National Gallery of Art-Videos
By National Gallery of Art
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Podcast Description
Stay up to date with video podcasts from the National Gallery of Art, which include documentary excerpts, lectures, and other films about the Gallery's history, exhibitions, and collections.
| Name | Description | Released | Price | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CleanVideoJoan Miró: The Ladder of Escape | This short documentary, narrated by Ed Harris, was produced by the National Gallery of Art in conjunction with the exhibition Joan Miró: The Ladder of Escape. Joan Miró was passionately committed to his native Catalonia and its struggle for independence from Spain. But he also longed to escape into artistic freedom. This tension drove his art in strange and beautiful ways. Miró was by turns influenced by Dada, surrealism, and abstract expressionism. His changes in styles and subjects also reflected the horrific events of the Spanish Civil War, World War II, and the dictatorship of Franco. This documentary includes original footage shot in Barcelona and Catalonia, images of Miró's paintings and sculpture, and archival footage and photos. | 5/22/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 2 | CleanVideoDavid McCullough, "Morse at the Louvre" | David McCullough, a two-time Pulitzer Prize–winning author and recipient of the National Book Award, discusses his new book, The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris. In this video recorded on September 26, 2011, at the National Gallery of Art, McCullough tells the story of America's longstanding love affair with Paris through vivid portraits of dozens of significant characters. Notably, artist Samuel F. B. Morse is depicted as he worked on his masterpiece Gallery of the Louvre. McCullough spoke at the Gallery in honor of the exhibition A New Look: Samuel F. B. Morse's "Gallery of the Louvre," on view from June 25, 2011 to July 8, 2012. The exhibition, program, and video were coordinated with and supported by the Terra Foundation for American Art. | 4/17/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 3 | CleanVideoItō Jakuchū's "Colorful Realm," Press Conference Highlights | Featured are highlights from the National Gallery of Art's press preview for the landmark exhibition of Itō Jakuchū's "Colorful Realm of Living Beings"–a set of 30 bird-and-flower paintings on display at the Gallery from March 30 through April 29, 2012. Widely considered as one of the greatest achievements in the history of Japanese nature painting, this Edo masterpiece is on view for the first time outside of Japan. The occasion for this exhibition is the centennial of the gift of cherry trees from Tokyo to Washington, DC, in 1912. | 4/10/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 4 | CleanVideoAmerican Originals Now: Jem Cohen: Curious Visions | The new ongoing film series American Originals Now focuses on the work of internationally recognized filmmakers from the Americas, and offers visitors an opportunity to interact with and share in the artists' production methodologies and current practices. The inaugural program brought recent short works by filmmaker Jem Cohen and a screening of his award-winning 1999 documentary Instrument, made in collaboration with DC-based band Fugazi. Cohen was present for both events; during the latter of the two he was joined by Fugazi frontmen Ian MacKaye and Guy Picciotto | 12/6/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 5 | CleanVideoVerbeeck's Battle: Restoring War in the Conservation Lab | At the time of their acquisition in 1995, Cornelis Verbeeck's paintings Dutch Warship Attacking a Spanish Galley and Spanish Galleon Firing Its Cannons were covered with layers of discolored varnish. Their sojourn in the conservation lab, however, revealed a complex story that transformed our understanding of these paintings. Arthur Wheelock, curator of northern baroque paintings, is joined by Michael Swicklik, senior conservator, and Richard Ford, frame conservator, as they discuss this exciting discovery, and the paintings' new appearance as two halves of a reunited battle scene. | 6/21/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 6 | CleanVideoGauguin: Maker of Myth, Part 4 | Narrated by Willem Dafoe and with Alfred Molina as the voice of Paul Gauguin, this film was made in conjunction with the exhibition Gauguin: Maker of Myth. Gauguin (1848–1903) abandoned impressionism to create an art driven less by observation than by imagination. His gifts as an artist were matched by a talent for creating myths about places, cultures, and most of all, himself. This film explores his search for an authenticity he felt missing in modern Europe, a search that took him to ever more remote lands: Brittany, Martinique, and Polynesia. Never finding the paradise of his dreams, he recreated it in his paintings, sculpture, drawings, and prints. The film is available for sale at the National Gallery of Art. The film is made possible by the HRH Foundation. | 3/29/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 7 | CleanVideoGauguin: Maker of Myth, Part 3 | Narrated by Willem Dafoe and with Alfred Molina as the voice of Paul Gauguin, this film was made in conjunction with the exhibition Gauguin: Maker of Myth. Gauguin (1848–1903) abandoned impressionism to create an art driven less by observation than by imagination. His gifts as an artist were matched by a talent for creating myths about places, cultures, and most of all, himself. This film explores his search for an authenticity he felt