How did a lifelong cleaning lady become one of the most beloved painters in French history? In 1905, the voice of the Virgin Mary told orphaned, uneducated maid Seraphine to paint, and she obeyed. Her small French town was on the front line of both world wars, and through it all she painted her kaleidoscopic view. She gave her paintings to everyone in town...who promptly tossed them in the fireplace. She died penniless and unknown, but when a film about her aired on French television a couple years ago, everything changed. Travel with Katie in Senlis for a vivid soundscape of turn-of-the-century France and meet "France's Mona Lisa."
Katie's guest is Alicia Basso Boccabella at the Museums of Senlis.
Music featured in this episode was recorded by Thierry Callen, Kevin MacLeod, and Andrew Huang.
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THE WARRIOR Zenobia
THE OPTIMIST Émilie du Châtelet
THE MUSE Carolyn Cassady
THE SCULPTOR Edmonia Lewis
THE FLY GIRL Ruth Nichols
THE CHRISTMAS SPECIAL 2018 Ursula Bloom
THE AERONAUT Sophie Blanchard
THE EMPRESS Nur Jahan
THE AMBULANCE DRIVER Maud Fitch
WITCHES & MEDIUMS & GHOSTS, OH MY! 2018 Halloween Special
THE REVOLUTIONARY Mae Mallory
THE TRUE LOVE Dorothy Osborne
THE SINGLE LADY Marjorie Hillis
THE MARTYRS Perpetua and Felicitas
THE LADY NOVELIST Constance Fenimore Woolson
THE ASTRONOMER Caroline Herschel
THE COMPOSER Alma Mahler
THE BAKER Sally Lunn
THE JOURNALIST Claudia Jones
THE SAXON Hrotsvitha of Gandersheim
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