Liliana Leopardi

Liliana Leopardi is an Associate Professor of Art and Architecture and serves as Chair of the Art and Architecture department at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, NY. She holds a Ph.D. in Art History from the Institute of Fine Arts at New York University (2007), with additional graduate training in Psychology. Her academic career includes prior appointments as Assistant Professor at Chapman University and the University of Georgia’s Cortona Summer Studies Abroad program.

• Ph.D., Art History, Institute of Fine Arts – N.Y.U., 2007
• M.A., Art History, Institute of Fine Arts – N.Y.U., 2000
• M.A., Psychology, California Graduate Institute, 1995
• B.A., Psychology, University of Southern California, 1992

Her research centers on Renaissance visual culture, with a focus on magic, material culture, ornament, and the healing properties of gems (lithotherapy). She investigates how sensory experience, gender, and symbolic meaning intersect in early modern art and artifacts. Her scholarship bridges art history, medical humanities, and cultural studies, particularly in the context of magical and devotional objects.

The trend in her publications reveals a sustained engagement with Renaissance perceptions of the body, materiality, and the occult. Her work frequently analyzes engraved gems, amulets, and treatises on lapidary science, situating them within broader frameworks of gender, power, and sensory aesthetics. She has contributed significantly to understanding the cultural significance of ornament and the psychological dimensions of Renaissance art.

Her notable scholarly awards and recognitions include peer-reviewed publications with major academic presses such as Penn State University Press, Routledge, and De Gruyter. She is an active member of the College Art Association, the Renaissance Society of America, the American Association for Italian Studies, and Societas Magica.

Leopardi has advised numerous student projects through independent studies and honors theses in Art History. She has taught a wide array of courses, including Introduction to Western Art, Michelangelo, Bernini and Caravaggio, Love and Death in Ancient Egypt, and Renaissance Women and Men: Constructing Gender in the Renaissance. Her teaching emphasizes visual analysis, historical context, and interdisciplinary inquiry.

She has contributed essays to museum exhibition catalogues, including works for the Hobart and William Smith Davis Gallery and the Castelvecchio Museum in Verona. Her public scholarship includes educational writings for ContextTravel.com and Rick Steves’ travel guides, demonstrating a commitment to making art history accessible beyond the academy.