Art of History Amanda Matta

The Chevalier d'Éon (1728–1810) is known as a transgender icon, living the first half of their life as a man, and the second as a woman. Theirs is also a life that is remarkably documented in contemporary artwork. But how much can we conclusively determine about how the Chevalier viewed themselves from their portraits?
Today's Image(s): Alexandre-Auguste Robineau, The Fencing-Match between the Chevalier de Saint-George and the Chevalier d'Éon (c. 1787-9). Oil on canvas. Royal Collection Trust.
And: Thomas Stewart, Chevalier d'Éon, after Jean-Laurent Mosnier (1792). National Portrait Gallery.
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How did the daughter of an African ruler become goddaughter to Queen Victoria? A young black girl named Aina, later called Sarah Forbes Bonetta (1843–1880), began life in West Africa. But she would grow up to become a popular member of Victorian royal circles.
Today's Image: Hannah Uzor, Aina, Sarah Forbes Bonetta Davies (2020). Acrylic & fabric on canvas, 120x80 cm. Osborne House, United Kingdom.
Hannah Uzor on the English Heritage Podcast
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With the tragic demise of Lady Jane Grey (1537-1554) serving as inspiration for countless works of art, it was hard to select just one to focus our attention on. But I did it, and in this episode, we dive into the short life of England’s Nine Days Queen.
Today's Image: Paul Delaroche, The Execution of Lady Jane Grey (1833). Oil on Canvas. National Gallery, London.
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Amanda is joined on the podcast for this special episode by Jennifer Higgie, author of The Other Side: A Story of Women in Art and the Spirit World. 
Uncover the role that spiritualism has played in art, particularly since the dawn of modernism, and delve into the biographies of some trailblazing female artists who were all influenced by the occult.
The first major work of art history to focus on women artists and their engagement with the spirit world, The Other Side is so much more than a retelling of art history. It is an exploration of the ways that the otherworldly has shaped mankind’s (and womankind’s) creative expression.
The Other Side by Jennifer Higgie is available right now, from Pegasus Books.
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At age 42, a nun named Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179) decided to heed the command—which she believed came from God—to write down that which she saw and heard. It just so happened that what she saw and heard were visions from Heaven, containing extraordinary sights and sounds that would capture the attention of Popes and Emperors alike for centuries to come.
Today's artwork: Hildegard von Bingen, Self-Portrait frontispiece from Scivias (1142-1152). Ink on parchment. Wiesbaden State Library.
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New episodes every month. Let's keep in touch!
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It may have been easy for Joséphine de Beauharnais (1763-1814) to scoff at the “extraordinary destiny” once promised to her by a fortune-teller. From the Island of Martinique, where she spent her girlhood, to the shadow of the guillotine, where she became a single mother, Josephine likely never would have predicted her remarkable rise to become “more than a queen”—until, that is, she met one Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821).
Today's Image: Sir David Wilkie, Joséphine and the Fortune-teller (1837). Oil on Canvas. National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh.
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New episodes every month. Let's keep in touch!
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Email: artofhistorypod@gmail.com
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