Ancient Art Podcast, Ancient Worlds

Lucas Livingston, Ancient Art Podcast
  • 4.4 (25)
  • VISUAL ARTS
Ancient Art Podcast, Ancient Worlds

Ancient Worlds is the audio series of the Ancient Art Podcast where we choose a single work of art as a launchpad for inspiration. Here we unpack the stories, history, myths, and culture from antiquity through a modern lens and with tongue firmly planted in cheek. The Ancient Art Podcast explores the art and culture of the Ancient Mediterranean World with host Lucas Livingston. Uncover the truths and unravel the mysteries of the civilizations that shaped our modern world. Each episode features detailed examinations of exemplary works from the Art Institute of Chicago and other notable collections in addition to broad themes and concepts of Ancient Mediterranean art and culture.

  1. 04/11/2020 · VIDEO

    Egyptomania, the Early Years – Piranesi, Gerome, Desprez (93)

    http://ancientartpodcast.org/93 This short excerpt from my lecture on the art and history of the Egyptomania phenomenon delves into its early origins. As Europe emerged from the Middle Ages, Egyptian antiquities pillaged during the Roman Empire were excavated from their slumber under Roman soil and newly erected across the city. Even before the translation of the Rosetta Stone, before Napoleon's epic Egyptian expedition and publication of Description de l'Égypte, artists such as Giovanni Battista Piranesi and Louis Jean Desprez were already experimenting and defining what we would come to call Egyptomania. In the subsequent generation, academic painter Jean Léon Gérôme reveals a mature appreciation for ancient Egyptomania in his meticulous renderings of the the Roman Empire. Connect: Donate to the Ancient Art Podcast at http://ancientartpodcast.org/ Subscribe on Apple Podcasts at https://podcasts.apple.com/cr/podcast/ancient-art-podcast-ancient-worlds/id205535627 Feedback http://ancientartpodcast.org/feedback info@ancientartpodcast.org http://facebook.com/ancientartpodcast http://youtube.com/SCARABsolutions https://www.instagram.com/thereallucas/ http://twitter.com/lucaslivingston ]]>

    8 min

  2. 03/18/2020 · VIDEO

    One Ring to Rule Them All (92)

    http://ancientartpodcast.org/92 This extended episode takes us on an unexpected journey across the Art Institute of Chicago to explore the artistry and influences of rings. We go well beyond personal adornment and discuss the significance and many meanings of "ring" as it appears in visual culture. Image: Le Grenouillard (Frog-Man), 1892 Jean-Joseph Carriès French, 1855–1894 Art Institute of Chicago, 2007.78 Connect: Donate to the Ancient Art Podcast at http://ancientartpodcast.org/ Subscribe on Apple Podcasts at https://podcasts.apple.com/cr/podcast/ancient-art-podcast-ancient-worlds/id205535627 Feedback http://ancientartpodcast.org/feedback info@ancientartpodcast.org http://facebook.com/ancientartpodcast http://youtube.com/SCARABsolutions http://twitter.com/lucaslivingston ]]>

    24 min

  3. 01/30/2019

    Japanese Ukiyo-e Pictures of the Floating World (91)

    http://ancientartpodcast.org/91 In this excerpt from my lecture on the Art Institute's recent special exhibition Painting the Floating World: Ukiyo-e Masterpieces from the Weston Collection, I set the stage for what was Japan's Floating World culture during the Edo Period of the Tokugawa Shogunate, 1615-1868. We touch on the origin of the term, the cultural climate in which it rose the popularity, and how the floating world psyche was expressed in Japan's visual arts at the time. Image: Hishikawa Moronobu Flower-Viewing Party with Crest-Bearing Curtain, from the series Flower Viewing at Ueno Japanese, 1676–1689 Art Institute of Chicago, 1925.1689 Connect: Donate to the Ancient Art Podcast http://itunes.com/podcast?id=205535627 http://ancientartpodcast.org/feedback info@ancientartpodcast.org http://facebook.com/ancientartpodcast http://youtube.com/SCARABsolutions http://twitter.com/lucaslivingston ]]>