missing in modern Europe, a search that took him to ever more remote lands: Brittany, Martinique, and Polynesia. Never finding the paradise of his dreams, he recreated it in his paintings, sculpture, drawings, and prints. The film is available for sale at the National Gallery of Art. The film is made possible by the HRH Foundation. | 3/22/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 8 | CleanVideoGauguin: Maker of Myth, Part 2 | Narrated by Willem Dafoe and with Alfred Molina as the voice of Paul Gauguin, this film was made in conjunction with the exhibition Gauguin: Maker of Myth. Gauguin (1848–1903) abandoned impressionism to create an art driven less by observation than by imagination. His gifts as an artist were matched by a talent for creating myths about places, cultures, and most of all, himself. This film explores his search for an authenticity he felt missing in modern Europe, a search that took him to ever more remote lands: Brittany, Martinique, and Polynesia. Never finding the paradise of his dreams, he recreated it in his paintings, sculpture, drawings, and prints. The film is available for sale at the National Gallery of Art. The film is made possible by the HRH Foundation. | 3/15/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 9 | CleanVideoGauguin: Maker of Myth, Part 1 | Narrated by Willem Dafoe and with Alfred Molina as the voice of Paul Gauguin, this film was made in conjunction with the exhibition Gauguin: Maker of Myth. Gauguin (1848–1903) abandoned impressionism to create an art driven less by observation than by imagination. His gifts as an artist were matched by a talent for creating myths about places, cultures, and most of all, himself. This film explores his search for an authenticity he felt missing in modern Europe, a search that took him to ever more remote lands: Brittany, Martinique, and Polynesia. Never finding the paradise of his dreams, he recreated it in his paintings, sculpture, drawings, and prints. The film is available for sale at the National Gallery of Art. The film is made possible by the HRH Foundation. | 3/8/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 10 | CleanVideoWyeth Lecture in American Art: Minstrelsy "Uncorked": Thomas Eakins' Empathetic Realism | Recorded on November 4, 2009, this podcast presents the fourth Wyeth Lecture in American Art, a biennial event hosted by the Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts and supported by the Wyeth Foundation for American Art. Richard J. Powell focuses on Thomas Eakins (1844–1916) as uniquely empathetic among the many 19th-century artists who depicted African American performance and entertainment. Eakins' Negro Boy Dancing (1887; Metropolitan Museum of Art) shows a young banjo player, an elderly teacher, and an adolescent dancer, evoking the American rage for the form of musical theater known as minstrelsy. Eakins' watercolor, along with two oil-on-board studies at the National Gallery of Art, challenged the tendency of minstrelsy to employ racial ridicule and physical exaggeration. Instead, Powell argues, Eakins adhered to a painterly realism as well as his own brand of empathy and ethics. | 3/8/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 11 | CleanVideo"The Life and Times of Allen Ginsberg" with director Jerry Aronson | The award-winning film The Life and Times of Allen Ginsberg offers a fascinating portrait of a poet and photographer who helped define postwar American counterculture. Originally released in 1994, Jerry Aronson’s documentary was rereleased in 2005 with additional hours of interviews with numerous contemporary artists and cultural figures, among them Andy Warhol, Patti Smith, and Norman Mailer. Two screenings of the film were held at the National Gallery of Art in September 2010, and the new edition of the two-disk set is available through the Gallery Shop. | 2/1/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 12 | CleanVideoVermeer: In the Light of Delft | Vermeer's classic painting A Lady Writing inspired this evocative film. The exquisite skills of this 17th-century Dutch artist evoke nuances of light, texture, and reflection that describe both the artist's native city of Delft and the details of this much-loved work. Painted ermine, pearls, velvet, brass, and wood are illuminated by the sensitive touch of an unparalleled master. | 9/28/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 13 | CleanVideoTurner on the Tyne | The moon rises high over water and becomes one with Turner's evocative image of the sights and sounds on the River Tyne at Newcastle. Time-lapse photography interweaves with close details of Turner's painting to capture both the stillness of the night and the work of loading coals by moonlight and torch. | 9/21/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 14 | CleanVideoArcimboldo: Nature and Fantasy | Narrated by Isabella Rossellini and produced by the National Gallery of Art, this film traces the career of Giuseppe Arcimboldo, an artist whose work thrilled and delighted the Habsburg courts of the later 16th century. Arcimboldo was best known for his "composite heads"—faces composed of fruits, vegetables, fish, flowers, and beasts of all kinds. The film explores the connection between his paintings and the burgeoning natural sciences, the voyages of discovery, and the atmosphere of intellectual curiosity at the courts of Europe. The film is made possible by the HRH Foundation. Produced in conjunction with the exhibition Arcimboldo, 1526–1593: Nature and Fantasy. | 9/14/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 15 | CleanVideoThe Lions of Peter Paul Rubens | This film captures the power of faith in the face of danger, illustrated in the famous Old Testament story of Daniel in the lions' den and in Peter Paul Rubens' full-scale painting at the National Gallery. Daniel's travail in a closed cave unfolds here through a series of comparative frames: Rubens' preparatory drawings, painted lions with human bones at their feet, and footage of actual lions, similar to those Rubens saw at the royal menagerie in Brussels. | 9/7/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 16 | CleanVideoNew Masters of European Cinema: Everlasting Moments by Jan Troell | Veteran Swedish director Jan Troell has been called one of the world's greatest living filmmakers. As part of the ongoing series New Masters of European Cinema, the director and his partner/screenwriter Agneta Ulfsäter-Troell visited the National Gallery of Art to discuss their latest project, the award-winning feature film Everlasting Moments (2008), and to share a rare screening of Troell's remarkable first short film Stop-over in the Marshland (1965), starring Max von Sydow. | 8/3/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 17 | CleanVideoBrice Marden in the Studio | Brice Marden continues to make some of the most surprising and ravishing paintings of our time. In the 1960s and 1970s, he was known for matte, monochromatic paintings, often with multiple panels. His 1984 visit to an exhibition of Japanese calligraphy triggered a dramatic shift in style that culminated in a masterful series of gestural paintings and drawings entitled Cold Mountain. Since that time, through several further changes in vocabulary, Marden has continued to explore linear networks as the basis for ambitious, allover abstractions. In this video, recorded in October 2009 in the artist's Manhattan studio, Marden discusses his technique, sources of inspiration, and works in progress with Harry Cooper, curator and head of modern and contemporary art, National Gallery of Art. | 7/6/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 18 | CleanVideoIn the Tower: Mark Rothko | This short documentary, narrated by curator Harry Cooper, was produced by the National Gallery of Art in conjunction with the exhibition In the Tower: Mark Rothko. The film considers Rothko's style, which infused abstract painting with emotional significance. Recognized in the 1950s for his use of brilliant colors, Rothko changed direction in the 1960s and produced a series of canvases known as the black-form paintings. Critics and artists often associated the darkness of these works with Rothko's bouts of illness and depression, but Cooper argues that the paintings are a continuation of the painter's lifelong exploration of light. | 5/4/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 19 | CleanVideoFrom Impressionism to Modernism: The Chester Dale Collection | A shrewd businessman, Chester Dale started out as a Wall Street messenger in the early 20th century. By 1910 he was poised to make the fortune that enabled him to assemble one of the finest collections of modern art in America. He and his wife Maud first focused on American paintings, but they soon turned their attention to French art of the 19th and early 20th centuries, acquiring a few old masters along the way. Dale's gifts to the nation, numbering more than 300 works of art, transformed the Gallery's collection and included masterpieces by Manet, Monet, Renoir, and Picasso. Never lent to other museums, these paintings can only be seen at the National Gallery of Art. Narrated by director Earl A. Powell III. | 4/6/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 20 | CleanVideoMaking a Spanish Polychrome Sculpture | This film explains the process of creating a polychrome sculpture using the J. Paul Getty Museum’s Saint Ginés de la Jara (about 1692) by Luisa Roldán as an example. Seventeenth-century Spanish polychrome sculpture was intended to appear as lifelike as possible and artists frequently achieved remarkable effects of realism. The film is divided into four short chapters: "The Structural Elements," "Carving the Figure," "Saints’ Garments: Estofado Technique," and "Flesh Tones: Painting the Encarnaciones." Digital animations highlight the construction of the Saint Ginés sculpture. Footage of sculptor Marcelo Moreira Santos and painter Sylvana Barrett demonstrates techniques current in seventeenth-century Spain. Narration provided by Zahira Véliz. The film was produced by the J. Paul Getty Museum. | 3/2/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 21 | CleanVideoThe Robert and Jane Meyerhoff Collection: Exhibition Highlights, Art on Art, Drip, Stripe to Zip, Monochrome, Figure or Ground, | Over the course of nearly half a century, Robert and Jane Meyerhoff acquired works by some of the most influential American artists in the postwar era, building a collection that bridges the divide between abstract and figurative painting. More than 40 artists are represented, with special focus on Jasper Johns, Ellsworth Kelly, Roy Lichtenstein, Brice Marden, Robert Rauschenberg, and Frank Stella. Harry Cooper, the National Gallery's curator of modern and contemporary art, gives a tour of the exhibition, which includes 126 paintings, drawings, prints, and sculpture. By discussing the works according to themes such as Line, Drip, Gesture, and Concentricity, he presents the collection in new and often unexpected ways. The Meyerhoffs have donated 47 works to the National Gallery of Art since 1987, and their entire collection will eventually be given to the museum. | 