Hey Arnold! and Art History

fyeaharthistorymajorcat:

And some more proof that:

There are art history references in Hey Arnold!

I’m a dork.

afraidofme:

In the Hey Arnold! Episode of “Helga and the Nanny”, Big Bob hires a housekeeper and nanny to care for Helga and the house since Miriam is starting community service at the animal shelter. As some people may or may not know, Miriam (Helga’s mother) is an alcoholic. Yeah; those smoothies were a little more than just that. So it can be assumed why she has to do community service. Anyway, Inga the nanny arrives and enters the kitchen where Helga and Miriam are seated:

Inga: Good morning, everyone. I’m Inga. Oh! And you must be Helga.

Helga: No. She’s Helga and I’m Toulouse-Lautrec.

Here is where it becomes interesting. Helga switches herself and her mother. But Toulouse-Lautrec isn’t Helga’s mom! Yes. I know this. But Henri de Toulouse-Leutrec is one of the great Post-Impressionist painters of France. Many of you may know him for his paintings of the Moulin Rouge, a swanky French bar for artists.

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
At the Moulin Rouge
1892-1895

A little known fact about Toulouse-Lautrec was that he was an alcoholic for most of his life. Do to inbreeding in his family, his legs did not develop completely leaving him crippled and of considerably short stature. Depression over his condition led to promiscuous drinking.

And so, as you may have already connected, Toulouse-Lautrec is Helga’s way of calling her mother out on her drinking problem.

Then again, this isn’t the first time Helga Pataki seems to know a thing or two about art. She easily identifies an Edward Hopper print while at the psychologist’s office in “Helga on the Couch”.

I am always impressed by finding such small moments in shows like Hey Arnold!, where I may not have noticed it before.

edit: And let’s not forget this little gem:

Omg this is the BEST!!! I’ve seen every episode of Hey Arnold and loved it as a kid. Win!