    6 min

  4. 07/19/2018 · VIDEO

    Dionysus and the Pirates, the Dionysus Cup by Exekias (90)

    http://ancientartpodcast.org/90 In yet another nod to alcoholic inebriation's polymorphic magical potency, we encounter one of my favorite tales of the god of wine, ecstasy, reverie, and madness ... Dionysus. Here we learn the tale of Dionysus versus the Pirates as originally recounted in Homeric Hymn number 7 and alluded to on the exquisite black-figure "Dionysus Cup" kylix by the master painter and potter Exekias. For detailed credits, visit http://ancientartpodcast.org/90. Featured Work of Art: The so-called Dionysus Cup Exekias, ca. 540/530 BC Attic black-figure kylix; from Vulci Munchen Staatliche Antikensammlungen Photo by Matthias Kabel, wikimedia Music: Brave Pirates By fri.events Orchestra Licensed under Creative Commons freemusicarchive.org The Precession of the Equinoxes in the Inverted Alps By Azureflux Licensed under Creative Commons freemusicarchive.org I Dunno By grapes Featuring J Lang, Morusque Licensed under Creative Commons ccmixter.org Pirates By Jack and the Pulpits Licensed under Creative Commons freemusicarchive.org Connect: Donate to the Ancient Art Podcast http://itunes.com/podcast?id=205535627 http://ancientartpodcast.org/feedback info@ancientartpodcast.org http://facebook.com/ancientartpodcast http://youtube.com/SCARABsolutions http://twitter.com/lucaslivingston ]]>

    10 min

  5. 01/14/2018

    Adventures of Ulysses in an Italian Renaissance Hope Chest (89)

    http://ancientartpodcast.org/89 In this excerpt from a recent tour, I explore some of the highlights from Homer's Odyssey in a 15th century Florentine painting and learn a little about Italian Renaissance marriage and fidelity. Names and terms dropped: Homer, Odysseus, Penelope, Nausica, cyclops, Polyphemus, the Sirens, Hermes, moly, Circe, Calypso, Argos, Apollonio di Giovanni, James Joyce, Trojan War, Tuscan, gilding; important terms not dropped: cassone. For images of the featured work of art, visit http://ancientartpodcast.org/89. Featured Work of Art: Apollonio di Giovanni Italian, 1415/17-1465 The Adventures of Ulysses, 1435/45 42 x 131.7 cm (16 3/4 x 51 7/8 in.) Art Institute of Chicago, 1933.1006 Connect: Donate to the Ancient Art Podcast http://itunes.com/podcast?id=205535627 http://ancientartpodcast.org/feedback info@ancientartpodcast.org http://facebook.com/ancientartpodcast http://youtube.com/SCARABsolutions http://twitter.com/lucaslivingston ]]>

    10 min

  6. 12/22/2017

    Tibetan Mandalas (88)

    http://ancientartpodcast.org/88 In this short excerpt from my lecture on Tibetan Buddhist art, we skim the surface of the spiritual meaning, function, and structure of Tibetan mandalas. For images of the featured works of art, visit http://ancientartpodcast.org/88. Featured Works of Art: Drepung Gomang Monastery Mandala of World Peace September 21, 2014 Miller Beach, Indiana Photo by Lucas Livingston, ancientartpodcast.org/88 Arjia Rinpoche Architectural Model of the Kalachakra Mandala researchdtmack.com/mandalas.html Tibet Mandala 18th/19th century Opaque watercolor and gold on cotton and wood 35.2 x 35.2 x 5.4 cm The James W. and Marilynn Alsdorf Collection (151.1996) From Pal, Pratapaditya, A Collecting Odyssey, 1997, fig. 210. Tibet Mandala 18th/19th century Opaque watercolor and gold on wood 26.7 x 26.7 x 12.8 cm (10 1/2 x 10 1/2 x 5 in) The James W. and Marilynn Alsdorf Collection (150.1996) Gallery label: Mandala, literally meaning "circle," is a diagram of the spiritual universe that is used as a meditational device. The circle encloses a sacred area, into which the devotee enters via meditation. The only figures shown in this abstract mandala are the demons who inhabit the charnel ground within the circle of flames. The central hexagon is a yantra (a meditation device) that symbolizes the combination of masculine and feminine aspects, shown as two overlapping triangles. Their union induces cosmic harmony. A circle connects the points of the hexagon, symbolizing the unification of the souls of everything living and divine. Connect: Donate to the Ancient Art Podcast http://itunes.com/podcast?id=205535627 http://ancientartpodcast.org/feedback info@ancientartpodcast.org http://facebook.com/ancientartpodcast http://youtube.com/SCARABsolutions http://twitter.com/lucaslivingston ]]>

