Ross King

Dr. Ross King is the bestselling author of books on Italian and French art and history, including Brunelleschi’s Dome (2000), Michelangelo and the Pope’s Ceiling (2002), and Leonardo and The Last Supper (2012). His study of the origins of French Impressionism, The Judgment of Paris, was published in 2006, and Mad Enchantment: Claude Monet and the Painting of the Water Lilies in 2016. He is the co-author with Anja Grebe of Florence: The Paintings & Frescoes, 1250-1743 (2015), the most comprehensive book ever undertaken on the art of Florence.

Ross’s most recent books cover some 3,000 years of Italian and Sicilian history from Romulus and Remus to the present: The Shortest History of Italy (2024) and The Shortest History of Ancient Rome (2025).

Ross has also appeared in a number of television documentaries, such as The Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance (PBS, 2003), Raphael: A Mortal God (BBC, 2004), The Great Cathedral Mystery (Nova, 2014), Florence’s Invisible City (BBC, 2016), and, most recently, Ken Burns’s Leonardo da Vinci (2024).

Ross serves on the Council of Academic Advisors for Friends of Florence, a fundraising charity ensuring the survival of Florence’s art and architectural treasures. He has participated in numerous tours throughout Italy and Sicily and is a regular participant in Italian Renaissance seminars at the Aspen Institute, including programs on Giotto, St. Francis, and Dante. He has lectured in many American museums, including the Smithsonian, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Frick Collection, and the National Gallery of Art. When not traveling for work or pleasure, Ross lives near Oxford, England, with his wife Melanie.

Language spoken: English