What Is a Painting?
What do you see when you look at a painting? You see the subject and the style of the work but also the materials and technologies used to create it and the traces of everything that has happened to it. Professional paintings conservator Jean Dommermuth considers how all of those factors contribute to what a painting is. You don’t need to know anything about art history to enjoy this podcast, but no matter what, you’ll never look at a painting the same way again. You can find images and related materials at jeandommermuth.com/podcast
Episodes
24 episodes
Episode 24 - Reinforcements
What can be done to reinforce a degraded canvas support of a painting, and how can that change that painting's look?
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Episode 24
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29:38
Episode 23 - Glue and Blues
How does paint made from animal glue and different blue pigments work, look, and age?
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Episode 23
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31:36
Episode 22 - A Little Cloth
What is the canvas of a canvas painting, and why and how was it used?
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Episode 22
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34:02
Episode 21 - A Copy of a Copy: The Ghent Altarpiece, Part 4
What's the story of the painting of the Just Judges panel now on display in Ghent?
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Episode 21
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34:01
Episode 20 - A Missing Piece: The Ghent Altarpiece, Part 3
Where is the Just Judges panel of the Ghent Altarpiece?
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Episode 20
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26:58
Episode 19 - The Sum of Many Parts: The Ghent Altarpiece, Part 2
What happened to the Ghent Altarpiece between 1566 and 1934?
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Episode 19
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34:07
Episode 18 - A Complex Whole: The Ghent Altarpiece, Part 1
What is the Ghent Altarpiece, how was it created, and what changes did it undergo in the first 125 years of its existence?
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Episode 18
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33:42
Episode 17 - A Changing Landscape
How did Early Netherlandish painters use different materials to create different kinds of landscapes, and how have those paintings changed over time?
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Episode 17
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28:53
Episode 16 - Translucent Color
How does the use of different media affect the look of paint?
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Episode 16
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31:06
Episode 15 - An Elaborated Sketch
How were the underdrawings of Early Netherlandish paintings made and how can we see them?
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Episode 15
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28:19
Episode 14 - More Memories of the Forest
Why are the oak panels of Early Netherlandish paintings good supports, and what can they tell us?
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Episode 14
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31:14
Episode 13 - A Dark Mirror
How do Early Netherlandish paintings differ from Early Italian paintings - in how they look, what they mean, and what they are?
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Episode 13
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31:24
Episode 12 - A Survivor of the Flood, Part 2
What's the story of the Cimabue Crucifix at Santa Croce, Florence? From 1966 until now.
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Episode 12
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35:13
Episode 11 - A Survivor of the Flood, Part 1
What's the story of the Cimabue Crucifix at Santa Croce, Florence? From the thirteenth century until 1966.
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Episode 11
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25:15
Episode 10 - New Again
How do modern and contemporary paintings reflect some of the physical aspects of Early Italian paintings? Some thoughts about engaged frames and the use of gold leaf.
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Episode 10
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30:27
Episode 9 - An Imitation of Luxury
How did Early Italian painters combine gold and paint to imitate luxury textiles?
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Episode 9
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29:24
Episode 8 - Egg and Bright Earth
What are the components of the paint used by Early Italian painters, how did they use it, and how has it changed over the centuries?
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Episode 8
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29:51
Episode 7 - Half-Solidified Sunlight
How were the gold backgrounds of Early Italian paintings created, and how have they changed over time?
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Episode 7
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29:44
Episode 6 - Sinew and Stone
Episode 6 - How did painters turn natural materials from animal and mineral sources into the perfect preparation for their panel paintings? A look at Early Italian gesso grounds.
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Episode 6
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28:05
Episode 5 - Memories of the Forest
How does a tree become a support for a painting, and how does the memory of its life in the forest affect that support? A look at Early Italian panels.
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Episode 5
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24:44
Episode 4 - A Vision of Eternity
How did European painters and patrons before about 1400 understand what paintings were and how did that affect how they were made? A look at Early Italian images of the Madonna and Child.
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Episode 4
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25:41
Episode 3 - A Surface with Paint on It
How have modern painters explored what a painting can be? A look at the work of Frank Stella.
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Episode 3
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28:14