The 2021 Early Modern Worlds Biennial Graduate Student Prize was awarded to HAA graduate student Claire Ptaschinski for her MA thesis on “The Ecology of Chapel Design in Baroque Rome”. In this work, Ptaschinski builds on the language of ecocritical art history and new materialism to offer a fresh analysis of the Chapel of the blessed Sacrament in St. Peter's basilica, the Chapel of Saint Ignatius in Il Gesù, and the high altar of Santa Caterina a Magnanapoli. The prize committee was impressed by the quality and originality of Ptaschinski’s thesis, the clarity of the argument, and its potential to transform our understanding of baroque art. Congratulations, Claire!
The Early Modern Worlds Biennial Graduate Student Prize is awarded once every two years to the best seminar paper or MA thesis on any topic focusing on the early modern period by a student enrolled in a graduate program at the University of Pittsburgh. Learn more at Early Modern Worlds.