Florence is the Classroom: Rachel Carlisle’s Summer International Teaching Appointment

Thanks to an International Programs Teaching Appointment jointly awarded by the Department of Art History and FSU’s International Programs, second-year doctoral student Rachel Carlisle had the opportunity to share her expertise and enthusiasm for Renaissance art and architecture with twenty-nine students of the FSU Florence Program during the summer 2018 term.

With Florence serving as their classroom, Rachel led students through an interactive introduction to the materials, techniques, artists, and patrons of Renaissance Florence. From a rare evening visit to the Galleria dell’Accademia to view Michelangelo’s David, to the bustling corridors of the Galleria degli Uffizi and a hands-on fresco painting workshop and intimate lectures in the monastic cells of San Marco, each class session revolved around the careful observation and interpretation of art and architecture in the city.

In addition to teaching, Rachel joined FSU Florence Program Director Frank Nero in delivering lectures to students and faculty on program-wide excursions to Fiesole, San Miniato al Monte, and Rome.

Funding provided by the appointment also allowed Rachel to conduct preliminary dissertation research in Munich and Augsburg, Germany, where she photographed the contents of the Fuggerkappelle, a Renaissance funerary chapel featuring important works by Hans Daucher, Jörg Breu the Elder, and epitaphs based on the designs of Albrecht Dürer.

The International Programs Teaching Appointment provided priceless teaching experience, opportunities for international research, and the joy of seeing students engage with the visual culture of Renaissance Florence first-hand. The sense of wonder that flashes through a student’s eyes when they experience, truly experience, a work of art for the first time–I wouldn’t trade those moments for the world.