Gabrielle Ashby is a first-year PhD student in Art History. She studies late medieval visual culture, with a particular interest in 14th- and 15-century French tapestries and the ways they shaped the spaces and communities around them. Her research utilizes tools such as GIS mapping and modeling to better understand how these works were displayed and experienced in their original settings.
Gabrielle earned her BA in Art History and Medieval Studies from the University of Virginia, where she completed a Distinguished Majors Thesis on the Angers Apocalypse Tapestry. This project combined political and theological analysis with digital reconstructions to explore how the tapestry functioned in both sacred and courtly contexts via a catalogue entry and digital exhibition.
Outside of her research, Gabrielle enjoys visiting museums, exploring historic sites, and learning more about the craft traditions of the Middle Ages. She hopes to encourage others to see medieval art as part of our active and interconnected world.