Katherine Ruckle

Areas of Specialization: Salvator Rosa, regionalism, the economic life of the 17th century Italian artist, the literary folktale, magic and maleficium, gender studies.

Katherine (she/her/hers) is a first generation college student who received her B.F.A in Art History from Northern Kentucky University in 2017 and her M.A. in Art History from American University in 2019. Her in-progress dissertation on Salvator Rosa seeks to shed light on the novel ways in which the 17th century painter asserted his Neapolitan identity to create professional opportunities and inventive subject matter. This work considers the political circumstances of 17th century Italy in which Naples was colonized by the Spanish, raising crucial questions about how regionalism may have played a role in Rosa's fortunes as he navigated court and academic culture in Florence. Her paper "St. Wilgefortis: Considering Modern and Medieval Hirsute Audiences" received first prize for an Outstanding Paper by a Graduate Student at the Robyn Rafferty Student Research Conference and was distinguished with the Honorable Mention for the Garrard-Broude Prize for Feminist Art History at American University. She has recently been named an Edward Giuliano Global Fellow, supporting her research in Naples for her current project. In addition to writing, she is passionate about Art Education and has interned with Manifest Gallery, an educational outreach and gallery in Cincinnati, Ohio; with the Education Department for the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C.; and for the Education Department at the Walters Museum in Baltimore, MD.