Dr. Rocky Ruggiero

How did Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Botticelli, Raphael, and Caravaggio win fame and commissions during their lifetime? What role did the Renaissance biographer Giorgio Vasari play in perpetuating their posthumous reputations? Why is the Mona Lisa so famous? What role did...

A Real Pain in the Neck: Michelangelo and the Art that Inspired the Sistine Chapel
Dr. Rocky Ruggiero

While looking up at the Sistine Chapel ceiling, few people realize that before Michelangelo came along it was not very common to paint ceilings with figurative art. The reason? It was a real pai...

Dr. Rocky Ruggiero

The Uffizi Gallery houses the world’s most important collection of medieval and Renaissance Italian paintings, with major works by artists such as Giotto, Simone Martini, Piero della Francesca, Fra Lippo Lippi, Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Caravagg...

Dr. Rocky Ruggiero

The “Last Judgment” in Florence Cathedral was begun by Giorgio Vasari in 1572 and completed after his death by Federico Zuccari in 1579. The fresco covers some 3,500m2/37,700ft2 – or nearly an acre - of interior dome surface, making it the largest fresco in the world! Join Dr....

Dr. Rocky Ruggiero

Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper is one of the world’s most famous works of art. Painted in 1495 in the refectory of a Dominican convent in Milan, Italy, the Last Supper is celebrated as the first work of the High Renaissance. Few people realize that Leonardo’s painting of the ...

Dr. Rocky Ruggiero

In 17th-century Rome, Cardinal Scipione Borghese, nephew of Pope Paul V, assembled one of the greatest art collections in history for his uncle’s villa. His eclectic taste combined works from ancient times through to his own contemporary Baroque artists, such as the tormented ...

Dr. Rocky Ruggiero

While Bernini’s fame is largely due to the sculptures that he produced early in his career for the Borghese family, such as the “Apollo and Daphne” and “Pluto and Persephone,” the works that he produced after the death of Pope Paul V Borghese were equally spectacular. In this ...

Dr. Rocky Ruggiero

Husband of the Virgin Mary, legal father of Jesus, patron saint of workers, the nation of Italy and the Catholic Church, exemplar of fatherhood, St. Joseph might not be as famous as other saints, but he is certainly no less important. Celebrate St. Joseph’s Day with Dr. Rocky ...

Dr. Rocky Ruggiero

Join Dr. Rocky for this webinar where he will examine the unique artistic and historical identities of five Italian cities – Rome, Siena, Florence, Venice and Milan - that helped shape the course of Western civilization from ancient Rome through to the Renaissance. Much of the...

Dr. Rocky Ruggiero

Join Dr. Rocky for this webinar as he traces the evolution of Italian sculpture from its ancient origins through to the modern world. From ancient Etruscans and Romans to the Renaissance genius of Donatello, Michelangelo and Bernini, all the way to the sublime creations of Can...

Dr. Rocky Ruggiero

Shortly after returning to Florence from Rome, Botticelli produced four “spalliere” (or “shoulder-height”) paintings of one of the most famous episodes from Boccaccio’s “Decameron” – the tale of Nastagio degli Onesti. Painted to celebrate the marriage of Giannozzo Pucci and Lu...

Dr. Rocky Ruggiero

The construction of the Duomo of Siena started in 1226 and took nearly two centuries to complete. Along the way, the building continued to evolve and change, and ended up being one of Italy’s greatest expressions of Gothic architecture. It also houses some of history’s greates...

Dr. Rocky Ruggiero

Much of the magnificence of St. Peter’s is the direct result of the genius of Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Join Dr. Rocky for this webinar where he will explore the various masterpieces by Bernini in the great basilica, such as his
“Baldacchino,” the “Chair of St. Peter,” and the var...

Dr. Rocky Ruggiero

Measuring more than 1 ½ football fields in length and 33 stories in height, it is not surprising that Florence Cathedral required 172 years to complete!
Join Dr. Rocky for this webinar where he will explore the epic construction history of one of the world’s largest and most b...

Dr. Rocky Ruggiero

Currently on loan to the National Gallery in London, “The Martyrdom of St. Ursula” is generally considered to be Caravaggio’s last painting before his mysterious death. Join Dr. Rocky for this webinar where he will retrace the doomed artist’s final years and examine the painti...

Dr. Rocky Ruggiero

Join Dr. Rocky for this webinar where he will explore the revolutionary painting styles of three of the greatest artists in history. From Giotto’s definitive break with the Byzantine style, to Masaccio’s emotion and perspective, to Michelangelo’s idealized vision of the male n...

Dr. Rocky Ruggiero

Goldsmith-turned-architect Filippo Brunelleschi is often described in both scholarly and popular accounts as the perfect balance of architect and engineer, visionary, and traditionalist. He was arguably the first to resurrect an architectural language that had been dead for a ...

Dr. Rocky Ruggiero

While most people appreciate Florence Cathedral for its massive scale and unparalleled dome, the church also contains one of the world's most important art collections. From medieval masterpieces by Arnolfo di Cambio and Giotto, to early Renaissance works by Donatello, Lucca d...

Dr. Rocky Ruggiero

When Leonardo da Vinci began painting the portrait of Lisa Gherardini, wife of the wealthy Florentine cloth merchant Francesco del Giocondo, in 1503, little did he know just how much employment he would generate for future art historians. From theories concerning her enigmatic...

Dr. Rocky Ruggiero

In the early 16th century, Venice had become Florence’s main artistic rival. Artists such as Giovanni Bellini, Titian, Giorgione, and Tintoretto were just as famous and in-demand as their central Italian contemporaries. Join Dr. Rocky for this webinar where he will examine the...

While the Tuscan city of Siena is most celebrated for its Gothic painting, it is also home to some of the greatest sculptural masterpieces of the Renaissance. Join Dr. Rocky for this webinar where he will explore the extraordinary collection of Renaissance sculptures in Siena.

Dr. Rocky Ruggiero

“Guido Riccio” was once the most recognized painting in Siena, Italy, appearing on the cover of Sienese guidebooks, posters, prestigious wine labels, lampshades, and postcards. In many ways, “Guido Riccio” was the symbol of the great medieval city, with schools, tennis clubs, ...

Dr. Rocky Ruggiero

While the Renaissance began in Florence around the year 1400, it did not begin in Venice and Rome until around 1500. But once it did, these two cities rapidly sought to surpass Florence as cultural capitals. While the popes sought to lure Italy’s most celebrated artists, such ...

Dr. Rocky Ruggiero

According to tradition, it was Cosimo “the Elder” de’ Medici who coined the expression “Ogni pittore dipinge sè.” (Every artist paints himself.) This practice has been labeled “automimesis,” literally meaning “self-imitation,” and refers to an artist who creates himself involu...