A Thoroughly Pleasant 02:52
Friday May 25, 2007
Matt Law, an awesome (and awesomely missed) photographer with whom I used to have the honor of working, wrote and wondered if I had seen the "500 Years of Female Portraits in Western Art" video on YouTube yet? No, of course I hadn't. YouTube comes up with amazing frequency in this house, but nearly always in the context of something the kids missed on Adult Swim. (<--Shield your eyes! Most glaring website color scheme ever, and please do note that we are a teddibly, teddibly highbrow and cultured lot around this joint.)
Anyway, because it was Matt doing the asking, and because I respect his eye, a look-see was duly undertaken. All I can say is: mighty morphin' fun! Art history buffs, you need to see this. I've replayed the video about seven times, and still only have roughly 50% of the artists and works contained within ID-ed. Bet you'll get them all faster. And feel free to leave a comment here. (Unlike some people on YouTube, no one here is going to leave grammatically scanty grumblings about "fat, white chicks" or "Freeda Carlo" ... or, at least, they'd *better* not. Heh.) Thanks, Matt.
- Watch the video! Gape in wonder!
Comments
Wonderful. Thank you.
Isn’t that neat? I kept leaning forward and uttering things like “Leonardo! Raphael! Botticelli! Leonardo again! Oh! Oh! Messina!” My poor dog kept cocking one ear and looking at me as if I had become more unhinged than is usual.
Shelley, THAT WAS AWESOME!!
Thank you so much, I sent it to my mom. What a beautiful video.
Great stuff, Shelley!
It’s interesting how so many of the earlier women look alike (or maybe it’s just me).
I think the earlier painters had fewer mentors to learn from. Maybe that’s why they are so similar; and as time progresses we have even more. I absolutely love this video.
That was just amazing! I normally don’t look in YouTube for quality clips like this. Quite the test for art students.
(1) ARE they that similar?
(2) Yes, quite a test for students of Art History.
–Stan
Gorgeous! A visual feast for the eyes.
Glad you all liked the clip and thanks for the link
Never one to turn down a challenge… this is the best I could do. Have identified all but 8 of the portraits, and tho I THINK I know the artist for most of them, can’t find the original painting to confirm. Help anybody?
http://www.maysstuff.com/womenid.htm
Thank you. I sent that to my fellow Art Historians. Wonderful composition!! Really intense to watch the transformation of both style and representation of the centuries.
The list is complete! All 90 portraits and artists are identified…
http://www.maysstuff.com/womenid.htm
well i wud just like to ask a question bout the picture of the last supper.. ive sen the film of the divici code an read the book an i think its remarkable that all the deciples in the picture look like men except one of the theory that mary magdan was the one clostest to jesus an sat on the right side as its the only person that does indeed look like a woman i was just trying to find out if it cud even by a long shot possibly be true that it could be in fact mary? i kno i may insult some peoples beliefs an im sorry if i do im just findin out if it is possible??
This is great. I am a Professor of Art History and often teach about Art By and About Women. A great deal of my students are going into Graphics, Film, Video etc…. Perfect