The naked and the nude have been frequent subjects for art throughout the history of human creation, and also the frequent subject of censorship. What's wrong with seeing the unclothed human body? And what is its place in art?

For much of human history, people made art by trying to represent the world as it appeared around them. Until about 100 years ago, when a bunch of artists stopped trying to do that. It was shocking then and it still upsets and confounds today. How are we supposed to deal with art completely removed from recognizable objects? And why should we? This is the case for Abstraction. Created by The Art Assignment.

Ai Weiwei has been called an iconoclast, a radical, a voice for the voiceless, and was once named the most powerful artist in the world. Who is Ai Weiwei? And why is he considered one of the most renowned artists of our time?

Sampling, appropriating, borrowing, stealing. Whatever you want to call it, artists have been copying since time immemorial. We look into the history of the practice, and share our theories of why it is done, and what it can offer us.

Sampling, appropriating, borrowing, stealing. Whatever you want to call it, artists have been copying since time immemorial. We look into the history of the practice, and share our theories of why it is done, and what it can offer us.

You’ve heard of Jackson Pollock and know of his infamous “drip paintings,” but what is it that you’re supposed to do when you look at his work today? Why did it cause shockwaves in 1947, and what does it mean now? We explore the life, evolution, and legacy of Jackson Pollock.

EARTHWORKS. LAND ART. EARTH ART. Whatever you call it, we look at what it means to make art out in nature and in the world from the 1960s to today.

You've probably seen a few cubes sitting in an art gallery and questioned why they were there. How could cubes be important? How did we get here? This is the case for Minimalism.

The powerful and privileged have hoarded precious artifacts in museums for centuries, and it's only recently that these treasures were made available to the rest of us. What purpose did museums serve? And why does every city have one today?

Dubious of performance art? Break into a cold sweat when you realize it’s about to begin? There’s a reason. Here we present you with a brief history of performance art and attempt to sway you to its potential charms. Let us know if you buy it. The paintings in the first scene are by Candida Alvarez (www.candidaalvarez.com), from her exhibition 'mambomountain' at Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago. Photo by Tom van Eynde.

Yoko Ono was an established artist before most of the world heard of her in 1968, and she continues to make groundbreaking work to this day. Who is Yoko Ono? What is her work? And why should you take her seriously? This is the case for Yoko Ono.

Mary Cassatt, Breakfast In Bed, 1897 (Huntington Library) Speakers: Beth Harris and Steven Zucker. Created by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker.

Mary Cassatt, In the Loge, 1878, oil on canvas, 81.28 x 66.04 cm / 32 x 26 inches (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston), speakers: Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker. In nineteenth century France, the gaze of the observer—whether on Napoleon's grand new boulevards or in the opera—was very much structured by issues of economic status. Mary Cassatt's remarkable painting In the Loge (c. 1878-79) clearly shows the complex relationship between the gaze, public spectacle, gender, and class privilege. Cassatt was a wealthy American artist who had adopted the style of the Impressionists while living in Paris. Here she depicts a fashionable upper-class woman in a box seat at the Paris opera (as it happens, the sitter is Cassatt's sister, Lydia). Lydia is shown holding opera glasses up to her eyes; but instead of tilting them down, as she would if she were watching the performance below, her gaze is level. She peers straight across the chamber perhaps at another member of the audience. Look closely and you will notice that, in turn, and in one of the boxes across the room, a gentleman is gazing at her. Lydia is then, in a sense, caught between his gaze and ours even as she spies another.

Mary Cassatt, The Child's Bath, 1893, oil on canvas, 100.3 x 66.1 cm / 39-1/2 x 26 inches (Art Institute of Chicago). Created by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker.

Mary Cassatt, The Loge, oil on canvas, 1882. 31-7/16 x 25-1/8 inches (National Gallery of Art) Speakers: Beth Harris and Steven Zucker. Created by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker.

