Dr. Steven Zucker

About Dr. Steven Zucker

Steven is co-founder and executive director of Smarthistory. Previously, Steven was dean of art and history at Khan Academy. He was also chair of history of art and design at Pratt Institute where he strengthened enrollment and lead the renewal of curriculum across the Institute. Before that, he was dean of the School of Graduate Studies at the Fashion Institute of Technology, SUNY and chair of their art history department. He has taught at The School of Visual Arts, Hunter College, and at The Museum of Modern Art. Dr. Zucker is a recipient of the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching. He has co-authored, with Dr. Beth Harris, numerous articles on the future of education and the future of museums. Dr. Zucker received his Ph.D. from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York.

This painting blends deep piety with scientific observation. Both its architecture and figures were radically new.

Masaccio, Holy Trinity

Oil painting in Venice - glazes
Their island climate didn’t suit fresco, so the Venetians tried oils instead—these paints blend when wet.

Oil paint in Venice

Daniele da Volterra, Michelangelo, c. 1544, oil on panel (The Metropolitan Museum of Art)
Michelangelo was known as il divino, (in English, “the divine one”) and it is easy for us to see why.

Michelangelo