▼ Below the slopes of Mount Vesuvius there is a large Roman villa that was built in a fertile vineyard country. During one phase its history in Pompeii, an impressive frescoed frieze was painted in a small room by an unknown artist (60-50 B.C.). Having been covered in A.D. 79 by the catastrophic volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius, the villa remained perfectly preserved until its rediscovery in 1861, and final unearthing from 1910 to 1930. The building was named the Villa of the Mysteries, while the frieze has been called the Bacchic Scene due to the god Bacchus’ omnipresence in the painting. In the frieze, mortal women are depicted in a variety of activities connected to the mystery gods of fertility, such as Bacchus and Venus, although there remains much debate about the actual meaning of the scene. I propose the subject of fertility and the roles of Roman women for an explanation of the frieze, as most of the figures in the painting are mortal women. Two fundamental rites of passage were associated with women: marriage and childbirth. I believe childbirth and fertility play a much larger role. The symbols in the painting are associated with Bacchus and Venus, fertility gods. This painting is charged with sexual meaning and underscores the demand in Rome for women to provide an heir. The scene pays homage to this idea, and to the gods Romans believed would affect conception. This thesis begins with a description of the figures of the mystical frieze in chapter one. An examination of the twenty-nine figures participating in the frenzy of activity helps determine the meaning. Chapter two discuses female fertility and the social standing of women in Rome. The third chapter examines the mystery gods and their female followers, emphasizing the cults of Bacchus and Venus. Chapter four gives an assessment of the mythological and secular imagery relating to Roman women. The concluding chapter covers the progression of scholarship on the frieze from its beginnings to the present. All, then, will focus on the Villa of the Mysteries frieze and iconographical comparisons to other extant works. Advisors/Committee Members: Riess, Jonathan.

▼ Cuban-born artist Wifredo Lam returned to his native homeland in 1941 after an eighteen-year absence. Over the next eleven years, Lam's work underwent a dramatic transformation from a somewhat cubistic technique to a more surrealistic style. This change may have been inspired in part by Lam's return to his native land as well as by his heritage as an Afro-Cuban. His work began to reflect the culture of Cuba and of Africans living in Cuba. He developed an iconography based on a Cuban religion that had derived from Africa. Throughout his career, Lam had often appropriated elements of the art of Africa. The influence of African art became more evident in the work from this period. Probably most significantly, Lam's work during this time began to reflect political and spiritual qualities that seem to have been inspired by the history and culture of the African peoples living in Cuba in the middle of the twentieth century. Advisors/Committee Members: Face, Jo.

▼ Portraiture was very popular in seventeenth-century Amsterdam, and not only among the city's Christian citizens. Due to economic opportunities and a tolerant atmosphere, both Sephardic and Ashkenazi Jews developed communities in Amsterdam. The Sephardic Jews in particular commissioned portraits. However, while Jewish portraiture was common in Amsterdam, it was very unusual throughout the rest of Europe at this time. This thesis explores the reasons behind Amsterdam's strong tradition of Jewish portraiture. The first chapter is and overview of the Jewish settlement in Amsterdam. The second and third chapters examine the economic and cultural factors that influenced the commissioning of portraits by Jews. The last chapter compares Jewish portraiture in other European countries to Amsterdam. Advisors/Committee Members: Nelson, Kristi.

▼ In 1824 Cardinal Joseph Fesch (1763-1839) presented twelve large paintings to the newly established Archdiocese of Cincinnati, Ohio. This gift has not been thoroughly researched or documented and because of this its importance to the community has been overlooked. Although exact records of the pieces do not seem to exist, scant information has been researched to form a likely hypothesis of the paintings' origins and arrival to the Queen City. Additionally, it is feasible to conclude that the paintings may have had an effect upon patronage in Cincinnati in the early nineteenth century. This thesis examines the Fesch gift from various points of view. It is important to place the pieces within the historical time period of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati as well as to uncover what is known about the benefactor of the gift, Cardinal Fesch. Whether adequate information can be gathered to correctly identify the works and their artists will be determined. Due to much that remains unknown, it is possible that the exact history of the pictures will remain a mystery. However, their importance to both the Archdiocese and the city can be assessed. Hereafter, documentation of these works will be a critical addition to local history. Advisors/Committee Members: Nelson, Kristi.