Mary Cassatt, Woman with a Pearl Necklace in a Loge, 1879, oil on canvas, 32 x 23-1/2 inches or 81.3 x 59.7 cm (Philadelphia Museum of Art). Created by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker.

These challenging paintings visually separate indigenous Americans from the Spanish elite; most were exported. Francisco Clapera, Set of Sixteen Casta paintings, c. 1775, 51.1 x 39.6 cm (Denver Art Museum). Speakers: Sabina Kull, Meyer Center Fellow, Denver Art Museum and Beth Harris. Find learning related resources here: https://smarthistory.org/seeing-america-2/

Adriaen de Vries, a 17th century Dutch sculptor, often used "direct lost-wax casting." Because the wax is "lost," each bronze cast is unique. If the casting fails, the sculptor begins again. Created by Getty Museum.

Bronze, a combination of copper, tin, and other metals, has long been prized for its ability to register fine details. Watch indirect lost-wax casting, a technique developed by artists in the 1500s. Created by Getty Museum.

Catacomb of Priscilla, Rome, late 2nd century through the 4th century C.E. Speakers: Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker

The Cathedral of Notre-Dame, Paris, begun 1163 (recorded before the fire). speakers: Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker. Created by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker.

Video by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. On the occasion of her exhibition Figure and Landscape, Opie talks about the series. Created by Smarthistory.

The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel is one of Michelangelo's most famous works. Learn more about the history of this masterpiece. 1508-12, fresco (Vatican, Rome). Created by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker.

Critics at the World's Fair: "American art has made something of itself." Childe Hassam, Horticulture Building, World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago, 1893, oil on canvas 18-1/2 x 26-1/4 inches / 47.0 x 66.7 cm (Terra Foundation for American Art, Daniel J. Terra Collection, 1999.67), a Seeing America video Speakers: Dr. Katherine Bourguignon, Curator, Terra Foundation for American Art, and Dr. Beth Harris. Created by Beth Harris, Smarthistory, and Steven Zucker. Find learning related resources here: https://smarthistory.org/seeing-america-2/

Benvenuto Cellini, Perseus with the Head of Medusa, c. 1554, bronze (Loggia dei Lanzi, Piazza della Signoria, Florence). Created by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker.

Paul Cézanne, The Large Bathers, 1906, oil on canvas, 82-7/8 x 98-3/4 inches / 210.5 x 250.8 cm (Philadelphia Museum of Art). In the Google Art Project: http://www.googleartproject.com/collection/philadelphia-museum-of-art/artwork/the-large-bathers-paul-cezanne-french-1839-1906/808050/. Created by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker.

Chakalte’, Relief with Enthroned Ruler (lintel from La Pasadita, Guatemala), Maya, late 8th century, limestone and paint, 88.9 x 87.6 x 7 cm (1979.206.1047) (The Metropolitan Museum of Art) Speakers: Dr. James Doyle, Assistant Curator for the Art of the Americas, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Dr. Beth Harris.

Created by Getty Museum and the Colección Patricia Phelps de Cisneros. Explore key methods Concrete Artists in Brazil and Argentina used to create perfectly straight edges in paint. This video is one of three that accompanied the “Making Art Concrete: Works from Argentina and Brazil in the Colección Patricia Phelps de Cisneros” (September 16, 2017 – February 11, 2018) at the Getty Museum. For more information visit http://www.getty.edu/art/exhibitions/cisneros. Created by Getty Museum.

Charioteer of Delphi, c. 478-474 B.C.E., bronze (lost wax cast) with silver, glass and copper inlay, 1.8 m high (Delphi Archaeological Museum). Speakers: Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker. Inscription on base: "Dedicated by Polyzalus, younger brother of Gelon, tyrant of Gela and later of Syracuse, and of Hieron"

A brief introduction to Charlemagne's military campaigns and the cultural revival that he supported. Created by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker.

Brief overview of Charlemagne and his coronation in 800. Created by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker.

Charles Barry and A.W.N. Pugin, Palace of Westminster (Houses of Parliament), 1840-70, London. Speakers: Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker . Created by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker.

