Jeannine Kraft
Faculty Enrichment Grant Application
Statement of Intention
Fall 2007
Experience Italy
“The emotional and spiritual experience I have when I am painting – the interaction
between myself, the paper, and the paint – that, to me, is the ultimate art form.”
Brian Atyeo
For me the ultimate experience of art, the emotional and spiritual experience, is the
personal physical interaction between myself and the work of art. Standing inches away
from the work, in the shared space of its creator, and understanding the complexities of
its creation transports me to a shared moment in time with the artist. I feel mentally and
spiritually propelled backwards in time. And for a moment, I feel as if I truly experience
the work as the artist intended. This is the experience I seek to convey in my classroom.
My passion for art and its history are the driving force not just of my career, but of my
life. To me, the field of art history is an ever changing and dynamic one. And so, as an
art historian, I am always striving to expand my own understanding of art and its history
to enrich myself personally and as a teacher. A great deal of time in my life is spent
striving for a greater understanding of my field through research and experience. To that
end, much of my free time is spent reading, researching, and traveling to museums and
locations to deepen my understanding of the works that I teach. Although research can
be done through the written word, there is no substitute for first hand experience with
works of art. Through the course of my life I have had a few opportunities to travel and
experience the different cultures and locations that I teach about. And over the course of
my teaching career, I have come to the clear understanding that when I can bring my
personal experience of the works into the classroom environment, it makes for a much
more dynamic and personal learning experience for my students.
My proposal centers on the art and architecture of the Medieval, Renaissance, and
Baroque periods in Florence and Venice. These are areas I currently teach in the context
of the Freshman survey courses, the Medieval Art course, and the Baroque Art course. I
will also be teaching the Renaissance Art course in an upcoming academic year. To
enhance my ability to teach these areas, I would like to travel to Florence and Venice
over the Christmas break for a period of ten days. The travel would take place December
27, 2007-January 6, 2008. Florence and Venice are two cities that contain many of the
essential works of these periods, and which I have never had the opportunity to
experience first hand. This research trip would give me the opportunity to spend
approximately six days in Florence and four days in Venice studying many of the works
of art and architecture that I teach about in my courses at CCAD. Over the course of this
trip, my time would be spent in the museums and churches of these two cities studying
the works covered in my courses at CCAD. I plan to visit the following locations that are
works of architecture, or contain works of art that I currently teach in my courses.
Florence
Venice
Sites (i.e Churches or Palaces)
Duomo
Baptistry
Chiesa di Orsanmichele
Palazzo dei Rucellai
Palazzo Vecchio
Basilica di Santa Maria Novella
Basilica di San Lorenzo
Palazzo Medici-Ricardi
Sites
Ca’d’Oro
Basilica di San Marco
Libreria Nazionale Marciana
Palazzo Ducale
Chiesa di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari
Scuola Grande di San Rocco
Chiesa di San Giorgio Maggiore
Chiesa di Santa Maria della Salute
Museums
Galleria dell’Accademia
Uffizi Gallery
Museo Archeologico
Museo del Bargello
Palazzo Pitti
Museums
Gallerie dell’Accademia
Peggy Guggenheim Collection
Museo Archeologico
Although this trip would obviously be enjoyable, I am not asking for the funding of a
mere “vacation” experience. My time will be spent experiencing the works and the
documentation of that experience through written research and the collection of digital
images. This research would be applied to the teaching of my Freshman survey courses,
the Medieval course, the Baroque Art course, and to the development of the Renaissance
Art course. The digital images will be used as the core of my teaching presentations in
my courses and a copy will also be given to the CCAD digital image collection (The
digital image collection databases at CCAD are a project that I have worked very
vigorously to promote and expand over the past few years with my work as a member
and chair of the Library Committee).
The Renaissance and the Baroque period of Italian art are two of the richest periods of
artistic production in the history of Western art. The works of these periods continues to
inspire and enrich every generation. Learning about the works from these periods is a
vital experience for our student body. I hope to take the enhanced knowledge that I gain
on this trip and apply it to enriching my current curriculum and to the future development
of the Renaissance art course.
This experience would be an exciting once in a lifetime opportunity for me to
personally experience the rich artistic and cultural legacy of Italian Renaissance and
Baroque art. I believe the experience would enrich me not only personally, but would
also bring a new dynamic to my teaching. I am excited by this potential opportunity and I
ask the Faculty Enrichment Committee to facilitate this experience for me.
“Travel, listen, look, learn. Never stand still with what you have; it will leave you. Keep
focused.”
Harley Brown
Thank you for the consideration of my application.
Jeannine Kraft
Quotations from: The Painter’s Keys, Community for Artists website
(http://www.painterskeys.com/)