Carmen Niekrasz, Presidential Fellow 2005-2007
Art History

From The Graduate School Quarterly, Spring 2005:

Carmen Niekrasz, who is studying 16th century Flemish zoological tapestry as a form of natural history illustration, is familiar with conducting research in spite of the odds.

"Carmen is very resourceful and not easily daunted, either by prickly scholars or by absence of literature on the subject," says advisor Claudia Swan. "She originally wanted to work only on tapestries in Poland, but obtaining access to the works she wanted to view became very complicated. She finally did so with great finesse.” In the end, she figured out a creative solution, comparing weavings in Poland with those in Western Europe.

Zoological tapestries, which depict plants and animals, rather than traditional heroic, biblical, or mythological narratives, are something of an anomaly. Such tapestries came into vogue in the middle of the 16 th century, when the study of natural history became popular among European princes and nobles. "Princely patrons from Cracow to Florence established collections and botanic gardens, expanded their menageries with rare specimens from the New World , and funded the publication of lavishly illustrated encyclopedias of flora and fauna," Niekrasz says.

They also commissioned extremely fine wall-sized tapestries depicting in exacting detail forests filled with wild animals. These hangings, designed to impress visitors and guests, constituted virtual movable chambers. The tapestries could be rolled up and moved from one castle or mansion to another as the prince or courtier progressed from residence to residence. "It remains a mystery," Niekrasz says, "why zoological tapestries were considered appropriate courtly decoration."

To find out, she has traveled to Italy , Belgium , and Poland , and has learned to read several languages for her research. She also has had to seek out the advice of the very few authorities in a field at the confluence of the art of tapestry and the history of science. Currently, Niekrasz is serving as the Whitney Fellow, in European Sculpture and Decorative Arts at New York 's Metropolitan Museum, where the curator is "a leading scholar of Renaissance tapestry," according to Swan.

Most art historians who study Renaissance art dealing with natural science, like Swan, focus on prints and drawings. And until now, Swan says, tapestry, regarded as a decorative, rather than a fine art, has seldom been a component of an art history curriculum. Niekrasz's efforts may change that. "Carmen is bringing tapestry into the domain of the higher arts, alongside other art forms, like painting and sculpture, that we recognize as great Renaissance art," Swan says.

Niekrasz, who is not sure yet whether she would like to pursue a career at a museum or university, looks forward to exchanging ideas with students from other fields as a Presidential Fellow. "Doing so is a rare opportunity for most graduate students, neck deep in dissertation research, which tends to temporarily narrow one's perspective rather than expand it," she says.

Swan, who has co-authored an article with Niekrasz (very unusual in the humanities) for the Cambridge History of Early Modern Science, sums up, "I knew Carmen was going to do something great when she came to me with a dissertation proposal that included a critique of my work."