Episode 5: Taken from the Headlines

October 7, 2020

“Taken from the Headlines” considers European history painting, its roots and its legacies. What exactly are history paintings? And why are they significant in the canon of Western art? In this episode of “Unboxing the Canon” Dr. Steer examines these questions along with some historical examples before turning to the present moment to consider how artists use this genre today and reflect on some of its limitations. This episode covers the concept of istoria and Renaissance narrative paintings, dramatic 19th century history paintings in France and their relationship to politics, and contemporary Indigenous work dealing with the trauma of the residential school system in Canada.

Sources + further reading:

Alberti, Leon Battista. On Painting. [First appeared 1435-36] Translated with Introduction and Notes by John R. Spencer. New Haven: Yale University Press. 1970 [First printed 1956]. http://www.noteaccess.com/Texts/Alberti/index.htm

David, Jacques-Louis. The Oath of the Horatii. 1784. 3.30 m x 4.25 m. Louvre. https://www.louvre.fr/en/oeuvre-notices/oath-horatii

Géricault Théodore. The Raft of the Medusa. Salon de 1819. 4.91 m x 7.16 m. Louvre. https://www.louvre.fr/en/oeuvre-notices/raft-medusa.

Garneau, David. “Writing About Indigenous Art with Critical Care.” C Magazine 145 (March 10, 2020). https://cmagazine.com/issues/145/writing-about-indigenous-art-with-critical-care.

Madill, Shirley. “Key Works: Robert Houle, Sandy Bay Residential School Series, 2009.” Robert Houle: Life and Work. Art Canada Institute - Institut de l’art canadien. Accessed September 30, 2020. https://www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/robert-houle/key-works/sandy-bay-residential-school-series

Monkman, Kent. Painting. https://www.kentmonkman.com/painting

Morgan-Feir, Caoimhe. “Kent Monkman: History Painting for a Colonized Canada.” Canadian Art. January 26, 2017. https://canadianart.ca/features/kent-monkman-critiques-canada-150/.

Zappella, Christine. “Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.” i Smarthistory, August 9, 2015, accessed October 1, 2020. https://smarthistory.org/michelangelo-ceiling-of-the-sistine-chapel

Zucker, Steven and Beth Harris “Raphael, School of Athens.” Smarthistory, December 15, 2015, accessed October 1, 2020. https://smarthistory.org/raphael-school-of-athens

Credits

Unboxing the Canon is hosted and produced by Linda Steer for her course “Introduction to the History of Western Art” in the Department of Visual Arts at Brock University. Brock University is located on the traditional lands of the Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe peoples.

Our sound designer and editor is Devin Dempsey, who is also reading these credits. Our logo was created by Cherie Michels. The music for this podcast has been adapted from “Night in Venice” and “Inspired” by Kevin MacLeod. Both are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution International 4.0. Sound effects in this episode obtained from www.zapsplat.com

We are grateful to Alison Innes from the Faculty of Humanities for her sharing her podcasting wisdom and offering support.

This podcast is funded by the Humanities Research Institute at Brock University.