museum Archives - A Long Look

The Return of the Prodigal Son – Bartolomé Esteban Murillo

Painting of "The Prodigal Son" — Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (Spanish, 1617 – 1682 ), The Return of the Prodigal Son, 1667/1670, oil on canvas, Gift of the Avalon Foundation 1948.12.1

This enormous, dramatic painting by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo focuses on the emotional homecoming in the Biblical story of “The Prodigal Son” in which youth and money make a bad combination.

Murillo painted this as one of eight paintings for a charitable hospital in Seville and we’ll find how the king of Spain’s top official tried to “borrow” it to place in a royal museum. We’ll also discover its connection to Napoleon Bonaparte and a guy nicknamed “Joey Bottles.”

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SHOW NOTES

“A Long Look” theme is “Ascension” by Ron Gelinas

Episode theme is “Adagio in G minor” composed by Tomaso Albinoni/Remo Giazotto and performed by Noh Donghwan. Courtesy of musopen.org

The Prodigal Son information
https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.34956.html

“Joey Bottles” article
https://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/26/nyregion/new-jersey/26bonapartenj.html

Slow Art Day http://www.slowartday.com

03 The Boating Party – Cassatt

Today, I’ll be looking at Mary Cassatt’s “The Boating Party.” This large painting represents a big break in style for Cassatt. She was one of the few American Impressionists in Paris as well as one of the few American women working as professional artists. She’s best known for her intimate domestic scenes of mothers and children but we’ll find out how an exhibit of Japanese prints and summers on the Mediterranean influenced her to try new techniques and move beyond Impressionism.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (4.4MB)

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SHOW NOTES

“The Boating Party” https://www.nga.gov/Collection/art-object-page.46569.html#overview

For information on Mary Cassatt, visit NGA Mary Cassatt online feature and click on “Mary Cassatt – Selected Paintings” or “Mary Cassatt – Selected Prints”

Slow Art Day http://www.slowartday.com

“A Long Look” theme is “Ascension” by Ron Gelinas youtu.be/jGEdNSNkZoo goo.gl/daee6S

“The Boating Party” theme is “Laideronnette, imperatrice des pagodes” by Ravel, performed by Luis Sarro https://musopen.org/music/539/maurice-ravel/ma-mere-loye/