eyck's work memorializes the couple's pregnancy–probably after the woman had died in childbirth.
Questions to Consider
- If artists often used fruit on windowsills as a symbol of Adam and Eve's fall in the Garden of Eden, why does it so often appear in paintings of the Virgin Mary–who, in Catholic tradition, was free of original sin?
- Apart from the mysterious purpose of The Arnolfini Marriage, what makes it a masterpiece? What draws you to the painting?
- If you accept the interpretation of the Marriage as a posthumous portrait of Mme. Arnolfini, how does it affect your response to the painting as a work of art?
Other Works Featured
Lucca Madonna (1436), Jan van Eyck
Ince Hall Madonna (1433), Jan van Eyck
Ghent Altarpiece/Adoration of the Mystic Lamb (1432), Jan van Eyck
Madonna of the Cherries (ca. 1535), Joos van Cleve
Portrait of a Man/Self Portrait (1433), Jan van Eyck
Portrait of Giovanni Arnolfini (1435), Jan van Eyck
The Annunciation (ca. 1525), Joos van Cleve
Portrait of a Woman in Red (1620), Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger
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