▼ This thesis addresses the relationship of select artworks by New York-based artist Janine Antoni (b. 1964) to the oeuvre of Joseph Beuys (1921-1986), German performance artist and sculptor. It discusses a significant number of Antoni's works that bear a striking resemblance to pieces created by Beuys, both visually and through the metaphors that they communicate to the viewer. The concept of life-energies is central to this thesis, however, each chapter focuses on a different genre of expression. Chapter one establishes ways in which energy is explored in the works of Antoni and Beuys, centering on works made with fat. Chapter two looks at the bathtub and the act of washing as metaphors and chapter three examines the artists' investigations of the extended family and their interactions with our animal counterparts. The conclusion considers Antoni's place within recent scholarly criticism that discusses a renewed interest in humanity or the spiritual in contemporary art practice. By approaching Antoni's work from this new perspective I establish the importance of her work in relation to Beuys' and provide new criteria for the interpretation of the chosen pieces, highlighting the underestimated significance of her role thus far within the art world. Advisors/Committee Members: Auther, Professor Elissa.

▼ Nancy Ford Cones (1869-1962) was a Pictorial photographer from Loveland, Ohio who, for fifteen years, created images for the Kodak Company that were used in advertisements in national publications. Cones was one of a small number of women who received an income from her photographic work. This thesis is a preliminary study, limited to Cones' business relationship with the Eastman Kodak Company from 1902 to 1917. Her commercial images appealed to Kodak's marketing strategy because they combined photographic artistry with a practical use of the camera. In the introduction I discuss the position that Cones occupies in photographic history, compare her rural and domestic genre images with that of other female Pictorialists, and suggest professional influences of other noted photographers. There is little scholarship regarding Cones' work, hence, relies upon primary sources from the Cones archives at the Greater Loveland Historical Society Museum. This material consists of transcripts of interviews of Cones and of her daughter, Margaret, contracts and personal documentation describing business associations with Kodak, Bausch and Lomb, and Ansco corporations, plate glass negatives of Cones' advertising photographs, Cones' collection of photographic journals and publications, and over two hundred original prints. I also present primary documentation from Cones' personal scrapbook belonging to Cones' great grandniece, Mrs. Darlie Sloan, of Nevada. In chapter one I provide a brief biographical history of Cones and discuss possible motivations for her interest in photography. I describe some of Cones Pictorial work and various print development techniques she used in collaboration with her husband James, such as bromide and gum-bichromate processes. In chapter two I examine Cones initial relationship with Kodak, which progressed from Annual Kodak Advertising Competitions entries to routine purchase contracts. This section includes background and requirements for the Kodak competitions along with company expectations regarding award-winning photographs. In chapter three I describe Cones' advertising images, present formal analysises of three Kodak advertisements that used Cones' photographs, and Kodak's advertising history. My conclusion, supported by fifty-six advertising images discussed throughout the thesis, stresses Cones ability to adapt her style to accommodate commercial marketing while still retaining a romantic pictorial style in her photographs. Advisors/Committee Members: Leininger-Miller, Theresa.

▼ In a long, distinguished, and varied career, The Wizard of Scenic Creation,1 artist John Rettig (1858 1932) culturally stimulated and entertained the newly formed middle classes of the United States and, in particular, Cincinnati, Ohio with his grand multimedia exhibitions known as spectacles. These spectacles were similar in style to tableaux vivants with musical orchestration and dance, as well as sporting events and hand-to-hand combat. Rettig created these large-scale visual feasts for the eye in the 1880s and 1890s for, among others, the Order of Cincinnatus, a group dedicated to enhancing the stature of Cincinnati. This organization prided itself in producing entertainments that will be a credit to the city with the power to draw large numbers of visitors.2 Building on the tradition of pageantry in America in the nineteenth century, Rettig moved beyond his contemporaries in creating visual events on such a large scale that, when first shown in Cincinnati, newspapers from New York and Boston, among other cities, reported on having never experienced anything more grand or exciting. A case study of the 1889 spectacle produced for the Order of Cincinnatus, Montezuma or the Conquest of Mexico, provides insight into the achievements and career of a little known artist working in a relatively unexplored medium. This thesis on Rettig presents a study involving the artistic genre known as spectacle as well as the cultural climate of Cincinnati and the United States in general during the latter part of the nineteenth century. Advisors/Committee Members: Leininger-Miller, Theresa.

