Art historian Michael Baxandall was born in Cardiff, England. He studied at Downing College at Cambridge; the University of Pavia in Italy; and the Institute of Art History at Munich. He taught at numerous universities throughout his lifetime including Oxford University, the University of London, Cornell University, and the University of California at Berkeley. His books include Giotto and the Orators; Painting and Experience in 15th-Century Italy; The Limewood Sculptors of Renaissance Germany; and Shadows and Enlightenment. He died of pneumonia associated with Parkinson's disease on August 12, 2008 at the age of 74.