Rebuilding The Renaissance: Italian Masterpieces

The competition of 1401 for the contract for a set of bronze doors for Florence Baptistery is the event that kicked off the Renaissance. The artists involved - Lorenzo Ghiberti and Filippo Brunelleschi - who were two of the greatest of the Renaissance. This lecture will explore how each artist brought his own unique vision and style to his work, and why sometimes losing actually means winning.

Towering 32 stories tall and with an interior diameter of 143 feet 6 inches, Brunelleschi's dome is still the largest in the world. This lecture will explore the history of the construction of Brunelleschi's great dome and unravel the secrets behind its design.

Often described as the most beautiful and famous doors on the planet, the Gates of Paradise took nearly a full generation for their artist, Lorenzo Ghiberti, to complete. This lecture will examine how the goldsmith Ghiberti infused each panel with his exquisite mastery of craftsmanship and detail, in addition to his extraordinary ability as a visual storyteller.

Although not as highly publicized as many other more famous paintings, the Holy Trinity by Masaccio might just be the most important painting in Florence, and is certainly one of the most important of all time. This lecture will explore the mathematical principles behind the great painting, as well as how for the first time science and theology synergized in Renaissance art.

Donatello's bronze David was the first free-standing nude statue to be made since ancient Roman times. Combined with anomalous details such as boots and a hat, the true meaning of the sculpture has eluded people in art history for many years. This lecture will explore the risqué aspects of the statue as well as discussing various theoretical interpretations of its symbolism.

When Botticelli painted the Primavera in the 1470s, he opened up a Pandora's Box. No longer would Renaissance artists be limited to simply dressing Christian saints in togas and sandals. This lecture will unpack Botticelli's great allegorical painting and explore how the first Renaissance painting to ever depict a pagan subject was still loaded with Christianity.

The Birth of Venus is one of the world's most recognized paintings. In depicting how the Roman goddess of love, Venus, came into being, Botticelli continued his depiction of mythological subject matter in painting. This lecture will examine the composition and symbolism of the painting, as well as discussing the "je ne sais quoi" that makes the painting so timelessly appealing.

Leonardo's great masterpiece was painted in 1495 on a wall of the refectory of a Dominican convent in Milan, Italy, and is celebrated as the first work of the High Renaissance. This lecture will explore the evolution of the subject of the Last Supper in Italian art, as well as explain why Leonardo's Last Supper is perhaps the most perfect expression of form and content in Renaissance painting.

The Pietà was Michelangelo's first "number one hit". At the ripe old age of 23 years, he had produced one of the greatest statues of all time. This lecture will explore the meaning and tradition of the "Pietà" subject in art and also address why Michelangelo's is the most famous interpretation.

When Leonardo began painting the portrait of Lisa Gherardini, wife of the wealthy cloth merchant Francesco del Giocondo, in 1503, little did he know just how much employment he would generate for future art historians. this lecture will also present some new and only recently published information that significantly changes our understanding of the painting.

Michelangelo's statue of the David has been described as the greatest expression of sculpture of all time. Standing 17-foot-1-inch in height and weighing just over 5 tons, the sheer scale of the statue is breathtaking. This lecture will explore the history, iconography and importance of the sculpture that probably best defines the Renaissance, as well as the great artist who produced it.

When Michelangelo signed the contract in 1508 to paint the Sistine Chapel Ceiling, little did he know the turmoil that awaited him. Never before had such a large-scale painting been attempted on a ceiling - and by a sculptor no less! This lecture will examine the artistic importance, style and meaning of the of the ceiling, as well the extraordinary human drama behind its creation.

The painter Raphael was one of the most talented and skilled painters in history. Although best known for his intimate and sentimental images of Mary and Baby Jesus, his great mural of the School of Athens, in the Stanza della Segnatura, best defines him. This lecture will analyze how Raphael synthesized the styles of Leonardo and Michelangelo into his own unique painting style.

Titian was the greatest painter from Renaissance Venice. Venetian artists would introduce their own particular style and vision into Renaissance art, as can be seen in the Venus of Urbino. This lecture will explore how there is little "Venus" in the Venus of Urbino, but instead a straight-forward visual voyeurism between subject and object.