The canal district of Amsterdam in the Netherlands celebrates 400 years in 2013. The Rijksmuseum has undergone ten years of renovation and restoration. I’ll discuss the major museums of Amsterdam.

In my interpretation of Michelangelo’s fresco on the Sistine Chapel ceiling, what did God’s finger bring to Adam? Was it life or intelligence? I’ll introduce a third theory.

'The Scream' was an 1893 painting that became an iconic symbol for a stressful life in twentieth and twenty-first century pop culture. Did the Norwegian Expressionist painter Edvard Munch intend for 'The Scream' to have such mass appeal?

The 'Mona Lisa' by Leonardo da Vinci is an enigmatic painting raising questions as to the identity of the sitter, why Napoleon’s obsession and inspiring a song and movie in modern times. What really lies behind that mysterious Mona Lisa smile?

Born in Dublin to Irish and French parents, then emigrating to the US, Augustus Saint-Gaudens was lauded by President Theodore Roosevelt and historian Lorado Taft. I’ll explain why he was called ‘the greatest sculptor of the late 19th century’.

Vincent Van Gogh is probably one of the most recognizable names in the history of art. A ‘starving artist’ during his abbreviated life, selling just one painting during his lifetime, his paintings would posthumously realize the highest price ever paid for a work of art.

Many notable paintings can be seen in Hollywood movies such as the 'Batman' movie of 1989 and the remake of 'The Thomas Crown Affair' in 1999.

The Surrealist movement in art originated at the end of WWI. I will discuss the works of Surrealist painters Salvador Dalí and René Magritte.

Assyria produced stone reliefs for the royal palace, carved ivory and bronze. This collection from the British Museum was exhibited at the MFA Boston 2008-2009.

Van Gogh was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who was fond of using the color yellow in many of his works. Did he have a vision problem, was it from drinking Absinthe, or was it just a matter of self expression?