1/5/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 22 | CleanVideoThe Robert and Jane Meyerhoff Collection: Exhibition Highlights, Gesture, Picture the Frame, Scrape, Concentricity, Line, Part | Over the course of nearly half a century, Robert and Jane Meyerhoff acquired works by some of the most influential American artists in the postwar era, building a collection that bridges the divide between abstract and figurative painting. More than 40 artists are represented, with special focus on Jasper Johns, Ellsworth Kelly, Roy Lichtenstein, Brice Marden, Robert Rauschenberg, and Frank Stella. Harry Cooper, the National Gallery's curator of modern and contemporary art, gives a tour of the exhibition, which includes 126 paintings, drawings, prints, and sculpture. By discussing the works according to themes such as Line, Drip, Gesture, and Concentricity, he presents the collection in new and often unexpected ways. The Meyerhoffs have donated 47 works to the National Gallery of Art since 1987, and their entire collection will eventually be given to the museum. | 1/5/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 23 | CleanVideoThe Robert and Jane Meyerhoff Collection: Selected Works, Press Conference Highlights | Frank Stella, Jasper Johns, Brice Marden, and Ellsworth Kelly—four of the American masters whose art is on view in this landmark exhibition—speak with collector Robert Meyerhoff, curator Harry Cooper, and Gallery director Earl A. Powell III. The artists discuss their work, the collection itself, and the show while strolling through this innovative thematic installation prior to its opening in September 2009. Speakers at the podium include Powell, Meyerhoff, and Victoria P. Sant, president, National Gallery of Art. | 12/1/09 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 24 | CleanVideoThe Darker Side of Light: Arts of Privacy, 1850-1900 | Late 19th–century art is usually identified with airy and colorful impressionist paintings and the radiant atmosphere of Paris. But in the shadowy recesses an art of a very different kind thrived. Prints, drawings, and small sculpture from the period present an alternative vision in depictions of the inner worlds of emotions, anxieties, and fantasies. Mainly stored away rather than openly displayed by their owners, the works in this exhibition appealed to artists and audiences devoted to a private aesthetic experience. Peter Parshall, the Gallery's curator of old master prints, talks about the works in the exhibition and their subtle and complex depictions of human psychology decades before the publication of Sigmund Freud's theories on the unconscious. | 10/20/09 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 25 | CleanVideoArshile Gorky: Ararat (Excerpts) | Years after campaigns against minority Armenians in Turkey caused his family to disperse and his mother to die before his eyes, Gorky found a 1912 photograph taken in the city of Van upon which he based drawn and painted portraits of The Artist and His Mother. The video Ararat (Excerpts) investigates the fraught history of Gorky's lost childhood through his protracted work on the image of himself at age twelve, standing beside his mother Shushan. Derived from the feature-length film Ararat written and directed by Academy Award®-nominated director Atom Egoyan. | 10/6/09 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 26 | CleanVideoThe Art of Power: Royal Armor and Portraits from Imperial Spain, The Iconography of Power | The armor, paintings, and tapestries in the exhibition were made for the Spanish royal family—the nobles, kings, and Holy Roman Emperors who expanded Spain’s influence throughout Europe and the New World. These objects reveal the exquisite work of artists and craftsmen who served the Spanish ruling class from the 15th to the 18th century. In the intricate and finely wrought details on shields, portraits, and tapestries, something quite different is also revealed: an attempt to link the Spanish monarchy with the pieties of the Catholic Church, the power of the ancient Roman empire, and the cultural glories of ancient Greece. David Brown, curator of Italian and Spanish paintings at the National Gallery of Art, describes this subtle advertising campaign waged by the Spanish throne to advance its goals and reputation. | 9/22/09 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 27 | CleanVideoLOOK! | Join area students on a field trip to the National Gallery of Art and discover the museum through their eyes and voices. This film was made to prepare students for a visit to the museum. Teachers of grades two through six are encouraged to view the film with their students prior to their visit. | 9/1/09 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 28 | CleanVideoRachel Whiteread: "Ghost" | In her breakthrough 1990 work Ghost, Rachel Whiteread created a positive from a negative, making a plaster cast of the interior "void" of a Victorian parlor measuring approximately 9 feet wide, 11 1/2 feet high, and 10 feet deep. Whiteread has said of this sculpture that she was trying to "mummify the air in the room," hence the title. Whiteread created Ghost over a period of three months in an abandoned building at 486 Archway Road, North London, covering the interior walls with multiple plaster molds, each about five inches thick. When the plaster dried, she peeled the molds from the walls and reassembled them on a steel frame. In this interview Whiteread discusses the process of making Ghost and lends new insight to her work. | 8/4/09 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 29 | CleanVideo"Multiverse," Leo Villareal Installation-Resolution, Part 4 | Multiverse (2008), a site-specific LED sculpture by Leo Villareal, is currently on view in the Concourse walkway connecting the East and West Buildings of the National Gallery of Art. The sculpture, which includes approximately 41,000 LED (light-emitting diode) nodes controlled by custom-designed software, is Villareal's largest and most ambitious work to date. Learn more about the artist's programming method as well his conceptual and technological inspiration in this studio interview. The sculpture, which will be on view until November 2009, was generously funded by Victoria P. and Roger Sant, and Sharon P. and Jay Rockefeller. | 7/7/09 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 30 | CleanVideo"The Art of Power: Royal Armor and Portraits from Imperial Spain," Press Conference Highlights | The dramatic installation of rare suits of armor worn by Spanish kings, royal portraits, and magnificent tapestries from the Renaissance are accompanied by music and brief remarks from the press preview on June 23, 2009, for this stunning and historic exhibition. Speakers include Earl A. Powell III, director, National Gallery of Art; His Excellency D. Jorge Dezcallar, ambassador of Spain; Yago Pico de Coaña, president, Patrimonio Nacional; Charo Otegui Pascual, executive president, SEACEX; Alvaro Soler del Campo, director, Spanish Royal Armory, and chief curator, Patrimonio Nacional; and José Andrés, chef and owner, Jaleo and THINKfoodGROUP. | 7/7/09 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 31 | CleanVideoTalk About Art | Talk About Art is a six-minute documentary film that highlights visitors to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. Among the visitors who share their thoughts on art are people from all walks of life—including students, a taxi driver, an architect, a security guard, and a hairdresser. These are not art historians, but art is a common bond for them, and definitely a force in their lives. For some art is a way to connect to the past; for others it is a way to see the world around them in a different way. Listening to their side of the museum experience may get you talking about art as well. | 6/2/09 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 32 | CleanVideoVermeer: Master of Light-compilation | Vermeer: Master of Light is a visual pilgrimage in search of what makes a Vermeer a Vermeer. It is a journey of discovery, guiding the viewer through an examination of three of Johannes Vermeer's paintings and exploring the "secrets" of his technique. Utilizing the potential of x-ray analysis and infrared reflectography as well as the power of computer technology, the program delves beneath the surface of the paintings to unveil fascinating insights into Vermeer's work. This film celebrates one of the most extraordinary painters in the history of art. Narrated by Meryl Streep, with commentary by Arthur Wheelock, curator of northern baroque paintings, National Gallery of Art, and David Bull, conservator. This compilation video combines all 5 parts of the Vermeer: Master of Light video podcast series. | 6/2/09 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 33 | CleanVideoVermeer: Master of Light-Woman Writing a Letter, Part 5 | Vermeer: Master of Light is a visual pilgrimage in search of what makes a Vermeer a Vermeer. It is a journey of discovery, guiding the viewer through an examination of three of Johannes Vermeer's paintings and exploring the "secrets" of his technique. Utilizing the potential of x-ray analysis and infrared reflectography as well as the power of computer technology, the program delves beneath the surface of the paintings to unveil fascinating insights into Vermeer's work. This film celebrates one of the most extraordinary painters in the history of art. Narrated by Meryl Streep, with commentary by Arthur Wheelock, curator of northern baroque paintings, National Gallery of Art, and David Bull, conservator. This segment explores the power of the National Gallery's painting A Lady Writing. It examines Vermeer's painting techniques and his use of color. | 5/5/09 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 34 | CleanVideoVermeer: Master of Light-Camera Obscura, Part 4 | Vermeer: Master of Light is a visual pilgrimage in search of what makes a Vermeer a Vermeer. It is a journey of discovery, guiding the viewer through an examination of three of Johannes Vermeer's paintings and exploring the "secrets" of his technique. Utilizing the potential of x-ray analysis and infrared reflectography as well as the power of computer technology, the program delves beneath the surface of the paintings to unveil fascinating insights into Vermeer's work. This film celebrates one of the most extraordinary painters in the history of art. Narrated by Meryl Streep, with commentary by Arthur Wheelock, curator of northern baroque paintings, National Gallery of Art, and David Bull, conservator. This segment uses computer technology to illustrate how Vermeer applied the optical principle of the camera obscura while painting Girl with the Red Hat. | 3/31/09 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 35 | CleanVideoVermeer: Master of Light-Girl with the Red Hat, Part 3 | Vermeer: Master of Light is a visual pilgrimage in search of what makes a Vermeer a Vermeer. It is a journey of discovery, guiding the viewer through an examination of three of Johannes Vermeer's paintings and exploring the "secrets" of his technique. Utilizing the potential of x-ray analysis and infrared reflectography as well as