The Honors Program in Art History at Rutgers University provides outstanding students with the opportunity to pursue independent, sustained research culminating in a senior thesis. Over the course of the academic year, students work closely with faculty advisors to develop and refine original scholarship. The Honors Symposium celebrates the fruit of this hard work, bringing together students, faculty, and guests for a public presentation of their undergraduate research.
Special thanks to Jenevieve Delossantos & Caroline Van Cauwenberge for mentoring the students
- Open-Air Schools: Comparing the United States and European Approach to Hygienic School Architecture Between 1900 and 1940
Jack Lehan, advisor: Dr. Carla Yanni - François Auguste Biard and the Black Figure in Proclamation of the Abolition of Slavery in the French Colonies, 27 April 1848
Bebe Smith, advisor: Dr. Jenevieve Delossantos) - A Liminal Space: Representations of Female Agency in the Bacchic Frieze of the Villa of the Mysteries
Rachel Piazza, advisor: Erik Thunø - Thresholds of Community: An exploration of Milan’s historical “casa di ringhiera” courtyards and their socio-spatial potential in the twenty-first century
Ariel Duryee, advisor: Dr. Deniz Türker - Lady Su Hui and Women of Ming and Qing China
Arianna Tatum, advisor: Dr. Tamara Sears - Knights and Heraldry in a Jewish Context: An Examination of Four Folios of the Rothschild Pentateuch
Laila Friedman, advisors: Dr. Gary Rendsburg & Dr. Laura Weigert
Abstracts
ARIEL DURYEE
Thresholds of Community: An exploration of Milan’s historical “casa di ringhiera” courtyards and their socio-spatial potential in the twenty-first century
Advisor: Dr. Deniz Türker
Social housing projects known as casa di ringhiera were popular architectural schemes for housing the growing working class and immigrant populations in Milan at the turn of the nineteenth century. Its design is steeped in the communal traditions of Milanese urban living, and serves as an architectural continuity of Milanese culture and domestic ideals. The communal spaces built into the architecture of ringhiera apartments both facilitated and actively shaped the resident community and culture of the working class, and still provide essential shared, intercessionary spaces for residents today.
LAILA FRIEDMAN
Knights and Heraldry in a Jewish Context: An Examination of Four Folios of the Rothschild Pentateuch
Advisors: Dr. Gary Rendsburg & Dr. Laura Weigert
The Rothschild Pentateuch is a richly decorated Hebrew manuscript from 1296 Ashkenaz. Among its illuminations are four distinct images of knights and heraldry, aspects of martial culture highly associated with the dominant Christian religion of Western Europe. While these four folios acknowledge the surrounding influence of Christian martial culture, they insist on meaning beyond the margins, connecting to the Biblical text for pedagogical purposes.
JACK LEHAN
Open-Air Schools: Comparing the United States and European Approach to Hygienic School Architecture Between 1900 and 1940
Advisor: Dr. Carla Yanni
By the turn of the 20th century, concerns over the spread of Tuberculosis between children led to the development of the open-air school movement. Public educators and architects across North America and Europe designed schools with a heightened emphasis on hygiene and access to natural fresh air. However, European and American open-air schools evolved on separate paths. In Europe, open-air schools focused on nature; designers created structures with minimal obstruction to the outdoors and encouraged holding classes outside. While American open-air schools prioritize practical adaptations of existing buildings, placing less emphasis on nature and more on redesigning classrooms to be more hygienic.
RACHEL PIAZZA
A Liminal Space: Representations of Female Agency in the Bacchic Frieze of the Villa of the Mysteries
Advisor: Erik Thunø
Room 5 of the Villa of the Mysteries in Pompeii displays a painted frieze depicting an extensive narrative with numerous figures often attributed as participants in the Cult of Bacchus. This illusionistic frieze blurs the line between reality and fantasy and reflects a form of spiritual and social autonomy available to Pompeian women through participation in the mystery cult. This agency is represented in case studies focused on particular figures in the frieze, most notably Ariadne and Aura.