    8 min
  7. Circe and Witchcraft in Ancient Greece (87)

    11/17/2017

    Circe and Witchcraft in Ancient Greece (87)

    http://ancientartpodcast.org/87 This is a short excerpt from my lecture "Things That Go Bump: A Visual Survey of Witches, Demons, and Ghosts." Herein we explore the ancient Greek tradition of witchcraft and metamorphosis in two images — one ancient and one modern — of Circe, the definitive witch of Grecian lore and seductive sorceress of Odyssean fame. Waterhouse masterfully betrays her jealous cruelty in those cold, dark, uncaring eyes. Vying for the affection of a handsome lover, the hateful witch Circe poisons the placid pool where the her rival Scylla bathed. Circe's potion of polymorphism transforms the beautiful nymph Scylla to the proverbial "hard place," the loathsome multi-mawed many-tentacled monster, who'd dash the hopes (...and heads) of Odysseus's men sailing "between Scylla and Charybdis." And in the Grecian cup in the MFA, we see a magical elixir similarly perched in wicked Circe's hands while Odysseus's men are in the midst of metamorphosis from her arcane magicks. For images of the featured works of art, visit http://ancientartpodcast.org/87. Featured Works of Art: John William Waterhouse Circe Invidiosa (Jealous Circe), 1892 South Australian Government Grant 1892 Art Gallery of South Australia Drinking cup (kylix) depicting scenes from the Odyssey Greek, Archaic Period, about 560-550 BC The Painter of the Boston Polyphemos © Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (99.518) Connect: Donate to the Ancient Art Podcast http://itunes.com/podcast?id=205535627 http://ancientartpodcast.org/feedback info@ancientartpodcast.org http://facebook.com/ancientartpodcast http://youtube.com/SCARABsolutions http://twitter.com/lucaslivingston ]]>

    4 min

  8. 11/01/2017

    Goya's Caprices and the Wicked Witch of the West (86)

    http://ancientartpodcast.org/86 Happy Halloween! In this very brief excerpt from my lecture "Things That Go Bump: A Visual Survey of Witches, Demons, and Ghosts," we introduce Goya's 1797/99 published volume The Caprices (Los Caprichos). This tome of nightmares, witches, and devils satirizes human vice and intolerance of late 18th century Spanish society through the demons born of religion and power. We conclude with a brief glimpse at our modern icon of the Wicked Witch through the lens of art history and tradition. For greater depth, background, and context, watch episode 59, A Witches' Sabbath. For images of the featured works of art, visit http://ancientartpodcast.org/86. Featured Work of Art: Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (Spanish, 1746-1828) "The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters," plate 43 "When Day Breaks We Will Be Off," plate 71 "Pretty Teacher!" Plate 68 From Los Caprichos, 1797/99 (Museo Nacional del Prado) Connect: Donate to the Ancient Art Podcast http://itunes.com/podcast?id=205535627 http://ancientartpodcast.org/feedback info@ancientartpodcast.org http://facebook.com/ancientartpodcast http://youtube.com/SCARABsolutions http://twitter.com/lucaslivingston ]]>

    3 min
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4.4
out of 5
25 Ratings

About

Ancient Worlds is the audio series of the Ancient Art Podcast where we choose a single work of art as a launchpad for inspiration. Here we unpack the stories, history, myths, and culture from antiquity through a modern lens and with tongue firmly planted in cheek. The Ancient Art Podcast explores the art and culture of the Ancient Mediterranean World with host Lucas Livingston. Uncover the truths and unravel the mysteries of the civilizations that shaped our modern world. Each episode features detailed examinations of exemplary works from the Art Institute of Chicago and other notable collections in addition to broad themes and concepts of Ancient Mediterranean art and culture.

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