Chartres Cathedral (Notre Dame de Chartres), c. 1145 and 1194 - c. 1230. Speakers: Dr. Steven Zucker and Dr. Beth Harris.

According to the artist (Reginald Marsh), at Coney Island, “The best show is the people themselves.” Reginald Marsh, Wooden Horses, 1936, tempera on board, 61 x 101.6 cm (Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art) A Seeing America video A conversation with Erin Monroe, Robert H. Schutz, Jr., Associate Curator of American Paintings and Sculpture, Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, and Steven Zucker. Created by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker. Find learning related resources here: https://smarthistory.org/seeing-america-2/

Chivalric customs arose from the medieval knight's code of conduct, and were gradually adopted by aristocrats and society as a whole. Learn about the elements of the code and some surprising early applications, as depicted in illuminated manuscripts. Created by Getty Museum.

Christ Crucified, 17th century, ivory (Museo Franz Mayer, Mexico City) Speakers: Dr. Lauren G. Kilroy-Ewbank and Dr. Steven Zucker. Created by Beth Harris, Smarthistory, and Steven Zucker.

This art history video discussion examines Petrus Christus' "Portrait of a Young Woman," c. 1470, oil on oak, 29 x 22.50 cm (Gemaldegalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin).

Brazilian artist Cildo Meireles joins us at Tate Modern for the artist's first UK retrospective. His work is characterised by a high degree of interactivity, as well as recurring motifs of barriers, fencing and mesh. For a special event at the gallery, Meireles invited members of the public to help create the latest version of his work Meshes of Freedom. Listen as he shares his thoughts on the significance of the work, and why art is not just for the eyes. Created by Tate.

Cimabue, Maesta of Santa Trinita, 1280-1290, tempera on panel, 151 1/2 x 87 3/4" (385 x 223 cm), Uffizi, Florence Speakers: Dr. Steven Zucker and Dr. Beth Harris. Created by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker.

This stark Burgundian monastery was founded by St Bernard in 1119. With its church, cloister, refectory, sleeping quarters, bakery and ironworks, it is an excellent illustration of the ideal of self-sufficiency as practised by the earliest communities of Cistercian monks. Source: UNESCO TV / © NHK Nippon Hoso Kyokai URL.

The Southwest became a hub for artists seeking “quintessentially American” subjects beyond New York and Chicago. A conversation with Dr. Jennifer Henneman, Assistant Curator of Western American Art, Denver Art Museum, and Dr. Beth Harris about E. Martin Hennings, Rabbit Hunt, c. 1925, oil on canvas (Denver Art Museum) A Seeing America video Special thanks to the Denver Art Museum. Find learning related resources here: https://smarthistory.org/seeing-america-2/

New York City as a kaleidoscope of color, sound, and form. Joseph Stella, The Voice of the City of New York Interpreted, 1920-22, oil and tempera on canvas (five panels), 99.75 x 270 inches overall (Purchase 1937 Felix Fuld Bequest Fund 37.288a-e, Newark Museum), a Seeing America video Speakers: Dr. Tricia Laughlin Bloom, Curator of American Art, Newark Museum and Dr. Steven Zucker. Find learning related resources here: https://smarthistory.org/seeing-america-2/

Eastman Johnson paints a courageous African American family fleeing slavery. Eastman Johnson, A Ride for Liberty -- The Fugitive Slaves, c. 1862, oil on paperboard, 55.8 x 66.4 cm (Brooklyn Museum) Speakers: Margarita Karasoulas, Assistant Curator of American Art, and Steven Zucker A Seeing America video. Created by Smarthistory. Find learning related resources here: https://smarthistory.org/seeing-america-2/

Step-by-Step instructions for collaboratively annotating a public-domain text in your course and sharing it with the world.

Short Description:
A new and annotated translation of the French Prime Minister’s memoir of his friend, the most famous Impressionist painter.