BEBE SMITH
François Auguste Biard and the Black Figure in Proclamation of the Abolition of Slavery in the French Colonies, 27 April 1848
Advisor: Dr. Jenevieve Delossantos
I initially encountered François Auguste Biard’s work at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Drawn in by the sensitivity and individuality represented in Bust Length Study of a Man, I was revolted to see how Biard depicted the Black figure in his final composition, Proclamation of the Abolition of Slavery in the French Colonies, 27 April 1848. The discrepancy between Biard’s preparatory studies and the final painting created tension that I found necessitating investigation. Proclamation of the Abolition was created by Biard to memorialize the French abolition of slavery, but in its portrayal of the scene, it degrades the Black figure. The Black subjects are wild and untamed in their celebration, while their White counterparts are composed and dignified. In depicting France’s liberation of the enslaved as a source of state pride, Proclamation of the Abolition turns the Black figure into a spectacle. Citing the shift between study and final composition, I claim that these visual representations are deliberate on Biard’s end and a result of several key influences.
My approach to this research centers around visual analysis of Biard’s and other key works, as well as contextualizing these works in the contexts in which they were made. Among these contexts are under state patronage, for an urban French audience, and among a surrounding French visual culture. In Proclamation of the Abolition, the political narratives paint a heroic image of France, which I claim to be influenced by Biard’s work under Louis Phillipe I. Additionally, Biard proves to be swayed by the expectations of his audience, which is evidenced by the illustrations and writings in his travelogue Deux années au Brésil. Lastly, the findings of my work show that Biard drew from popular images of caricature and abolition, which often demeaned the Black figure, but would be recognizable to his audience. In my research, Biard acts as a case study that shows how a work such as Proclamation of the Abolition, which claims to be part of a broader narrative of dismantling racial hierarchy, can instead reinforce it through its visual culture.
ARIANNA TATUM
Lady Su Hui and Women of Ming and Qing China
Advisor: Dr. Tamara Sears
Lady Su Hui and Her Verse Puzzle portray two contrasting notions of the ideal female during the Ming and Qing dynasties: the intellectual, devoted gentry woman and the passionate, flirtatious courtesan. These scrolls illustrate the narrative of the fourth-century poet Su Hui, a heartbroken wife who wins her husband back through an embroidered poem. The content of Su Hui’s story and the depiction of Su Hui herself reflect significant societal virtues that an Imperial woman must follow in addition to representing creative agency in literary and artistic genres.
Student Bios
ARIEL DURYEE
Ariel Duryee is an undergraduate student studying visual arts and art history at the Mason Gross School of Art and the School of Arts and Sciences at Rutgers University. Having been awarded the opportunity to travel to Milan and study the city’s diverse architecture last summer, Ariel used her observations and experiences to inform her senior thesis discussing social housing architecture in Milan. Ariel is graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Art and Art History in May 2026, and plans to pursue graduate programs in art conservation and collections management. She is most interested in methods of cultural heritage preservation, materiality of historical objects, and art and architecture as lived experience.
LAILA FRIEDMAN
Laila Friedman is a senior undergraduate at Rutgers University dual-majoring in Art History and Visual Arts. Her research focuses on Jewish art, with particular emphasis on medieval Hebrew illuminated manuscripts. Under the guidance of Dr. Laura Weigert (Department of Art History) and Dr. Gary Rendsburg (Department of Jewish Studies), she completed her Honors Thesis in Art History, examining the image-text connections of martial imagery in the Rothschild Pentateuch. After graduation, Laila plans to pursue a PhD in Art History, specializing in medieval manuscript studies.
JACK LEHAN
Jack Lehan is an Art History and History Major. He is continuing on to his Master's in Cultural Heritage and Preservation Studies (CHAPS) at Rutgers' Department of Art History next year. He has worked at the Rutgers Geology Museum, creating exhibits and a children's book in collaboration with other Rutgers students.
RACHEL PIAZZA
Rachel Piazza is a double major in Classics and Art History. Her research focuses on ancient art, particularly Ancient Roman painting. She currently works as a student educator at Zimmerli Art Museum where she provides tours of the galleries and assists in public events. In addition, she works as a server at a local restaurant, Victoria’s Tratta Italiano. At Rutgers, Rachel is the President of the Art History Student Association.
BEBE SMITH
Bebe Smith is an art history student minoring in philosophy with the intention of attending law school. She hopes to pursue art law and work closely with the contemporary artists of today. Balancing art history with her other passions, Bebe spends much of her time creative directing for Rutgers’ fashion publication Routure Magazine, and instructing ballet at the Rutgers Recreation centers.
ARIANNA TATUM
Arianna Tatum is interested in studying women in court society during the Ming and Qing dynasties. She wishes to examine various mediums, such as hanging scrolls and handscrolls, as well as literature and poetry to see how women engaged in the arts in Imperial China. She is currently studying Mandarin in hopes of studying abroad to examine artworks more closely and contribute to current scholarship.