Research Fields:  Italian Renaissance, Painting, Sculpture, and Artistic Theory
Teaching Fields:  European Renaissance and Baroque Art

My special interest is the metaphorical nature of art, its mysterious core which many have compared with literature and music.  At its most fascinating, Renaissance and Baroque art and art theory bridge the gap between learned and lively, ethereal and earthy.  Works in press include an essay on the theory of perspective put forth by the versatile thinker and architect, Leon Battista Alberti.  I am also in the midst of writing a book based on my doctoral thesis treating the personal, artistic, and political ambitions that surrounded Michelangelo’s first big fresco project, the Battle of Cascina, which he abandoned in order to work for popes.  Other ongoing work involves the Assisi scenes of the life of St. Francis.
From September to November, I will also be giving a biweekly series of Sunday talks at the Columbia Museum or Art.  Touching on matters diverse as love poetry, the fineness of Fra Angelico’s brush, and Leonardo’s concept of the passage of time, they are open to and designed for students and the public.  For more about the series, visit  http://www.colmusart.org/html/s02calendar01.asp