Painting Stories

Janet

Demystifying art and bringing paintings and sculpture to life for everyone, with the fascinating stories behind the artworks on display in world class galleries. I choose the must-see artworks in each gallery and tell you the story of why each one is important, why it was made and why the artist is so well-known. This podcast helps you make the most of your visit to famous art galleries with choices of podcasts for each gallery from just over an hour, to two and half hours long.Alternatively, take a virtual tour by looking at the paintings online whilst listening to Painting Stories!

Episodes

  1. 05/13/2023

    Snakes, Sex and Status: a guided tour of the Uffizi Gallery, Florence

    This episode explores the top 10 must-see paintings and sculpture in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence.  Perfect for tourists who are short on time, and want to maximise the time they have available in the Uffizi, by focusing on the most important artworks. The guided tour itself lasts for 66 minutes, although it iIt is suggested that you allow around two hours to include time for walking in between the paintings and sculpture described and to look at other artworks on display. The podcast also makes suggestions on how to extend your visit should you wish. As you stand in front of each artwork, you will hear their stories;  why they are considered important, what they mean, and why they were made. Each story is thoroughly researched and engagingly presented by Janet, an art historian with degrees from The Courtauld Institute of Art, University of London, and decades of experience of speaking to audiences in world-class galleries and museums. The most important artists of the Italian Renaissance and Baroque are showcased, with artworks covered by the tour including (at the times in the podcast shown below): 2:11    The Birth of Venus, Sandro Botticelli 9:38    La Primavera, Sando Botticelli 16:15  The Annunciation, Leonardo da Vinci  22:13  Medici Venus (Ancient Greek Sculpture) 26:30 The Adoration of the Magi, Albrecht Dürer 31:48  Doni Tondo, Michelangelo 40:43  Madonna of the Goldfinch, Raphael 47:09 The Venus of Urbino, Titian 51:43  Medusa, Caravaggio 57:31 Bacchus, Caravaggio 1:00:00 Judith Beheading Holofernes, Artemisia Gentileschi The podcast discusses several other artworks on display in the Uffizi Gallery, which you may want to look at the end of the tour. It also gives you the knowledge and some suggestions of how to look at other Renaissance and Baroque paintings in the Gallery. Guidance is given within the podcast, to help listeners find the artworks discussed. However, the podcast host is not responsible for the accuracy of this guidance, nor any changes to the location, gallery closures or removal of the artworks. Navigating the Uffizi Gallery can be difficult, so please do download and print a floor plan here: https://www.visituffizi.org/museum/uffizi-floor-plans/. The podcast has not been made in association with the Uffizi Gallery. All content of this podcast is owned by the host of the Painting Stories podcast.

    1h 6m
  2. 03/19/2023

    An hour at The National Gallery, London: a podcast tour of the top 10 paintings

    This guided podcast tour brings to life, the top ten, must-see paintings in the National Gallery, London, England.   Perfect for visitors who want to maximise the time they have available in the National Gallery, by focusing on the most important artworks. The guided tour itself lasts for around 70 minutes, although it is suggested that you allow around two hours to include time for walking in between the paintings described and to look at other artworks on display.    For a free taster of this National Gallery, London podcast or to find a longer tour, as well as tours of other galleries, museums and places, please follow Painting Stories on Apple or Spotify Podcasts.   Each 'painting story' lasts for 6 to 7 minutes and is thoroughly researched and engagingly presented by Janet, an art historian with degrees from The Courtauld Institute of Art, University of London, and decades of experience of speaking to audiences in world-class galleries and museums.   You will learn about art and European history through the stories of paintings from the Italian Renaissance, the Spanish Inquisition, the Tudors, England nineteenth century, French Impressionism and, most famous of all, Vincent Van Gogh's The Sunflowers.   The artworks covered by the tour including (at the times in the podcast shown below):   Leonardo da Vinci       Virgin of the Rocks, 1490/91-1506/8           Room 9           03:43   Titian                           Bacchus & Ariadne, 1520                               Room 10         09:49      Hans Holbein              The Ambassadors, 1533                                  Room 12         16:24   Jan van Eyck                The Arnolfini Portrait, 1434                            Room 28         22:59   Diego Velazquez         The Rokeby Venus, c.1647-51                         Room 30         29:47   John Constable           The Haywain, 1821                                          Room 34         36:19   Turner                         The Fighting Temeraire, 1839                          Room 34         42:30   Claude Monet             The Water-Lily Pond, 1899                             Room 41         49:00   Georges Seurat           Bathers at Asniere, 1884                                 Room 43         55:37   Vincent van Gogh       The Sunflowers, 1888                                     Room 43         1:02:04     Music: George Frideric Handel, Water Music, Suite in F major (HWV 348), 1717. If you enjoy this podcast art tour, please do leave me a review.    Guidance is given within the podcast, to help listeners find the artworks discussed. However, the podcast host is not responsible for the accuracy of this guidance, nor any changes to the location, gallery closures or removal of the artworks.   Navigating the National Gallery can be difficult, so please do download and print a floor plan here: https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/visiting/floorplans/level-2.   You may want to use this podcast to do a virtual tour of the National Gallery, using the paintings that you can find online here: https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/search-the-collection.   The podcast has not been made in association with the National Gallery. All content of this podcast is owned by the host of the Painting Stories podcast.

    1h 9m

Trailers

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

Demystifying art and bringing paintings and sculpture to life for everyone, with the fascinating stories behind the artworks on display in world class galleries. I choose the must-see artworks in each gallery and tell you the story of why each one is important, why it was made and why the artist is so well-known. This podcast helps you make the most of your visit to famous art galleries with choices of podcasts for each gallery from just over an hour, to two and half hours long.Alternatively, take a virtual tour by looking at the paintings online whilst listening to Painting Stories!