Jay Bailyn MLIS, MA Art History
I have been in love with Italian art history for as long as I remember. As a child I would
visit museums and inevitably end up standing, awe-inspired, in front of a painting, altarpiece or
sculpture from the Italian Renaissance. Due to this life long love, being able to spend six weeks
in Venice, where Italian renaissance painting reached such great heights, was a once in a
lifetime experience. An experience that I would urge anyone and everyone to try to partake in.
Pratt in Venice is incredibly special, you are able to spend time in one of the most
wonderful cities in the world with some of the best faculty in the world seeing some of the most
breathtaking art in the world. I truly think, over the six weeks I spent during this program, I have
learned equal to, if not more about art history than in many semesters spent in traditional
classroom settings. The ability to be up close and in person with these magnificent works of art
is a truly indescribable experience and so important for young scholars. As is having access to
the many different libraries and academic resources within the city. Some of the most special
moments for me during the program were spent with the Materials and Techniques class where
we would often get to go behind the scenes at some of Venice’s most famous sites such as the
mosaic lab at San Marco. Here, the class was given a tour of the lab and an incredibly
informative lecture on how the conservation of mosaics at Saint Mark’s Cathedral is conducted
as well as the history of mosaic conservation. We were also able to visit two Tintoretto
altarpieces that were under conservation by Save Venice at the church of San Giorgio
Maggiore. Visiting these pieces that I had written about in a paper the previous semester and
having the opportunity to see them up close and spend time appreciating all of the details that
one would not have been able to see looking at them up on a wall was genuinely one of the best
moments of my academic life.
I cannot write this letter without mentioning how incredible it was just to exist within the
city of Venice. This city is truly a work of art in and of itself and being surrounded by its history,
art, and culture for six weeks was just the cherry on top of a life-changing trip. I still sometimes
feel the gentle rock of the waves beneath the Vaporetto when I’m falling asleep. I will forever be
grateful to the wonderful faculty and staff who encouraged me to participate in the Pratt in
Venice program. I would urge anyone who is even just curious about Venice, art history or the
visual arts to participate in this amazing program.
Daisy Quan BFA Painting
Pratt in Venice was one of the most crucial components of my undergraduate career. It was
essential to experience Venice, to see the art and architecture in person. To walk into San Marco,
to stand in the silence of Torcello’s Santa Maria Assunta, to study the Palladian geometry of San
Giorgio Maggiore, or to wander through the Doge’s Palace was to learn more than slides or
books ever could. It was also to be reminded that art lives in its place, and that history lives on
every surface, on every wall.
I want to thank Diana Gisolfi in particular for her leadership and her years of work that have
made this program possible. That she has sustained and shaped Pratt in Venice for so many years
makes me especially grateful to have had the chance to participate in it. Thank you also to
Elizabeth Duntemann, whose art history instruction gave me a fuller, more complex
understanding of each site we visited.
Finally, I want to acknowledge the faculty who shared their own practices with us: Michael
Brennan, painting; Fay Ku, printmaking; and Jill. Each of them contributed to my experience of
this program.
In terms of my own artistic development, this summer gave me an opportunity to hone my ability
to look and to make. I was able to attend the Venice Biennale—something I had been looking
forward to for years—and that was an extraordinary experience, providing me both inspiration
and a sense of contemporary practice on a global scale. Along with this, I was able to forge
connections with peers and faculty that I will continue to build upon in the future.
Above all, however, I carry away from Venice a keener eye, a more rigorous mode of thought,
and a clear sense of how art study and art practice are inextricably linked. For this, I am deeply
grateful.