Long Description:
In 1928, the former French Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau published Claude Monet: Les Nymphéas (The Water-Lilies), a memoir of his longtime friend. Bruce Michelson has produced a new English translation, presented here with useful notes and illustrations.

Michelson’s translations of three short essays on art by Clemenceau, originally published by La Justice in the late XIX c., are included as appendices.

Published by Windsor & Downs Press, part of the Illinois Open Publishing Network (IOPN). IOPN is a project of the University Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Word Count: 40724

ISBN: 978-1-946011-00-8

(Note: This resource's metadata has been created automatically as part of a bulk import process by reformatting and/or combining the information that the author initially provided. As a result, there may be errors in formatting.)

In this art history video Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker discuss Claus Sluter and Claus de Werve's, "Mourners", Tomb of Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, installed 1410. In the Museum of Fine Arts, Dijon.

Making nature useful, the Fairmount Water Works. Thomas Birch, Fairmount Water Works, 1821, oil on canvas, 51.1 x 76.3 cm (Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts), a Seeing America video Speakers: Dr. Anna O. Marley, Curator of Historical American Art, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and Dr. Steven Zucker. Created by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker. Find learning related resources here: https://smarthistory.org/seeing-america-2/

Coatlicue, c. 1500, Mexica (Aztec), found on the SE edge of the Plaza mayor/Zocalo in Mexico City, basalt, 257 cm high (National Museum of Anthropology, Mexico City)
A conversation with Dr. Lauren Kilroy-Ewbank and Dr. Steven Zucker. Created by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker.

Codex Amiatinus, before 716, Wearmouth-Jarrow, c. 505 x 340 mm (Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, Florence, MS Amiatino 1) Speakers: Dr. Claire Breay, Head of Ancient, Medieval and Early Modern Manuscripts and Dr. Beth Harris. Created by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker.

The Codice Maya de Mexico has one primary story, it records the complex movements of the planet Venus across its 4 cycles. The 10-pages codex records 65 complete Venus Cycles, which takes a total of 104 years.

The Codice Maya of Mexico was written in 1,110 CE by a single Mayan scribe. It is the oldest book in all the Americas. This video will translate this 900 year old Maya Codex, page-by-page.

The book was found in the 1960s by looters, and it's taken more than 50 years to analyze and authenticate this book. But this Mexican book is 100% real.

Introduced in 1851, by Frederick Scott Archer, the wet collodion process was a fairly simple, if somewhat cumbersome photographic process. A 2% solution of collodion, bearing a very small percentage of potassium iodide, was poured over a plate of glass, leaving a thin, clear film containing the halide. The plate was then placed in a solution of silver nitrate. When removed from the silver, the collodion film contained a translucent yellow compound of light-sensitive silver iodide. The plate was exposed still wet and then developed by inspection under red light. Once the plate was washed and dried, it was coated with a protective varnish. The collodion process replaced the daguerreotype as the predominant photographic process by the end of the 1850’s. It was eventually replaced in the 1880’s with the introduction of the gelatin silver process. This project is made possible by a grant from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services, grant number MA-10-13-0194.

Photography’s earliest practitioners dreamed of finding a method for reproducing the world around them in color. Some 19th century photographers experimented with chemical formulations aimed at producing color images by direct exposure, while others applied paints and powders to the surfaces of monochrome prints. Vigorous experimentation led to several early color processes, some of which were even patented, but the methods were often impractical, cumbersome and unreliable. This chapter explores early additive color processes as well as later subtractive processes like chromogenic color and the Kodachrome. This project is made possible by a grant from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services, grant number MA-10-13-0194.

This art history video discussion looks at the Colosseum (Amphitheatrum Flavium), c. 70-80 C.E., Rome.

Colosseum (Flavian Amphitheater, or Amphitheatrum Flavium), c. 70-80 C.E., Rome, an ARCHES video. Speakers: Dr. Bernard Frischer and Dr. Steven Zucker. Created by Steven Zucker and Smarthistory.

The Colossus of Constantine, c. 312-15 (Palazzo dei Conservatori, Musei Capitolini, Rome). A conversation between Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker in front of the Colossus of Constantine. Created by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker.

