The Getty Museum Presents: How to Make Art from Ye Olden Days

Art Babble is a video network for artists and art lovers alike, launched by a group of curators at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. The site is divided into channels, series and partners, with a wide variety of top notch videos from institutions far and wide. The Getty Museum has posted some especially fascinating content, most notably their series on modern artisans and craftsmen demonstrating antiquated art techniques.

If you've ever pondered the process behind creating an illuminated manuscript or perhaps the demands of the wet collodion photographic process, look no more. Below, three of our favorite video demonstrations; click through to view the entire collection.  

Making Illuminated Manuscripts

An illuminated manuscript is a hand-bound text, typically ornately decorated with hand painted illustrations, laden with gold or silver leaf. The techniques employed can be quite involved—tune in below to get an idea of what it takes to make your own.

Photography: The Wet Collodion Process

The collodion process is an extremely early photographic process invented in 1851 and widely used up until approximately 1880 (though it continued to be used in special scenarios until as late as the 1960's). The negatives are made of glass, and the resulting print is rich with fine detail.

Making a Spanish Polychrome Sculpture

Produced in the 17th century during the Baroque period, Spanish polychrome sculptures were created to look as lifelike as possible. Wooden figures were equipped with glass eyes and wigs, and painted in an extremely realistic manner.