TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Michelle Brown: What is a butt tuba and why is it in medieval art?
A rabbit attempts to play a church organ, while a knight fights a giant snail and a naked man blows a trumpet with his rear end. These bizarre images, painted with squirrel-hair brushes on vellum or parchment by monks, nuns and urban...
Curated Video
Why Aren't Angels Scary Anymore?
As beings that mediate between heaven and earth, angels have been the focus of both fascination and fear for centuries. In the past, they’ve been described as fireballs, forms without substance, or massive beings that collect blood or...
Weird History
Why Do Babies Look Creepy In Medieval Art
Infants in medieval art all have one thing in common: They don't look like babies. Instead, they resemble miniature versions of middle-aged men, sometimes complete with receding hairlines and ripped muscles. Depictions of weird,...
Curated Video
Hieronymus Bosch, The Garden of Earthly Delights (Part One): Great Art Explained
In this video I look at Hieronymus Bosch’s The Garden of Earthly Delights. Nobody painted Hell quite like Bosch. What we think of as Hell, and certainly what Bosch thought of as Hell is not based on the bible. What we think of as hell...
Curated Video
Hieronymus Bosch, The Garden of Earthly Delights (Part Two): Great Art Explained
In this video I look at Hieronymus Bosch’s The Garden of Earthly Delights. Nobody painted Hell quite like Bosch. What we think of as Hell, and certainly what Bosch thought of as Hell is not based on the bible. There is no mention of Hell...
Curated Video
Hieronymus Bosch, The Garden of Earthly Delights (Part Three): Great Art Explained
The painting was just too complex and detailed to deal with in fifteen minutes, so I made it in three parts. There are no records to tell us what Bosch or his contemporaries were thinking. There are so many theories out there, some more...
Curated Video
The Arnolfini Portrait by Jan Van Eyck: Great Art Explained
The Arnolfini Portrait by Jan Van Eyck has baffled art historians ever since it was painted in 1434. It has been dissected and analysed, maybe more than any other painting in history, and in the process, become even more mysterious....
TED-Ed
What Is a Butt Tuba and Why Is it in Medieval Art?
Before picture books and animated videos, there were hand-copied manuscripts whose margins were filled with fantastic images. A short video examines the tradition of illuminating books and considers what some of the more bizarre images...
Crash Course
Cathedrals and Universities: Crash Course History of Science #11
How are so many medieval buildings still standing today? And, how did ancient builders learn such skills? Discover the amazing feats of medieval engineers with part 11 in a 15-installment History of Science series. The narrator describes...
TED-Ed
Why Babies in Medieval Paintings Look Like Ugly Old Men
Have you ever noticed that babies in paintings from the Middle Ages look a little...strange? Find out why with an informative and amusing video about the moment artists decided to make babies look cute again.
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Deesis Mosaic, Hagia Sophia, Istanbul
This video spotlights "Deesis" a Christian mosaic partially recovered in Hagia Sophia in Instanbul. View the mosaic and listen as two renowned art professors discuss the history of this artwork. [5:08]