Column of Trajan, completed 113 C.E., Luna marble, Rome Dedicated to Emperor Trajan (Marcus Ulpius Nerva Traianus b. 53 , d. 117 C.E.) in honor of his victory over Dacia (now Romania) 101-02 and 105-06 C.E. Dedicated to Emperor Trajan (Marcus Ulpius Nerva Traianus b. 53 , d. 117 C.E.) in honor of his victory over Dacia (now Romania) 101-02 and 105-06 C.E. Speakers: Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker. Created by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker.

What does it mean to belong to a country? Can events change what that means? This interactive compares two paintings by John Lewis Krimmel. Both show people in Philadelphia’s Centre Square celebrating the Fourth of July, but one was painted in 1812, just after the United States had declared war on Great Britain, and the other was painted in 1819, four years after the war had ended. The two look very different, reflecting changing ideas. This "Genial.ly" presentation includes interactive annotations and a juxtapose slider--the final slide includes suggestions on how to help students use the art as historical evidence. If you evaluate or use this resource, please respond to this short (4 question) survey here bit.ly/3ofUImf

Discover how Mondrian explored center and periphery in his pioneering abstraction. To learn about other great moments in modern art, take our online course, Modern Art, 1880-1945. Created by The Museum of Modern Art.

By the Victoria & Albert Museum. The Portico de la Gloria is one of the most remarkable monuments of Romanesque art. It is intricately carved with biblical scenes, interspersed with prophets, saints and angles. In 1866, the Museum commissioned the Italian plaster maker, Domenico Brucciani, to journey to Spain to produce a copy of it. This cast is over 17 metres wide. It determined the dimensions of the Cast Courts, which were built in 1873 to display this and other monumental copies of architecture and artworks from around the world. Find out more about our Cast Courts: https://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/cast-collection. Created by Smarthistory.

By the Victoria & Albert Museum. Follow our conservation team as they carefully clean and repair a magnificent 19th century jama – a style of garment worn by men in India for centuries. This impressive example is embellished with gold and pieces of jewel beetle-wing cases, and needed delicate conservation before it could be put on display. Watch the processes that have added decades of life to this spectacular piece. Find out more: https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/jama. Created by Smarthistory.

By the Victoria & Albert Museum. Senior Furniture Conservator Dana Melchar discusses working with lacquer conservators from Korea and learning about the specialist techniques that they used in the original production of these objects. Discover more about our Korean collection: https://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/korea. Created by Smarthistory.

From the Victoria & Albert Museum. Nigel Bamforth, Senior Conservator, Furniture and Wood Conservation at the Victoria and Albert Museum, describes the condition of Tipu's Tiger and analysis of this unique object. Discover more: https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/tipus-tiger. Created by Smarthistory.

For more information please visit http://www.moma.org/magritte. Created by The Museum of Modern Art.

By the Victoria & Albert Museum. Victor Borges, Senior Sculpture Conservator at the V&A, discusses the V&A collection and the new discoveries which have uncover new information on their materials, techniques, history and provenance. Find out more: https://www.vam.ac.uk/info/conservation. Created by Smarthistory.

Diana Heath, Senior Metals Conservator at the V&A, describes the challenges of treating the Wolsey Angels – rare examples of copper figures created for the English Tudor court at the height of the Renaissance, between 1524 and 1529. The Angels were made by the Italian sculptor, Benedetto da Rovezzano (1474–1554), to adorn a magnificent tomb commissioned by Cardinal Thomas Wolsey. After the English Civil War, the Angels disappeared, and were only recently rediscovered, having stood unrecognised on the gateposts of a stately home in Northamptonshire, perhaps for centuries. Not originally intended for outdoor exposure, their surfaces altered radically over time. The separation of each pair of Angels accounts for their difference in appearance, together with the loss of their wings. Extensive conservation work at the V&A has now enlivened the appearance of the Angels and ensured their future preservation. The Wolsey Angels were purchased with the support of the National Heritage Memorial Fund, the Art Fund, a gift in memory of Melvin R. Seiden, the Friends of the V&A, the Ruddock Foundation for the Arts, the American Friends of the V&A, and many other generous donors thanks to a major public appeal in 2014. Find out more: https://www.vam.ac.uk/info/conservation. Created by Smarthistory.

