Category Archives: History

Podcast: Historian Mary Beard On Emperor Nero

This week: Mary Beard on Nero, one of the most infamous Roman emperors. Was he the sadistic murderer of legend, the emperor who fiddled as Rome burned, or has he been a victim of spin and myth? 

As well as getting Mary’s take on this infamous figure and Nero: the man behind the myth, the exhibition about him that’s just opened at the British Museum in London, Ben Luke also talks to the exhibition’s curator Thorsten Opper.

Also this week, as the first London Gallery Weekend begins—with 140 galleries from Mayfair to Mile End taking part—The Art Newspaper‘s editor-at-large Georgina Adam speaks to Jeremy Epstein, co-founder of Edel Assanti gallery and one of the founders of London Gallery Weekend initiative. And in this episode’s Work of the Week, we talk to the artist Nina Katchadourian about a very personal piece of embroidery, created by her adopted grandmother, which has inspired a new work by the artist in her show at Pace in New York.

The Cotswolds: History Of Village Of Ablington

Ablington is a village in the county of Gloucestershire, England. It is located in the Coln Valley and is part of the Bibury civil parish, 6 miles north-east of Cirencester. Ablington is in the Cotswolds which has been designated by Natural England as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Here, the book ‘A Cotswold Village’ was written, by J. Arthur Gibbs in the early 1900s. We explore the manor house he lived in, and compare the book to how times have changed.

Culture & Design: The ‘Chinatown’ Style In Cities

From London, to Manila, to Melbourne, Chinatowns in cities around the world share similar design elements. And that’s on purpose. Their distinct “Chinatown” style can be traced back to a single event: the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, which came on the heels of decades of violence and racist laws targeting Chinese communities in the US. The earthquake devastated Chinatown. But in the destruction, San Francisco’s Chinese businessmen had an idea for a fresh start: a way to keep their culture alive, by inventing a completely new one. Chinatown carved out a place for itself under the threat of hate and violence. Today, that legacy is staring us in the face.

Views: Ancient Mongolian Fishing Technique At Lake Chagan, China (Video)

In the northeast province of Jilin, China, local fishermen rely on an ancient Mongolian technique to fish in the frozen waters of Lake Chagan. And despite temperatures reaching minus 30 degrees Fahrenheit, all they need are a net, two horses, and a spindle.

Artworks: Andy Warhol’s ‘Marilyn Monroe’ Of 1962

Andy Warhol created his first painting of Marilyn Monroe in 1962, in the wake of the American movie star’s sudden death at the age of 36. Tragedy, and its portrayal in modern mass media, fascinated Warhol; at the time of Monroe’s death, the artist was enmeshed in his Death and Disaster series, an exploration of gruesome images found in newspapers and magazines. Monroe’s death pushed the narrative of tragedy and celebrity one step further, and in it Warhol found inspiration for arguably the most important suite in his oeuvre. Dating from 1967, Marilyn Monroe is a complete portfolio of ten screen prints, each produced in a different combination of intense, flat colors. This portfolio, which comes from the estate of Barbara Spiegel Linhart, who purchased the works from David Whitney in 1969, is the best possible example of this important set of screenprints, and is a highlight of Sotheby’s Contemporary Art Evening Sale this May.

Art: ‘Jeune Fille en Bleu’ By Amedeo Modigliani (1919)

Painted in 1919 after the artist fled Paris for the south of France, ‘Jeune Fille en Bleu’ is one of the finest works from the penultimate year of Amedeo Modigliani’s life. In this episode of Expert Voices, Sotheby’s Senior Specialist Simon Stock explains how the search for new subjects in this new location saw Modigliani depicting informal models found in local bars and shops. This portrait captures the serenity of the young girl sitter and we see all the recognisable traits of Modigliani’s late work: the simplified human form, the elongated neck and the vacant eyes.

Amedeo Clemente Modigliani was an Italian Jewish painter and sculptor who worked mainly in France. He is known for portraits and nudes in a modern style characterized by a surreal elongation of faces, necks, and figures that were not received well during his lifetime, but later became much sought-after.

Exhibit View: ‘Mesopotamia – Civilization Begins’, The Getty Villa, Los Angeles

Mesopotamia—the land “between the rivers” in modern-day Iraq—was home to the ancient Sumerians, Babylonians, and Assyrians. Among their many achievements are the creation of the earliest known script (cuneiform), the formation of the first cities, the development of advanced astronomical and mathematical knowledge, and spectacular artistic and literary accomplishments. The exhibition covers three millennia, from the first cities in about 3200 BC to Alexander the Great’s conquest of Babylon in 331 BC.

Exhibition organized by the Musée du Louvre, Paris, and the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles.

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French Estates: ‘Cheverny Chateau’ – Loire Valley

We take you to discover a magnificent stately home located in #France​’s #LoireValley​. The #Château​ of #Cheverny​ is listed as a historical monument and it also inspired #Tintin​ creator Hergé for the family home of Captain Haddock. One in three visitors to Cheverny comes for the world of Tintin, an important source of income. The same family has carefully maintained the castle and grounds for more than six centuries, with each generation laying a new stone to the edifice.

The Château de Cheverny is a grand estate which has been in the same family for over six centuries. Cheverny has always been lived in and every generation has made a great effort to take care and embellish it with a true passion.

History: Bicentenary Of Napoleon Bonaparte Debated In France (Video)

This week, you find us outside #Paris​’ military museum, the #Invalides​. It is the final resting place of one of France’s most famous and most controversial figures, #Napoleon#Bonaparte​. As 2021 marks the bicentenary of the emperor’s death, his military, social and political legacy have sparked a heated debate, both here and abroad… proving a pickle for the government’s commemorative plans. We take a look back at this multi-faceted leader.