the power of computer technology, the program delves beneath the surface of the paintings to unveil fascinating insights into Vermeer's work. This film celebrates one of the most extraordinary painters in the history of art. Narrated by Meryl Streep, with commentary by Arthur Wheelock, curator of northern baroque paintings, National Gallery of Art, and David Bull, conservator. This segment examines the National Gallery's painting Girl with the Red Hat. It explains Vermeer's mastery of color and explores the minute details of the painting with magnification of, in some instances, more than 300 percent. | 3/3/09 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 36 | CleanVideoPhilip Guston | Philip Guston is a short film made at the National Gallery of Art to accompany In the Tower: Philip Guston, the first in a series of exhibitions in the Tower Gallery of the East Building that will focus on developments in art since 1970. The film tells the surprising story of Guston's career, which spanned five decades and moved from the mural art of the Depression through abstract expressionism to a raw new imagery in the late 1960s and 1970s. With clips of Guston at work and talking about his art, the film succinctly reveals the artist's motives, methods, sources, and legacy. Directed by Carroll Moore, produced by Susan Arensberg, with support from the HRH Foundation | 2/17/09 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 37 | CleanVideo"Multiverse," Leo Villareal Installation-Installation, Part 3 | Multiverse (2008), a site-specific LED sculpture by Leo Villareal, is currently on view in the Concourse walkway connecting the East and West Buildings of the National Gallery of Art. The sculpture, which includes approximately 41,000 LED (light-emitting diode) nodes controlled by custom-designed software, is Villareal's largest and most ambitious work to date. Learn more about the artist's programming method as well his conceptual and technological inspiration in this studio interview. The sculpture, which will be on view until November 2009, was generously funded by Victoria P. and Roger Sant, and Sharon P. and Jay Rockefeller. | 2/3/09 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 38 | CleanVideoVermeer: Master of Light-The Music Lesson, Part 2 | Vermeer: Master of Light is a visual pilgrimage in search of what makes a Vermeer a Vermeer. It is a journey of discovery, guiding the viewer through an examination of three of Johannes Vermeer's paintings and exploring the "secrets" of his technique. Utilizing the potential of x-ray analysis and infrared reflectography as well as the power of computer technology, the program delves beneath the surface of the paintings to unveil fascinating insights into Vermeer's work. This film celebrates one of the most extraordinary painters in the history of art. Narrated by Meryl Streep, with commentary by Arthur Wheelock, curator of northern baroque paintings, National Gallery of Art, and David Bull, conservator. This segment uses computer technology to deconstruct The Music Lesson and demonstrate to the viewer how Vermeer has painstakingly placed every object in the painting to achieve his desired result. | 1/20/09 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 39 | CleanVideo"Multiverse," Leo Villareal Installation-Pattern Recognition, Part 2 | Multiverse (2008), a site-specific LED sculpture by Leo Villareal, is currently on view in the Concourse walkway connecting the East and West Buildings of the National Gallery of Art. The sculpture, which includes approximately 41,000 LED (light-emitting diode) nodes controlled by custom-designed software, is Villareal's largest and most ambitious work to date. Learn more about the artist's programming method as well his conceptual and technological inspiration in this studio interview. The sculpture, which will be on view until November 2009, was generously funded by Victoria P. and Roger Sant, and Sharon P. and Jay Rockefeller. | 1/6/09 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 40 | CleanVideoVermeer: Master of Light-Woman Holding a Balance, Part 1 | Vermeer: Master of Light is a visual pilgrimage in search of what makes a Vermeer a Vermeer. It is a journey of discovery, guiding the viewer through an examination of three of Johannes Vermeer's paintings and exploring the "secrets" of his technique. Utilizing the potential of x-ray analysis and infrared reflectography as well as the power of computer technology, the program delves beneath the surface of the paintings to unveil fascinating insights into Vermeer's work. This film celebrates one of the most extraordinary painters in the history of art. Narrated by Meryl Streep, with commentary by Arthur Wheelock, curator of northern baroque paintings, National Gallery of Art, and David Bull, conservator. This segment analyzes the National Gallery of Art's painting Woman Holding a Balance. With the help of special effects we are able to understand Vermeer's construction of the painting and his complete control of the work. | 12/16/08 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 41 | CleanVideo"Multiverse," Leo Villareal Installation-Programming, Part 1 | Multiverse (2008), a site-specific LED sculpture by Leo Villareal, is currently on view in the Concourse walkway connecting the East and West Buildings of the National Gallery of Art. The sculpture, which includes approximately 41,000 LED (light-emitting diode) nodes controlled by custom-designed software, is Villareal's largest and most ambitious work to date. Learn more about the artist's programming method as well his