▼ For more than 150 years, the Book of Kells has been a deeply revered and studied volume. Despite the length of scrutiny, there are several areas of research requiring further attention. The identification of the makers of the Book of Kells, and a better understanding of their artistic embellishment, is one such area. Within this thesis, the specific question of how many artists were involved in the decoration of the Book of Kells is investigated. While paleographical, iconographical, and contextual issues must eventually be considered in conjunction to formal analysis, in order to piece together as complete a picture as possible of the monks responsible for this massive work, the preliminary nature of this undertaking concentrates on assigning style to artist. The conclusions provided within this paper will clearly indicate a collaboration of scribe, scribe-artist, and decorator. Though some of the relationships and reasons are as yet unclear, the responsibilities of the scribe certainly appear to not always include that of decoration. In order to demonstrate the presence of those artists working with a scribe versus those of the scribe-artist, a methodical examination of the stylistic similarities within the 340 folios of the Book of Kells proves to be the most appropriate approach. Advisors/Committee Members: Riess, Dr. Jonathan.

▼ The career and woodblock prints by the twentieth century Japanese artist Kōsaka Gajin (1877-1953) have not been studied in depth in Japan or overseas. This thesis examines his important role in the Japanese Creative Print movement in the early twentieth century when Japan was largely influenced by Western modernization. Japan’s adoption of German educational subjects and methods greatly contributed its modernization. Kōsaka, also an educator of children’s drawing, published books; one of which was a study of his own son’s drawings from age one to age six from a German psychological perspective. Kōsaka’s graphic art was inspired by his study of children’s drawings. This thesis compares and contrasts abstract art and theory by Kōsaka and his contemporary European artist Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944) who lived in Germany; both artists valued children’s art in a similar way reflected in their art. My scholarly work also covers the social influences on artists in both countries. Advisors/Committee Members: Hirayama, Mikiko.

▼ The relationship between Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669) and Hendrickje Stoffels (1625/26-1663) has not been examined to the extent of other aspects of Rembrandt’s life. The manner in which Hendrickje served as an artistic inspiration for Rembrandt has been particularly overlooked. Hendrickje Stoffels publicized her direct relationship with the artist in 1654. That summer, she was summoned before the Reformed Church Council to justify their common-law marriage. Five months pregnant with their child, Hendrickje humbled herself before the Council and admitted her devotion to Rembrandt. Denounced for “living like a whore,” Hendrickje was banished as a member of the Church. Despite the public humiliation, Rembrandt and Hendrickje’s relationship endured. For Rembrandt, there were hidden aspects of Hendrickje’s personality which he undeniably found inspiring. In particular, he identified Hendrickje with the mythical character, Medea – a classical heroine who wore a label of her own with pride and dignity. Introduced in Euripides classical play of the same name in 431 BC, Medea is portrayed as a wild, vindictive woman. In return for her husband’s abandonment, she punishes him by murdering her own children. She was coined a witch goddess. Having been strong in the face of betrayal and death, Medea wins sympathy and is transformed into a heroine. Both Medea’s and Hendrickje’s plight are brought about by uncontrollable passions. The love of a man drives them to sacrifice their independence. As Medea’s love turns to hate upon betrayal so Hendrickje’s love turns into a silent threat upon her public demise. This thesis will explore the role of Hendrickje Stoffels as a creative force for Rembrandt in comparing her undisclosed personality to that of the classical heroine, Medea, a figure with whom Rembrandt empathized. The focus will be on five historical paintings dating between 1654-1666, Bathsheba Reading King David’s Letter, Flora, Woman Bathing in a Stream, Juno, and Lucretia in which Hendrickje is believed to bedepicted. In close examination of the works, the similarities between Hendrickje and Medea are revealed. Medea emerges as the title figure of each work thus allowing Rembrandt to covet his relationship with Hendrickje behind historical guises. Advisors/Committee Members: Nelson, Kristi.