Peter Paul Rubens October 20, 2019PermalinkNancy WaldoToday's AMITArt History, European History Lead: The 16th-century Flemish painter Peter Paul Rubens is best known for his vivid joyous murals filled with voluptuous women and fleshy cupids. He was also a hard-nosed businessman and successful diplomat. Intro.: A Moment in Time with Dan Roberts. Content: Son of an Antwerp lawyer, in 1600 at the age of 22 Rubens went to Italy to complete his training as an artist. A chance meeting brought him into the service of the Duke of Mantua who used him not only as a painter but also as an advisor and informal representative. Rubens used his time in Italy well, studying the work of Italian painters and absorbing the decayed culture of Italy's classical past. He returned to Antwerp in 1608 and was hired as court painter to the Hapsburg Archduke Albert of the Spanish Netherlands. Read more →
Mexican Muralism May 30, 2019PermalinkNancy WaldoToday's AMITAmerican History, Art History, Mexican History Lead: At the root of the explosion of graffiti on American public spaces was the revolutionary artistic movement known as Mexican Muralism. Intro.: A Moment in Time with Dan Roberts. Content: Murals have been around since prehistoric times, but the modern genesis of the term in part originated with the Mexican "muralista" art movement. In the years following the Mexican revolution, during the 1920s and 1930s, native art, often with a powerful political message, began to decorate blank walls all over Mexico. Varying in quality, murals helped turn the cities into works of art. Muralists used open public spaces to call attention to a troubled society’s dreams, needs and hopes, revealing the need for social transformation. These murals could not be quickly eradicated, though the authorities tried. They were in-your-face, provocative, and demonstrated insistent demands by the artists for social justice. Download [75.84 KB]
Mexican Muralism November 27, 2018PermalinkNancy WaldoToday's AMITArt History, Mexican History Lead: At the root of the explosion of graffiti on American public spaces was the revolutionary artistic movement known as Mexican Muralism. Intro.: A Moment in Time with Dan Roberts. Content: Murals have been around since prehistoric times, but the modern genesis of the term in part originated with the Mexican "muralista" art movement. In the years following the Mexican revolution, during the 1920s and 1930s, native art, often with a powerful political message, began to decorate blank walls all over Mexico. Varying in quality, murals helped turn the cities into works of art. Muralists used open public spaces to call attention to a troubled society’s dreams, needs and hopes, revealing the need for social transformation. These murals could not be quickly eradicated, though the authorities tried. They were in-your-face, provocative, and demonstrated insistent demands by the artists for social justice. Download [76.23 KB]
Belle Huntington II July 6, 2018PermalinkNancy WaldoToday's AMITAmerican History, Art History, Financial History Lead: Born of humble circumstances in Richmond, Arabella Yarrington Huntington in 1900 was considered by many to be the richest woman in the world. Intro.: A Moment in Time with Dan Roberts. Content: After helping to build the first transcontinental railroad, Collis Potter Huntington went south to explore investment opportunities. During his stays at a Richmond, Virginia boardinghouse, he fell in love with the daughter of the owner who also served as barmaid, Arabella. She was thirty years his junior but a vivacious and beautiful woman. She moved to New York, became his mistress, and bore him a son in 1870. Download [6.57 KB]
Cole Porter’s Breakthrough April 29, 2018PermalinkSandy CreedToday's AMITAmerican History, Art History, Entertainment History Lead: The 1940s were not a good decade for Cole Porter. Intro.: "A Moment in Time" with Dan Roberts. Content: Though he was one of the hottest properties in Broadway with a seemingly endless stream of successes in the 1930s and though his music and lyrics represented the epitome of sophistication and wit, during the war decade Porter went through a long period of personal and professional discouragement. Read more →
Mexican Muralism January 31, 2018PermalinkNancy WaldoToday's AMITAmerican History, Art History, Mexican History, Social Justice Movements Lead: At the root of the explosion of graffiti on American public spaces was the revolutionary artistic movement known as Mexican Muralism. Intro.: A Moment in Time with Dan Roberts. Content: Murals have been around since prehistoric times, but the modern genesis of the term in part originated with the Mexican "muralista" art movement. In the years following the Mexican revolution, during the 1920s and 1930s, native art, often with a powerful political message, began to decorate blank walls all over Mexico. Varying in quality, murals helped turn the cities into works of art. Muralists used open public spaces to call attention to a troubled society’s dreams, needs and hopes, revealing the need for social transformation. These murals could not be quickly eradicated, though the authorities tried. They were in-your-face, provocative, and demonstrated insistent demands by the artists for social justice. Download [75.84 KB]
Bayeux Tapestry II January 14, 2018PermalinkNancy WaldoToday's AMITArt History, European History, French History Lead: To commemorate its victory on the battlefield at Hastings in 1066, the Norman aristocracy used a wonderful work of art, the Bayeux Tapestry. Intro.: A Moment in Time with Dan Roberts. Content: The generations that followed the Norman invasion were not easy ones for England’s new rulers. Despite connections of blood between King William the Conqueror and the old Saxon royal house, most native Englishmen and all of the supplanted Saxon aristocracy considered William and his house to be usurpers, illegitimate pretenders to the throne. The Normans resorted to harsh tactics to bring the Saxons into line, ruthless suppressing land claims and planting armed garrisons all around the country. Read more →
Bayeux Tapestry I January 13, 2018PermalinkNancy WaldoToday's AMITArt History, European History, French History Lead: Propaganda comes in many forms. One of the most elaborate pieces of propaganda, this one from the 11th Century, was stitched. Intro.: A Moment in Time with Dan Roberts. Content: The islands of Great Britain and Ireland have been immigrant destinations for centuries. Since before Roman times, wave after wave of continental invaders have braved the treacherous waters of North Sea or Channel to find habitation on the main island or the Emerald Isle just to the west. The white cliffs of southern England shimmered just at the edge of sight and Roman, missionary, Viking, Briton, Angle, Saxon, and Jute established homes and fortunes only to be challenged to defend their inheritance from subsequent marauders. Read more →
