The Art History Association is pleased to announce that Leila al-Shibibi and Estefanía Vallejo Santiago have been selected by their peers as the 2024 winners of the I. N. Winbury Award. The award, which includes a $300 stipend for book purchases, is presented annually to one MA student and one PhD student. Academic papers are submitted for consideration to the graduate student organization, which arranges for a panel of doctoral students to judge the MA papers and a panel of MA students to judge the doctoral papers.
In “Constructed Counterparts: Dante in Michelangelo’s Last Judgment,” MA student Leila Al-Shibibi assesses Michelangelo Buonarroti’s indebtedness to poet Dante Alghieri’s Divine Comedy (1320). In her analysis of the lower righthand corner of Michelangelo’s Last Judgment (ca. 1534-41), Al-Shibibi posits that this fresco exemplifies the Renaissance art theory of ut pictura poesis (“as is painting, so is poetry”) through deliberate allusions to Dante’s Inferno. However, she identifies Michelangelo’s distinct interpretations of Dante’s literary imaginings as novel – a work of pictorial poetry in which the somatic and cerebral experiences of Hell are visualized to situate the painter as both a creative counterpart and rival to his predecessor. Al-Shibibi further examines Michelangelo’s departure from those who upheld painterly Last Judgment traditions before him, evidencing his desire to eclipse the creative talents of those from whom he sought inspiration. Ultimately, this paper underscores Michelangelo’s Last Judgment as emblematic of his virtuosity – the ultimate showcase of his mastery of realms of art, both visual and written.
In her paper, “Escarabajo and the Existential Self: Unveiling Julio Rosado del Valle’s Overlooked work in the Context of Puerto Rican Matter Painting,” doctoral candidate Estefanía Vallejo Santiago examines Rosado’s painting, Escarabajo (1966), which is characterized by unconventional visual elements, making it unique among Rosado’s works. The essay links the painting’s visual characteristics to the political milieu of Puerto Rico and its diaspora. Vallejo Santiago explores how Rosado’s work transcends the typical narrative of existentialism by embedding layers of colonial critique, highlighting the enduring struggle against cultural and political domination in Puerto Rico. Through Escarabajo, Rosado not only questions the essence of human existence but also challenges the colonial forces shaping Puerto Rican identity, thus broadening the existential inquiry to include a deep-seated colonial discourse. The paper underscores Rosado’s adept manipulation of matter painting as a potent visual commentary, echoing the tumultuous socio-political terrains of his era.
Congratulations to Leila and Estefanía on being recognized for the high caliber of their research and writing! The Art History Association thanks everyone who submitted papers and participated in the judging this year.