Atlanta, GA
HIGH MUSEUM OF ART | “Italian Renaissance Masterpieces” In Person Lecture Tour
March 13, 2026
1 hour 30 minutes
$295.00
EXCLUSIVE WEBINAR BUNDLE
“Exclusive Webinars in April”
Presented by Dr. Rocky Ruggiero and special guests Dr. Peter Weller, Dr. William E. Wallace, and Dr. Fabrizio Ricciardelli
Dates & Times:
Thursday, April 2, 9, 16 & 30, 2026
2:00 – 3:00pm ET | 11:00am – 12:00pm PT |
7:00 – 8:00pm London
EXCLUSIVE WEBINARS | “Exclusive Webinars in April”
Each webinar will include a 45-minute lecture followed by 15-minutes of Q&A.
Please note:
EXCLUSIVE WEBINAR | “Genuine to Genteel: Antonello, Raphael and the Sixteenth Century Refashion of Mien”
Presented by Dr. Peter Weller
Instrumental to early modern portraiture, the depiction of an authentic physical countenance in Italy notably initiates in Padua, with Altichiero and Menabuoi — decades before Florence or Venice. However, the painted face from life, framed, and free-standing — that is to say, the visage exempted from confines of donorship or heraldry, neither displayed nor embossed upon walls, floors, tombs of church or house — is a breakthrough event of the 1400s. Within that era, realism’s conditio sine qua non is Antonello da Messina, and his paintings of the quotidian Italian in both provincial as well as Christological visage. Raphael’s 1500s, however — be it from politics, money, and the rebirth of Rome as world art center — delivered the face and physique of opulence and lux that would toss the Antonello picture of the commoner into the back seat of cultural obsession. This webinar will track these major shifts of patron, subject, style, and geography from the workaday folk of Antonello’s fifteenth to the well-heeled persona of Raphael’s early sixteenth century portraits.
EXCLUSIVE WEBINAR | “Michelangelo & Titian: A Tale of Rivalry and Genius”
Presented by Dr. William E. Wallace
Professor Wallace will introduce his new book which relates the compelling story of a forty-year rivalry between the two most celebrated artists of their time: Michelangelo and Titian. This is the story about the entwined lives of two artists who were more attentive and admiring of one another than either would ever admit. The two met twice, shared more than a dozen of the same patrons, and lived in a small world of overlapping colleagues, friends, and acquaintances. They grew up, grew famous, and grew old, learning about and from one another, challenging and inspiring one another. Friendly but not friends, Titian and Michelangelo constantly regarded the other and engaged in a longtime competition. They are the Picasso/Matisse rivalry of their time.
EXCLUSIVE WEBINAR | “Family Life in Renaissance Florence: Everyday Aspects and Social Dynamics”
Presented by Dr. Fabrizio Ricciardelli
Family structures were central to social life in Renaissance Florence. Florentine society revolved around patriarchal households, where marriage alliances, kinship ties, and lineage shaped social status and economic security. Women were primarily defined through their roles as daughters, wives, and mothers, and their lives were closely guided by family strategies, particularly through arranged marriages and dowry systems.
Although excluded from formal political institutions, women played significant roles within the household and in sustaining family networks, reputation, and honor. Their daily experiences varied across social classes, yet through domestic responsibilities, religious practices, and social relationships, women were essential to the stability and continuity of Florentine society.
EXCLUSIVE WEBINAR | “The Michelangelos Not by Michelangelo”
Presented by Dr. Rocky Ruggiero
In 2008, the Italian government purchased a small wooden “Crucifix” loosely attributed to Michelangelo from a private antique dealer for $4.2 million. A few years later, the Minister of Culture who authorized the purchase was subject to an official criminal investigation for wasting public money. Recently, Christie’s sold a $27.2 million drawing of a foot believed by some to be by Michelangelo and by others merely a copy. And just a few days ago, an Italian actress and fiction author, with no college degree or expertise in art history claimed to have authenticated a Michelangelo bust sitting right under our noses in a church in Rome. These are just a few examples of recently discovered and/or attributed works “by Michelangelo” which have made major headlines. Join Dr. Rocky for this exclusive webinar as he explores the many “Michelangelos” that are not, in fact, by Michelangelo!
