On-Line/Live Event
POP-UP WEBINAR | “A Renaissance Christmas 4.0” with Dr. Rocky Ruggiero
December 23, 2024
1 hour
$25.00
EXCLUSIVE WEBINAR BUNDLE
“Exclusive Webinars in September”
Presented by Dr. Rocky Ruggiero and special guests Dr. Joe Luzzi, Dr. Sally J. Cornelison and Dr. Laurinda Dixon
Dates & Times:
Thursday, September 7, 14, 21 & 28
2:00 – 3:00pm ET | 11:00am – 12:00pm PT |
7:00 – 8:00pm London
EXCLUSIVE WEBINARS | “Exclusive Webinars in September”
Each webinar will include a 45-minute lecture followed by 15-minutes of Q&A.
Please note:
EXCLUSIVE WEBINAR | “My Two Italies: Personal and Cultural Reflections”
Presented by Dr. Joe Luzzi
The child of Italian immigrants and an award-winning author, teacher, and scholar, Professor Joseph Luzzi will discuss how his “two Italies”––the southern Italian world of his immigrant childhood and the northern Italian realm of his professional life, especially Florence—join and clash in unexpected ways that continue to enchant the many millions who are either connected to Italy by ancestry or bound to it by love. From the dramatic struggles of his ancestors in the impoverished Italian region of Calabria to his own adventures amid the Renaissance splendor of Florence, Luzzi creates a compelling family saga and deeply personal portrait of Italy that leaps past facile clichés about Italy and Italian American that we have inherited from popular media like The Sopranos and Under the Tuscan Sun. Join him for what promises to be a lively and unique exploration of the mysteries of Italian culture and its extraordinary American afterlife.
EXCLUSIVE WEBINAR | “The Man Who Invented the Renaissance: Giorgio Vasari’s Art and Life”
Presented by Dr. Sally J. Cornelison
Considered the father of art history and one of the most important personalities of the Italian Renaissance, Giorgio Vasari (1511-74) is best known as the author of the “Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects,” a collection of artist biographies that was the first of its kind. He was also a prolific painter and successful architect whose patrons included popes, heads of state such as Florence’s Duke Cosimo I de’ Medici, leading intellects, and religious institutions.This webinar delves into the fascinating history of Vasari’s life, going beyond the “Lives of the Artists” to explore his creative works and the ways in which he helped to shape artistic practice and the legacy of the Renaissance to the present day.
EXCLUSIVE WEBINAR | “Botticelli and Boccaccio: Master Storytellers of the Renaissance”
Presented by 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 Lucretia Bini in 1482, the four panels reflect the love that Renaissance Florentines had for secular painting often dealing with fantastic tales. The gruesome and dark tale of Nastagio as recounted by Boccaccio and illustrated by Botticelli is one that will certainly give you goosebumps!
EXCLUSIVE WEBINAR | “Laughter, Lunacy, and Lust in the Renaissance, or, Why is Mona Lisa Smiling?”
Presented by Dr. Laurinda Dixon
The so-called Mona Lisa, Leonardo’s most famous portrait, smiles benignly from her frame, unperturbed by the thousands of viewers who visit her daily in the famous Louvre Museum. Much has been written about this smile – there is even a movie. She seems content, and we certainly hope she was. Everybody seeks happiness, and for hedonists, joy is the very purpose of life. The old adage “laughter is the best medicine” was first put forth by the ancient Greek physician/philosopher Galen, and a good joke really does make us feel better. But if this is true, why do so few Renaissance portraits show people smiling or laughing? There are exceptions; fools, youths, low-lifes and women frequently appear laughing and smiling. However, our modern definition of joy as a spontaneous mental state arising from a serendipitous combination of pleasant circumstances would have seemed alien in the Renaissance. Early modern folk understood emotions as the result of a mechanical interaction of the temperature and humidity of the body, planetary influences, and motions of the soul. As a result, smiling and laughing in public would have been perceived as indecorous at best – even suggestive of lunacy or nymphomania, attributes widely associated with women. Few people said “cheese” when presenting themselves to posterity in a portrait. Even so, there was power in a well-calculated smile, as Leonardo demonstrates. In the Renaissance, smiling was no laughing matter.
