The Object

It is one of the greatest artworks of the Italian Renaissance, and for the better part of a century it was rolled up in storage. A tapestry—the art form of popes, kings, and emperors—bigger than any painting that has ever come to America from 16th-century Italy. Made in the famous Medici gardens where the Renaissance was nurtured. Hidden away at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. Until now.

A story of power and glory, luck and determination—and Dante and Virgil, the two poets of "The Inferno" poised at the brink of hell in the tapestry. (Oh, and Beatrice, Dante's muse—she manages to get in the story, too.) A tapestry that is once again on view for a few months only. Until back to storage it goes.

A big thank-you to Max Bryant, curator of European decorative art at Mia, who tells us of his incredible discovery, why tapestry is underrated, and more.

You can see the tapestry from July 11, 2026, through January 31, 2027, in "Back from the Underworld" at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. 

And you can read more about Dante and Virgil's hellish meeting at Beatrice's behest in a fine analysis here by poet and scholar Diane Mehta.

Journalist Eric Kelsey was already familiar with "Sonja," the enigmatic portrait sometimes called the German Mona Lisa: a woman in black with short hair and cigarettes, sitting in a cafe. An iconic image of free-spirited Weimar Berlin almost since it was painted by Christian Schad in 1928. Then he realized who she really was. 

Kelsey has now spent years researching his connection to "Sonja" and the dramatic true story of a life of luck and love, cruelty and tragedy, as Weimar Germany gave way to Nazi Germany. A story of the individual human dramas behind big history—and who gets to tell them when the private becomes public. 

"Sonja" is the face of the groundbreaking traveling exhibition "Modern Art and Politics in Germany 1910–1945: Masterworks from the Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin".  You can see her—and more than 70 other paintings and sculptures from the National Gallery of Germany—at the Minneapolis Institute of Art through July 19, 2026. 

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This electrifying, sold-out live show of The Object podcast was recorded May 21, 2026, at the Minneapolis Institute of Art with host Tim Gihring and very special musical guests from the VocalEssence Ensemble Singers with Philip Brunelle conducting and playing the virginal (we had the same question; you'll have to listen to find out). It's a celebration of the 555th birthday of Albrecht Dürer, with quizzes, storytelling, and curator conversation all about the greatest printmaker of the Renaissance—maybe of all time.

Brunelle became a church organist at age 14, was one of the youngest musicians hired by the Minnesota Orchestra, and has led the VocalEssence choir—one of the country's most decorated—since 1969. Here, he leads a quartet in songs from Dürer's time and place, plays a quiz, and talks about his life in music. Mia Director and President Katie Luber explains why she has long been enamored of Dürer and the Renaissance. And Gihring tells the story of Dürer's remarkable life and art.

A big thank-you to Brunelle, the VocalEssence quartet (Katie Boardman, Cat Terres, Andy McCullough, and David Gindra), and show runner Dexter Carlson, who donned a Tyrolean loden hat and made the magic happen for one of our most engaging shows yet.

Please note: the musical segment was performed as acoustically as possible to maintain the historic nature of the work, so you may have to bump the volume up at that time.

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Simeon Solomon—bold, dashing, and openly gay—is a rising star in the Victorian art world when a scandal in 1873 supposedly forces him into obscurity, a cautionary tale for fans like Oscar Wilde. But the truth is more complicated and only now coming to light, revealing the fate of this forgotten figure as both more tragic and more inspiring.

You can see an “allegorical self-portrait” here, from the collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Art.

You can see his haunting masterwork “Love in Autumn” here.

In the 1940s, an heir to the Pillsbury flour fortune acquires an ancient Chinese bronze vessel, thousands of years old, in the form of an extremely charming owl. An instant visitor favorite at the Minneapolis Institute of Art—until, a couple of years ago, it falls from its perch. A story of the things we carry through time, what survives and what does not, and the recent miraculous resurrection of the Pillsbury Owl.

You can see the charismatic owl here, in the collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Art, and now once again on display in the museum itself.

You can read more about oracle bones, an ancient fortune-telling practice that plays an important role in this story, here.

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