By considering various depictions of the Adoration of the Magi between 1400 to 1485, I establish that the portrayal of the Magus within The Master of the Legend of Saint Lucy’s painting directly reflects the economic realities in Bruges throughout the same period. In turn, my close examination of marketplace standards alongside themes of pilgrimage, shifting racial ideals, and a growing interest in secular subjects, offers new insight into 15th century adaptations of the Adoration.
Beneath the severe bronze of Saint-Gaudens' 'The Puritan' (1886) lies a fracture in an American myth. This paper reads the statue through the Lacanian concept of the Name-of-the-Father, revealing a national fantasy subtly unraveling at its seams. What at first conveys ancestral virtue is exposed as a compensatory myth-- an Imaginary projection built atop repression. Through patronage, iconography, and psychoanalysis, this study brings to light the scaffolding of Gilded Age mythmaking.
The young boy in Francisco de Zurbarán’s (1598-1664) Saint Peter Nolasco Recovering the Image of the Virgin of El Puig (1630) has been suggested to be either Zurbarán’s son, Juan de Zurbarán (1620–1649), or the son of James I of Aragon, Alfonso of Castile (1229–1260). Despite visual dominance, most scholars do not address the boy, and those who do offer conflicting identifications. This paper bridges the gap between these varying opinions, and concretely identifies the most formally important figure in this commission that defined Zurbarán’s career. The argument is built on the writings of Zurbarán scholar Martin S. Soria, as well as a comparison to Zurbarán’s body of work at large, primarily his tendency to create from life, and his suspected self-portrait, The Crucified Christ with a Painter (1650). I conclude that the child in the piece is likely a culmination of Juan and Alfonso and explore the implication of Zurbarán depicting his child in the noble and pious role of James the Conqueror’s son, paying witness to the rediscovery of the Virgin of El Puig. The combined figure of Juan and Alfonso gains significance through an exploration of historical context surrounding the legend of the Virgin of El Puig and its key figures. By drawing parallels between 17th-century Spanish colonialism contemporary to Zurbarán’s time and 13th-century Reconquista depicted in the painting, Zurbarán uses this composite figure to assert a vision of his lineage as triumphant and divinely favoured. Ultimately, this paper continues and expands upon Soria’s writings on the subject, and places Zurbarán within a Baroque tradition of artists, such as Velázquez, who used painting to assert their profession as divinely-inspired, nobel, and distinct from craftsmen.
While DeCamps "Woman Drying Her Hair (1898)" may appear at first glance to be a conventional nude, its composition, technique, and context suggest that DeCamp intended it as a deep investigation into form and style- a study rather than a narrative work. Through his study in Europe like Munich, Germany and mentorship provided by Frank Duveneck, DeCamp refined his ability to portray the figure in a way that was both perpetually rigorous and resonant to anatomical paintings in America.
This research demonstrates the positive effects of gardens on the well being of those grieving the loss of a loved one in the United States. This project creates a guideline for constructing an effective memorial garden using components such as motion, stillness, privacy, community, plant choice, and other design elements. The author also includes a recommended plant list for the Midwest United States and reading recommendations for garden design.
Integrated Pest Management is a continually improving initiative that is beneficial to both conservation of beneficial insects and ecological health in urban Cincinnati. However, landscape industry employees and environmental policy-makers require education on the four main strategies of IPM in order to carry out this initiative. This project explains the emerging educational strategies that landscape industry employees and environmental policy-makers need in order to fulfill this initiative.
Access to fresh food and green spaces is vital for well-being, yet downtown Cincinnati remains a food desert. This capstone explores how integrating living art and edible plants into urban spaces improves people’s mental health and well-being. Through the design of a community garden and a living art installation, this project blends horticulture, public health, and art to promote food access, reduce stress, and foster community a vibrant, restorative environment.