conceptual and technological inspiration in this studio interview. The sculpture, which will be on view until November 2009, was generously funded by Victoria P. and Roger Sant, and Sharon P. and Jay Rockefeller. | 12/2/08 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 42 | CleanVideoPompeii and the Roman Villa: Art and Culture around the Bay of Naples | Narrated by Sir Derek Jacobi and produced by the National Gallery, this excerpt is from a new documentary film that examines the explosion of artistic activity around the Bay of Naples beginning in the first century BC. The film includes original footage of houses in Pompeii and of the seaside villas that dotted the coastline of the Bay of Naples. The 30-minute version of the film is on view and for sale at the National Gallery of Art. The film is made possible by the HRH Foundation. Produced in conjunction with the exhibition Pompeii and the Roman Villa: Art and Culture around the Bay of Naples. | 10/14/08 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 43 | CleanVideoEmpire of the Eye: The Magic of Illusion-Teatro Olimpico—Andrea Palladio, Part 7 | The set design by Vincenzo Scamozzi for Palladio's covered theater draws us in. This segment shows how perspective is used to create space that isn't really there. | 9/2/08 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 44 | CleanVideoEmpire of the Eye: The Magic of Illusion-Palazzo Spada's Corridor, Part 5 | Palazzo Spada's Corridor in Rome demonstrates the use of forced perspective. Special effects reveal how Borromini used an optical trick to create the illusion of depth. | 8/5/08 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 45 | CleanVideoEmpire of the Eye: The Magic of Illusion-St. Francis of Paola, Performer of Miracles, Part 6 | St. Francis of Paola, Performer of Miracles, one of the largest anamorphic paintings in existence today, is located in Santa Maria dei Monti at the top of the Spanish Steps in Rome. Computer animation illustrates how this extraordinary use of foreshortening creates an image that fools the eye. | 8/5/08 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 46 | CleanVideoEmpire of the Eye: The Magic of Illusion-Sant'Ignazio's Ceiling, Part 4 | Sant'Ignazio's Ceiling in Rome is an amazing demonstration of illusionism on a monumental scale. This segment demonstrates that when the viewpoint of the fresco changes, the illusion is destroyed. | 7/1/08 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 47 | CleanVideoEmpire of the Eye: The Magic of Illusion-The Church of Santa Maria presso San Satiro, Part 3 | Using forced perspective in the apse of the small Church of Santa Maria presso San Satiro in Milan, Bramante created the illusion of a much larger space. | 7/1/08 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 48 | CleanVideoMartin Puryear Installation: Ladder for Booker T. Washington | Over the course of seven hours, on June 5, 2008, Martin Puryear and 12 art handlers installed Ladder for Booker T. Washington at the National Gallery of Art in the East Building, Rotunda. This time-lapse movie demonstrates the process of hoisting the 36-foot-long ash and maple sculpture into the Rotunda in the West Building of the National Gallery of Art. Produced in conjunction with the exhibition Martin Puryear. | 6/5/08 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 49 | CleanVideoEmpire of the Eye: The Magic of Illusion-The Trinity—Masaccio, Part 2 | In 1427 inside Santa Maria Novella, Florence, Masaccio created the masterpiece The Trinity using linear perspective for the first time. This segment explains how he was able to make the wall behind the work seem to disappear so that the painting becomes an extension of the room the viewer is in. | 6/3/08 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 50 | CleanVideoEmpire of the Eye: The Magic of Illusion-Introduction, Part 1 | The Magic of Illusion—presented here in a seven-part podcast series—is a film about how we see, what we see, or what it is we think we see. Al Roker guides us on a journey into the secrets of illusion, utilizing special effects to illustrate the artistic and visionary discoveries of the Renaissance. While Copernicus and Columbus were changing our understanding of the world, the Renaissance masters were dramatically changing the way we see that world. The film uses recent technology to look at old works in new ways. Each segment of this podcast presentation unlocks new secrets of illusion and perspective as seen in the works of old masters. | 6/3/08 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 51 | CleanVideoAfghanistan: Hidden Treasures from the National Museum, Kabul | This two-minute trailer of the new documentary produced by Blue Bear Films for the National Geographic Society on the occasion of the traveling exhibition Afghanistan: Hidden Treasures from the National Museum, Kabul features footage of the 2003 rediscovery of the collections from the National Museum, Kabul, which had been hidden in the vaults of the Central Bank in the Presidential Palace in 1988. National Geographic archaeologist Fredrik T. Hiebert and museum director Omara Massoudi give their personal accounts of this dramatic story. A ten-minute version will be shown in the exhibition and the full-length 28-minute film will be available in the Gallery Shops this summer. The exhibition begins a 17-month tour of the United States at the National Gallery of Art, on view May 25–September 7, 2008. | 4/1/08 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 52 | CleanVideoJ.M.W. Turner Film | This excerpt is from a