ADVISOR

Professor Joseph Manca

Vala Schriefer is a graduate student interested in landscape painting in the Renaissance and Early Modern period, with a particular focus on Germany. She is especially curious about the wild, hermit-filled landscapes of the 16th century Danube School of painters. Her inquiries also touch upon Early Modern science, the history of the liberal arts, and broad ontological questions in art. Before coming to Rice, Vala received a B.A. in Art and Aesthetics at Bard College Berlin and worked as a writer and archivist for a gallery in Cleveland, Ohio and as an independent artist.