Liliana Leopardi holds an MA in Psychology and a Ph.D. in Art History. She is an assistant professor of Art History at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, where she teaches courses on the Renaissance and Baroque period, with a focus on gender construction and history of magic. Her research interests lie in reframing the use of ornament in Renaissance paintings, with a particular focus on gems and jewellery as vehicles of astral magic and as symbols of alchemy.