See some of the tools conservators use to get the job done. Want to learn more about what goes on behind the scenes at the Milwaukee Art Museum? Check out the Kohl's Art Generation Lab Gallery Guide for Families and Teachers at http://teachers.mam.org/resource/kohls-art-generation-lab-gallery-guide-for-families-teachers.

Photography helps MoMA conservators determine how to treat Picasso's 1913 Cubist sculpture, Still-Life with Guitar. To learn about how art changes over time, enroll in one of MoMA's courses online. Created by The Museum of Modern Art.

Learn about the work of the Getty Museum's paintings conservation team. Created by Getty Museum.

By the Victoria & Albert Museum. The beautiful Ardabil Carpet is one of the most important objects in the V&A’s Middle Eastern Collection, and the centrepiece of our Jameel Gallery of Islamic art. As the world’s oldest dated carpet, it is incredibly delicate and needs careful preservation. How is such a large and precious object preserved? Join our Head of Science, Boris Pretzel, and curator of Islamic Collections at Chester Beatty Library, Dublin, Moya Carey, to find out how it can be kept in displayable condition over the next 500 years. Find out more: https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/the-ardabil-carpet. Created by Smarthistory.

By the Victoria & Albert Museum. The V&A is home to the national collection of portrait miniatures – tiny paintings from the 16th century which offer a great insight into how people looked and dressed. With issues such as paint flaking and mould growth, these delicate objects must be cared for carefully. Find out how we investigate and analyse the miniatures in order to understand more about what they were made of, when they were made, and how to conserve them. Discover more: https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/portrait-miniatures. Created by Smarthistory.

Follow the conservation treatment and research of “Emblem of Folly,” a painting from colonial Cuzco. This is one of ten paintings in the Cuzco School style that were recently gifted to The Met as part of the Museum’s effort to collect works from colonial Latin America. José Luis Lazarte Luna, Assistant Conservator in Paintings Conservation, who was born and raised in Lima, Peru, says that conservation can “shine a light on those communities or artists that have not had the focus before.” These paintings have many unknowns, from the identities of their Indigenous makers to the materials they used. Committed study of these works can help create a better understanding of Latinx cultural identity and history.

"What does it take to revive a masterwork?" Michael Gallagher on conserving Charles Le Brun's Everhard Jabach and His Family Charles Le Brun (French, 1619–1690). Everhard Jabach (1618–1695) and His Family, ca. 1660. Oil on canvas; 110 1/4 x 129 1/8 in. (280 x 328 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Purchase, Mrs. Charles Wrightsman Gift, in honor of Keith Christiansen, 2014 (2014.250) http://www.metmuseum.org/collection/the-collection-online/search/626692 MetCollects introduces highlights of works of art recently acquired by the Met through gifts and purchases. Discover a new work each month. http://www.metmuseum.org/collection/metcollects Credits Director: Christopher Noey Producer and Editor: Kate Farrell Camera: Sarah Cowan, Kate Farrell, Lisa Rifkind Design: Natasha Mileshina Music: Austin Fisher Explore more on MetMedia: http://www.metmuseum.org/metmedia/video.

Explore the process of conserving Matisse's The Swimming Pool, one of the artist's most beloved cut-out masterpieces and a centerpiece of the Henri Matisse: The Cut-Outs exhibition at MoMA. Create your own cut-outs and collages and learn about Matisse's life in the online courses Modern Art: 1880-1945 and Experimenting with Collage.. Created by The Museum of Modern Art.

Explore the process of conserving Matisse's The Swimming Pool, one of the artist's most beloved cut-out masterpieces and a centerpiece of the Henri Matisse: The Cut-Outs exhibition at MoMA.

