Ye olde art history keeps the Sartle team pretty busy. Not that we mind, of course – in fact, far from it. Work is hardly a grind when it consists of hunting for paintings of the Virgin Mary using her mammaries as a soda fountain-slash-super soaker, or when one of our fave museums asks that we review their latest and greatest exhibition. At the risk of sounding gushy, we end every day honored and grateful to help the world see art differently. However, this vision quest that takes us into the archives and libraries scattered around the world has taught us something equally important and exhilarating about contemporary history: Sartle is not alone in this endeavor.
Enter Trivium Art History Project. Our friends at Trivium are creating a cathedral to art, artists, and timelines of art history. They offer wonderfully researched write-ups, composed in a conversational tone, that dive beneath the veneer of art historical jargon and into the stuff that people care about (all with a website that looks pretty slick, too). They’re basically a free online encyclopedia that cuts out all the boring junk and gets at the story of art history from the first inkling of human creativity through today. Thank God, because art history books are EXPEN$$$IVE.
Frankly, we’ve been big fans of theirs for a while. We reached out to them recently and just blushed to discover the feeling is mutual. As such, Sartle and Trivium decided to join forces on a few exciting projects, one of which is ALREADY UNDERWAY!
Starting earlier this month, Sartle and Trivium are pooling their content on a few of our favorite artists and artworks to help each site offer more information without diluting what makes each of us great. Sartle gets to stay focused on the jokey stuff and Trivium can keep diving deeper into the narrative of art history. All the while, you, dear reader, get more information at every turn. That’s a win-win-win, baby.
For some examples that show the first steps of this endeavor, check out Trivium’s brand-spankin’-new Featured Contributor profile from our team page. If I can make a couple suggestions, check out their take on Matisse’s Woman With a Hat and Gentileschi’s Susanna and the Elders for starters. Seriously, though, they’re all worth a look.
Part of the fun of this partnership is that it’s new and can go in a lot of directions. Sartle and Trivium are ecstatic to discover what beautiful blossoms might bloom from working together. If you have any thoughts on the matter, feel free, as always, to give us a shout on Facebook, Instagram , or Twitter.
By Clayton
Sr. Contributor