Some of the most vivid pigments in medieval manuscripts were manufactured through alchemy, an experimental practice that predates modern chemistry. Today, chemistry deepens our knowledge about paint colors, their identification, and potential continued transformations.

Alexander Mosaic, c. 100 B.C.E., Roman copy (Pompeii) of a lost Greek painting, c. 315 B.C.E., Hellenistic Period (Archaeological Museum, Naples). Speakers: Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker. Created by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker.

The Alexander Sarcophagus, c. 312 B.C.E., Pentelic marble and polychromy, found in Sidon, 195 x 318 x 167 cm (İstanbul Archaeological Museums). Speakers: Dr. Elizabeth Macaulay-Lewis and Dr. Steven Zucker. Created by Steven Zucker and Beth Harris.

The Bier of Iskandar (Alexander the Great), folio from the Great Mongol Shahnama (Il-Khanid dynasty, Tabriz, Iran), c. 1330, ink, opaque watercolor and gold on paper, 57.6 x 39.7 cm (Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment, F1938.3) This video focuses on one particular painting within one particular 14th century manuscript now commonly called the Great Mongol Shahnama. This is only one of many versions of the Shanama, the great epic of Iran. Speakers: Dr. Massumeh Farhad, Chief Curator and The Ebrahimi Family Curator of Persian, Arab, and Turkish Art, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution and Dr. Steven Zucker.

Chiricahua Apache artist Allan Houser’s “Earth Song” is the signature sculpture on display at the Heard Museum in Phoenix, AZ. Created in 1979 from Alabama marble, it depicts an Apache man singing a song of respect, a prayer to Mother Earth. Houser is considered the Grandfather of Contemporary Native American Sculpture for creating works that are grounded in a respect for all indigenous cultures. Discover more reasons why “Earth Song” is a masterpiece with David Roche, Dickey Family Director and CEO of the Heard Museum. Video by Bank of America. Created by Smarthistory.

Washington Allston, Elijah in the Desert, 1818, oil on canvas, 125.09 x 184.78 cm / 49 1/4 x 72 3/4 inches (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston). Created by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker.

Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, A Reading from Homer, 1885, oil on canvas, 36-1/8 x 72-1/4 inches / 91.8 x 183.5 cm (Philadelphia Museum of Art). Created by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker.

Infrared cameras now reveal concealed drawings under the surface of many of the Renaissance's most revered paintings. Learn how this radical drawing technique was done.

In this art history video discussion Beth Harris and Steven Zucker examine Albrecht Altdorfer's "The Battle of Issus," 1529, oil on panel. Alte Pinokothek, Munich.

Ambrogio Lorenzetti, Allegory of Good Government, Effects of Good Government in the City and the Country, and Allegory and Effects of Bad Government in the City and the Country, Siena c. 1337-40, fresco, Sala della Pace (Hall of Peace) also know as the Sala dei Nove (the Hall of the Nine), 7.7 x 14.4 meters (room), Palazzo Pubblico, Siena Speakers: Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker For more information visit: http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/the-allegories-and-effects-of-good-and-bad-government.html. Created by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker.

Found marking the grave of an important individual, this gorget was worn as a neck ornament during life. Gorget, c. 1250-1350, probably Middle Mississippian Tradition, whelk shell, 10 x 2 cm (National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution, 18/853) Speakers: Dr. David Penney, Associate Director for Museum Scholarship, Exhibitions, and Public Engagement, National Museum of the American Indian and Dr. Steven Zucker A Seeing America video. Created by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker. Find learning related resources here: https://smarthistory.org/seeing-america-2/

American Encounters provides a narrative of the history of American art that focuses on historical encounters among diverse cultures, upon broad structural transformations such as the rise of the middle classes and the emergence of consumer and mass culture, and on the fluid conversations between "high" art and vernacular expressions. The text emphasizes the intersections among cultures and populations, as well as the exchanges, borrowings, and appropriations that have enriched and vitalized our collective cultural heritage.

Millard Sheets, Tenement Flats, oil on canvas, 102.1 x 127.6 cm (Smithsonian American Art Museum). A conversation with Dr. Virginia Mecklenburg, Chief Curator, Smithsonian American Art Museum and Dr. Steven Zucker This Seeing America video was made possible thanks to major grants from the Terra Foundation and the Alice L. Walton Foundation. Find learning related resources here: https://smarthistory.org/seeing-america-2/

Amiens Cathedral, Robert de Luzarches, Thomas de Cormont and Renaud de Cormont, Amiens, France, begun 1220. Created by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker.

Anavysos Kouros, c. 530 B.C.E., marble, 6' 4" (National Archaeological Museum, Athens). Speakers: Dr. Steven Zucker & Dr. Beth Harris. Created by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker.

A conversation with Lisa Ackerman, World Monuments Fund, and Beth Harris, Smarthistory. Created by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker.

A conversation with Lisa Ackerman, World Monuments Fund, and Beth Harris, Smarthistory. Created by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker.

Conservators at the British Museum preparing an ancient Egyptian coffin for display in the exhibition Journey through the afterlife: ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead. © Trustees of the British Museum. Created by British Museum.

Preparing pieces of papyrus ready for display in the exhibition Journey through the afterlife: ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead. © Trustees of the British Museum. Created by British Museum.

From the Utah System of Higher Education (with special thanks to Dr. Nancy Ross). Video by Ydraw. Created by Nancy Ross.