Art Stars of the Italian Renaissance with 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 Georgio Vasari play in perpetuating their posthumous reputations? Why is the Mona Lisa so famous? What role did modern biographical novels and biopic films such as "The Agony and the Ecstasy" (by Irving Stone, 1961) play in making these artists household names? Has effusive reproductions of these works in books, posters and on the internet increased their appeal while overshadowing their artistry? Dr. Ruggiero addresses these topics and more.
This lecture was presented in conjunction with the NSU Art Museum exhibition, Picturing Fame: From Toulouse-Lautrec to Today.

[@josepcivil8090]

The secret of this painting is not so much in its smile. She smiles like we smile today when we are photographed, that's all. The real secret of this portrait is to know who is really the character represented in it, and the version presented to us as official is surely not the correct one . The famous portrait in the Louvre is not that of Lisa del Giocondo, but in reality that of Isabella of Aragon and Sforza, the daughter of the king of Naples, who married Gian Galeazzo Sforza to strengthen ties between Naples and Milan. After the premature death of her husband, Isabella and Leonardo da Vinci would have, according to the historian Maike Vogt Luerssen, formed a secret couple and had 5 children. It is this emotional bond that explains why he would not have delivered it and kept it until the end of his life. The landscape of the portrait would be based, according to my research, on an authentic place, paying tribute to Isabella's family origins. The defenders of the official version are well aware of the inconsistencies of the version they defend, but they do not want to admit that they were wrong. As Mark Twain said, "It's easier to fool people than to convince them they've been fooled ".

[@henryottis295]

Do you have a link ?

[@josepcivil8090]

@@henryottis295 I have replied several times, but this response doesn’t seem to be recorded.

[@henryottis295]

@@josepcivil8090 Keep me posted. Thanks.