Conservators use raking light to study the condition of a canvas and paint films. Applying the technique to Van Gogh’s “Enclosed Field with Ploughman” (1889) reveals the animation of the brushstrokes, giving insight into the artist’s technique. This month, Paintings Conservator Irene Konefal is cleaning the canvas in our “Conservation in Action” gallery. The project is made possible by Bank of America.

The "Portrait of Philip IV" by Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez (1599-1660) returned recently from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, having been cleaned for the first time in more than sixty years. The gleaming silver brocade covering the king's crimson coat is executed in an extraordinarily free and spontaneous manner, which is almost unparalleled in the painter's production and can now be better appreciated. The treatment by Michael Gallagher, Sherman Fairchild Conservator in Charge of Paintings Conservation, revealed the dazzling original surface that had been veiled by a yellowing varnish. Additionally, the first technical studies of the painting were undertaken, involving microscopy, X-radiography, and infrared reflectography.

Go behind the scenes with Ella Hendriks, senior conservator at the Van Gogh Museum, as she restores Vincent van Gogh's painting 'Field with Irises near Arles'. The restoration is made possible by our partner in restoration AkzoNobel and Stichting Lieve. View the painting up close: http://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/en/collection/s0037V1962.

Conservator Nicole Ryder explains the process of conserving the Gallery's portrait of King Edward VI. The portrait goes on display as part of The Real Tudors: Kings and Queens Rediscovered at the National Portrait Gallery, London, from 12 September 2014 to 1 March 2015. Find out more about the conservation project, supported by Bank of America Merrill Lynch: http://ow.ly/xSer8.

A paper conservator balances the historical integrity of a drawing while preserving the appearance intended by the artist. Watch a Getty conservator analyze and treat an old master drawing. Created by Getty Museum.

The magnificent sixteenth-century Emperor's Carpet from Safavid Iran was acquired by the Metropolitan Museum in 1941, but its condition was so fragile that it was only displayed for public twice over the next sixty years. This video documents the ambitious three-year conservation program that was launched in 2006 to stabilize the condition of the carpet so its lustrous wools and dazzling colors can be displayed the Museum on a regular basis. Related lesson plan: http://www.metmuseum.org/learn/for-educators/lesson-plans-and-pre-visit-guides/venice-and-the-islamic-world

A three-hundred year old painting required a lot of attention before it was ready for visitors to experience in the gallery. Learn about the techniques used to repair and clean the Virgin of Guadalupe to prepare it for the exhibition in "Sacred Spain: Art & Belief in the Spanish World", as conservator Christina O'Connell walks through each step of the process undertaken in the Conservation Lab at the IMA.

Flowers in a Glass Vase is a beautiful still life painted by the Dutch artist Jacob van Walscapelle in 1667 — the earliest known signed work by this artist. We don't believe that the painting has been treated since it was bequeathed to the V&A in 1900. Over time, the oil paint has started to flake, and the natural varnish has become discoloured. The painting is now undergoing thorough conservation work, which includes carefully reattaching paint flakes, removing discoloured varnish, applying new varnish and retouching. Transformed, the painting will go on display in Room 81 of the V&A Paintings Galleries. https://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/paintings.

John Constable, The Hay Wain (Landscape: Noon), 1821, oil on canvas, 130.2 x 185.4 cm (The National Gallery, London). Speakers: Dr. Steven Zucker and Dr. Beth Harris.

John Constable, View on the Stour near Dedham, 1822, oil on canvas, 51 x 74 inches (The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens, San Marino, CA) Speakers: Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker. Created by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker.

This art history video discussion examines John Constable"s "The Hay Wain", 1821. Oil on canvas, 51 1/4" x 73" (130.2 x 185.4 cm) (The National Gallery, London).

