Why'd They Put That In A Museum?

Beth Bacon and Sarah Lees
  • 5.0 (4)
  • Visual Arts
  • Weekly Series

Art. Objects. Museums. Ideas. Questions. What happens when you put things on display and invite people in to look? Have you ever seen art on display and wondered, “Why’d they put that in a museum?”  Museum curator Sarah Lees and author Beth Bacon start each conversation with one item, in one specific museum. We explore the object, its history, and the cultural ideas surrounding it. In the end, that object takes on new meaning as listeners discover the fascinating reasons it ended up in a museum.

  1. Episode 1

    Acrobats Leaping over a Bull

    Beth Bacon and curator Sarah Lees are back for season three of “Why’d They Put That in a Museum?” This episode focuses on a listener request that traces back to an archeological site on the island of Crete from way back in 1900. When British archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans excavated the site at Knossos, he invited an artist named Emile Gilliéron (and Gilliéron’s son) to document what they found using watercolors. “Acrobats Leaping over a Bull” is Gilliéron’s depiction of a Bronze age wall painting that was uncovered during the dig. Sarah explains this image’s ties to the Minoan culture, which existed in 3000 BCE, and was named after the mythical King Minos. She discusses how Gilliéron used surviving fresco fragments as a base for the composition, then filled in the parts that were lost over the centuries. Why are the people in the image leaping over a bull? Turns out, bull-leaping was a sport in Minoan culture. How did this piece end up at Harvard? Tune in to the podcast to find out!  Artist:  Emile Gilliéron and/or son Item: Acrobats Leaping over a Bull (after a wall painting from the Palace of Knossos, Crete, c. 1900 – 1910 Details: Watercolor on paper. 87.63 x 158.75 cm (34 1/2 x 62 1/2 in.) framed: 108 × 179.1 × 2.5 cm (42 1/2 × 70 1/2 × 1 in.) Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum https://harvardartmuseums.org/collections/object/291790  Time code: 00:00 Welcome Back Season Three 01:07 Listener Request At The Fogg 01:34 Meet The Bull Leaping Watercolor 04:00 Fragments And Reconstruction 05:46 Knossos And Arthur Evans 07:25 Myths Minos And The Minotaur 11:05 Gilliéron The Archaeological Illustrator 14:50 How Harvard Acquired It 17:00 Why Museums Collect Copies 20:11 Was Bull Leaping a Real Sport? 22:49 What This Artwork Teaches 23:29 Wrap Up And Listener Call Send us ideas & feedback. © 2025 Why'd They Put That In A Museum  podcast hosts Beth Bacon and Sarah Lees.

    Acrobats Leaping over a Bull
See All Season 3 (1)

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
4 Ratings

About

Art. Objects. Museums. Ideas. Questions. What happens when you put things on display and invite people in to look? Have you ever seen art on display and wondered, “Why’d they put that in a museum?”  Museum curator Sarah Lees and author Beth Bacon start each conversation with one item, in one specific museum. We explore the object, its history, and the cultural ideas surrounding it. In the end, that object takes on new meaning as listeners discover the fascinating reasons it ended up in a museum.

Information

  • Creator
    Beth Bacon and Sarah Lees
  • Episodes
    22
  • Seasons
    3
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 © 2025 Why'd They Put That In A Museum? Beth Bacon and Sarah Lees
  • Show Website
    Why'd They Put That In A Museum?