Behold The Titans

Immersive and dishy DaVinci-Michelangelo show makes titanic debut in Fort Worth

DaVinci & Michelangelo: The Titans Experience

The Titans are coming to town.

Photo courtesy of Fort Worth Botanic Garden

While two different Van Gogh "immersive experiences" are drawing all the buzz, there's another show sneaking into town, ready to take art fans inside the minds of two of the world's most iconic artists. "DaVinci & Michelangelo: The Titans Experience" is a multimedia production that will explore the geniuses' works and lives for one weekend only, November 4-7, at Fort Worth Botanic Garden.

Created and performed by historian and art expert Mark Rodgers, the a one-of-a-kind, immersive show brings the works of the two greatest minds and artists of the Renaissance into a contemporary light after more than 500 years.

"Audiences take an awe-inspiring journey through the Italian Renaissance, experiencing the world and its possibilities through the eyes of these two monumental geniuses," show promoters say.

Through exploration of their inventions, machines, sketches, paintings, and sculptures, organizers say, Rodgers connects the iconic work of DaVinci and Michelangelo to modern day geniuses, such as Les Paul, and Paul McCartney, and Fort Worth's own late legendary pianist Van Cliburn. The presentation — a one-man narration in front of a multimedia screen showing movies, videos, 3-D animations, and still images — is meant to encourage audiences to discover their own “inner” DaVinci and Michelangelo.

"'DaVinci & Michelangelo' has something that everyone can relate to,” Rodgers says. “The impact of everything they said and did can be found in our lives today.”

Visitors can expect to see replicas of DaVinci's inventions, such as the bicycle, on display (re-created from his own blueprints).

But this isn't just another lecture about geniuses and their work. The show gets rather dishy, too, Rodgers reveals. Who knew the guys actually couldn't stand each other? That one ate a healthier diet than the other?

"DaVinci & Michelangelo: The Titans Experience" has toured across the country and is making its Texas debut with four performances at Fort Worth Botanic Garden's Dorthea Leonhardt Lecture Hall; tickets are $45 ($41 for students).

"This presentation has been shown across the country over the past seven to eight years, but it has never been shown in Texas," says FWBG spokesman Steve Huddleston. "The producer wanted to debut this presentation in Texas and chose the Fort Worth Botanic Garden because of its convenient location, outstanding facilities, and beautiful grounds. For these reasons, the producer may very well use the Garden for other presentations in the future."

Check out a preview of the show here.

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Ancient Sculpture News

Fort Worth museum one of only 3 in U.S. to get rare sculpture exhibit

Lorenzo di Masi/Torlonia Collection

The Torlonia Nile

A major exhibition of ancient Roman masterworks is coming to the U.S. for the first time to be viewed at only three museums — including the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth.

Called Myth and Marble: Ancient Roman Sculpture from the Torlonia Collection, it's an assemblage of works stewarded by the Torlonia Family beginning in the early-19th century, and will be installed at the Kimbell from September 14, 2025 – January 25, 2026.

As part of the Foundation’s mission to showcase these historical works to the public, the exhibition will premiere at the Art Institute of Chicago on March 15 through June 29, before traveling to the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth. Its third stop will be at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, from March 14 - July 19, 2026.

The Torlonia Collection was established during the course of the 19th century by the Franco-Italian banker Prince Giovanni Torlonia and his son Alessandro, then handed down over generations, eventually growing into the largest private collection of ancient Roman sculptures.

Today, the Torlonia Foundation represents the culmination of the Family’s continued passion for art. Created at the behest of Prince Alessandro Torlonia (1925–2017), the Foundation’s mission is to preserve and promote the Torlonia Collection and Villa Albani Torlonia.

In 1876, Prince Alessandro Torlonia (1800-1886) created a museum to house and exhibit the Family’s holdings, which was open to small groups until its closure at the onset of World War II. The sculptures remained unseen by the public from that time until the Foundation’s first exhibition at the Musei Capitolini in Rome in 2020. That was followed by a stint at the Louvre, the first presentation of the collection outside of Rome, where it has drawn more than 600,000 visitors to date, an unprecedented feat.

The exhibit
The curators of Myth & Marble: Ancient Roman Sculpture from the Torlonia Collection are Lisa Ayla Çakmak and Katharine A. Raff of the Art Institute of Chicago. The exhibition is co-organized by the Art Institute of Chicago and the Torlonia Foundation, in collaboration with the Kimbell Art Museum, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, and The Museum Box. All of the sculptures in the exhibition have been restored by the Foundation with the support of Bvlgari.

The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue co-published by the Art Institute of Chicago and the Torlonia Foundation, edited by Lisa Ayla Çakmak and Katharine A. Raff, with essays by Silvia Beltrametti and Salvatore Settis.

The North American presentation will feature 58 highlights from the Torlonia Collection, including 24 newly restored works that have not been on view in nearly a century. The sculptures date from approximately the 5th century BCE to the early 4th century CE, with the majority of the works dating to the High Imperial period (1st–2nd centuries CE). Highlights include examples of the most emblematic genres of ancient marble sculpture, acquired by the Torlonia Family from the most prominent collections of Rome’s patrician families, as well as from excavations made on the Family’s own estates throughout Italy.

“The Foundation is excited to be sharing the Torlonia Collection with audiences in North America for the first time. This exceptional group of ancient sculptures is a testament to the enduring cultural legacy of ancient Rome, as well as the vision and passion of multiple generations of the Torlonia Family,” said Alessandro Poma Murialdo, President of the Torlonia Foundation.

The presentation is organized thematically in six sections, featuring sculptures found on the Torlonia Family’s properties in Rome and the surrounding suburbs and their estate in Porto, Portugal, as well as a number of exceptional sarcophagi (stone coffins), among the largest sculpted works in marble to survive from ancient Rome.

The tour reinforces the work of the Foundation to advance the appreciation and understanding of this unparalleled collection and the rich cultural heritage it represents. The Foundation’s mission is carried out through a continuous joint effort between the public and private sectors, including with the cooperation of the Italian Ministry of Culture. The Foundation is supported by a longstanding collaboration with Bvlgari as the principal sponsor of the restoration project since its inception in Rome and throughout the global tour, and Chiomenti, who has lent invaluable support to the Foundation’s core activities.

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