Latex, chocolate, soap, and video game software are just a few of the non-traditional materials that have inspired contemporary artists. While they embrace the modern, synthetic and technologically advanced world in which we live, some of materials present significant conservation problems for museum conservators. Gwynne Ryan, a conservator at the Smithsonian's Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden discusses the challenges museums face with this issue: Should we keep art locked away to make it last? Or let it be experienced as it was intended while accelerating its natural degradation? For more information about the Hirshhorn's conservation program, visit: http://hirshhorn.si.edu/educate/page.asp?key=205&subkey=75.

A brief explanation of the term contrapposto while looking at "Idolino" from Pesaro, (Roman), c. 30 B.C.E., bronze, 158 cm (Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Firenze), speakers: Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker. Although these particular objects may not have been known in the Renaissance, the ideas and form of contrapposto were revived in the Italian Renaissance.

A brief explanation of the term contrapposto while looking at "Idolino" from Pesaro, (Roman), c. 30 B.C.E., bronze, 158 cm (Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Firenze), speakers: Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker. Although these particular objects may not have been known in the Renaissance, the ideas and form of contrapposto were revived in the Italian Renaissance.

A brief explanation of the term contrapposto while looking at "Idolino" from Pesaro, (Roman), c. 30 B.C.E., bronze, 158 cm (Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Firenze), speakers: Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker. Although these particular objects may not have been known in the Renaissance, the ideas and form of contrapposto were revived in the Italian Renaissance. Speakers: Dr. Steven Zucker and Dr. Beth Harris.

John Singleton Copley, A Boy with a Flying Squirrel (Henry Pelham), 1765, 77.15 x 63.82 cm / 30-3/8 x 25-1/8 inches (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston). Created by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker.

Charles Bargue Drawing Course introductionThe Charles Bargue Drawing Course was a highly influential guide to art instruction in the 19th century, which has recently returned to prominence in the Realist painting movement. This module introduces students to the fundamental drawing skills covered in the Charles Bargue Drawing Course, and leads them through the process of completing a Bargue plate copy. 

This art history video discussion examines the "Coronation Mantle" likely made for the Norman ruler Roger II in 1133/34 in the royal workshop in Palermo of fabric from Byzantium or Thebes, Samite, silk, gold, pearls, filigree, sapphires, garnets, glass, and cloisonne enamel.

Correggio, Jupiter and Io, 1532-33, oil on canvas 163.5 x 70.5 cm (Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna) Speakers: Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker. Jupiter and Io and the other canvases by Correggio discussed in the video, The Rape (Abduction)of Ganymede, Danäe, and Leda and the Swan illustrate stories from the poem Metamorphoses by the Roman poet Ovid. Metamorphoses is, of course about transformation, such as Jupiter becoming a swan, but it is also about love and is one of the most influential texts ever writte

Samuel Colman, Jr., Ships Unloading, New York, 1868, oil on canvas mounted on board, 105 x 76 cm (The Terra Foundation for American Art, Daniel J. Terra Collection, 1984.4), a Seeing America video Speakers: Dr. Peter John Brownlee, Curator, Terra Foundation for American Art and Dr. Steven Zucker. Created by Beth Harris, Steven Zucker, and Smarthistory. Find learning related resources here: https://smarthistory.org/seeing-america-2/

Gustave Courbet, A Burial at Ornans, 1849-50, oil on canvas, 315 x 668 cm (Musée d'Orsay). Speakers: Dr. Steven Zucker and Dr. Beth Harris.

Gustave Courbet, The Painter's Studio: A Real Allegory Summing Up Seven Years of My Life as an Artist, oil on canvas, 361 x 598 cm (Musée d'Orsay) Speakers: Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker. Created by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker.

Thomas Couture, Romans of the Decadence, 1847 (Musée d'Orsay, Paris) Speakers: Dr. Beth Harris & Dr. Steven Zucker For more art history videos visit smarthistory.org. Created by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker.

Coyolxauhqui Monolith (Aztec), c. 1500, volcanic stone, found Templo Mayor, Tenochtitlan, excavated 1978 (Museo del Templo Mayor, Mexico City). Speakers: Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Lauren Kilroy-Ewbank