new documentary chronicling the rise of one of the greatest landscape painters of all time, Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775-1851), who rendered the subtle effects of light and atmosphere in revolutionary ways. A barber's son, he entered the Royal Academy art school at age fourteen and became, over the course of six decades, the leading British artist of his era. This overview of Turner's career and influences includes footage of locations important to him in Wales, Switzerland, and England, and readings from writers and artists of the era, including John Ruskin and Lord Byron. A 30-minute version of the film may be purchased at the National Gallery of Art. Narrated by Jeremy Irons and produced by the Gallery in conjunction with the exhibition J.M.W. Turner, the film is made possible by the HRH Foundation. | 1/8/08 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 53 | CleanVideoWyeth Lecture in American Art: Ground Swell: Edward Hopper in 1939 | Edward Hopper's paintings often show people and places in states of enigmatic isolation, loneliness, and contemplation. These are among the fabled Hopper themes-so fabled it would hardly seem possible to go beyond them to give another account of his art. Focusing on one Hopper painting, Ground Swell of 1939, this lecture tries to provide a thicker, denser, more surprising story of what it meant for Hopper to make a painting, especially in the year 1939. Produced in conjunction with the exhibition Edward Hopper. | 11/17/07 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 54 | CleanVideoEdward Hopper's New York | The National Gallery of Art has released a new video podcast about the artist and his work and influence. In the podcast, which features more than 50 of Hopper's paintings and watercolors, Senior Curator Franklin Kelly discusses New York City, New England, and the cinema as Hopper saw and portrayed them—and as we view them today through his work. The filming of the pod cast was made possible by Booz Allen Hamilton Inc. Music composed and performed by Scott Silbert of the US Navy Band. Music engineered by David Morse of the US Navy Band. | 10/1/07 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 55 | CleanVideoPaul Mellon: In His Own Words | The centenary of the birth of Paul Mellon (1907–1999), philanthropist, art collector, founding benefactor, and trustee of the National Gallery of Art, is celebrated throughout 2007 with exhibitions, gallery talks, lectures, concerts, and a new documentary. Paul Mellon's visionary leadership of the National Gallery of Art spanned more than six decades, from 1938, when he was first elected to the Board of Trustees, to his death in 1999. During that time he watched over and nurtured the museum's growth from a single grand building to a mature institution with two monumental structures, a sculpture garden, and a world-class collection. More than 1,000 works of art given by Paul Mellon and his wife Bunny form an extraordinary legacy. In addition, he generously contributed funds for acquisitions, education, archives, and the Gallery's Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts. | 8/17/07 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 56 | CleanVideoMel Bochner Installation: Theory of Boundaries (1969-1970) | Over the course of three days, from February 14 to 16, 2007, Mel Bochner and his assistant Nicholas Knight installed Theory of Boundariesat the National Gallery of Art. The work, whose size is determined by the length of the wall on which it is installed, consists of four squares of equal size, each separated by a space equal to one-third of the width of a single square. Following the principles determined by the "language fraction" of each square (hence the work's title, Theory of Boundaries), dry pigment is applied directly to the wall, with each of the four squares demonstrating a different relationship of the color surface to its border and state of enclosure. | 8/3/07 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 57 | CleanVideoEdward Hopper Film | This excerpt is from a new documentary produced by the National Gallery of Art that includes archival footage of Edward Hopper (1882–1967), new footage of places that inspired him in New York and New England, including his boyhood home in Nyack and his studio on Washington Square, where he lived and worked for more than 50 years. Narrated by actor and art collector Steve Martin, this film traces Hopper's varied influences, from French impressionism to the gangster films of the 1930s. Artists Red Grooms and Eric Fischl discuss Hopper's influence on their careers. Curators discuss recent and diverse perspectives on Hopper's art. The 30-minute version of the film is on view and for sale at the National Gallery of Art. The film is made possible by the HRH Foundation. Produced in conjunction with the exhibition Edward Hopper. | 6/18/07 | Free | View In iTunes |
| Total: 57 Episodes |
Customer Reviews
Wonderful
I missed the exhibit, it's wonderful to be able to see the paintings and hear the commentary. Many thanks.
Love the Magic of Illusion
I love the Magic of Illusion series of video podcasts. They are an excellent remake of the Masters of Illusion video. It's absolutely fantastic that they are free!
National Gallery Videos-Afghan Treasures
Short, yet compelling. I am a teacher and I will share this video with my class when we study Central Asia. The video sets a mood and reveals the visual beauty of Afghanistan. It also touches on the tragic recent history of the country. The video makes a loud cry for the preservation of culture.
