It wasn’t until my second year of college that I was truly moved by a work of art: Gustav Klimt’s Medicine. I was moved to tears, just by looking at this piece of art—I felt my world change. Up until this point, I woefully pushed myself towards the world of science to appease my strict Indian family. In accordance with my parent’s wishes, I spent my first two years of college as a Biology major, galled by the many chemical equations. However, I strayed further away from my parents’ wishes with each class. In the end, I spent the last two years of college, working to achieve two degrees: Psychology for my parents and Art History for me. Although, I achieved a double degree for my family, I knew that my future was set in art history. In the process
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With each subject, art took a new form with the ability to change my worldview, and the history that shapes it. Artists chose an unknown path, one that prompted me to understand their motivations, methods, and message behind each piece. One class in particular peaked my interest, “European Art of the 1800s,” and allowed me to discover the transformative art of Balthasar Permoser. Stemming from the Late Baroque and Rococo, his pieces were grandiose, full of emotion, and immediately grasped my attention. I was so inspired, I continued to research his works as the topic of my Departmental Honors Thesis, “Tell Me How You Really Feel: An Examination of Torment Through Balthasar Permoser’s Works.” Research on Permoser was minimal, due to the lack of exposure and interest to the public. Working with limited recourses was rewarding, as it gave me an appreciation for what was there and a yearning for what was not. Permoser created pieces suffused with themes of varying emotion in unmatched detail. In my thesis, I engaged in the analysis of each piece, elaborating on his skill as one of the most progressive artists of his time. This project let me use my research to share the works of a skilled artist with the art history community, starting a conversation about someone who was once unknown. I want to be the medium through which artists, such as Permoser, are given a louder voice, and recognized for the brilliance they have
With each subject, art took a new form with the ability to change my worldview, and the history that shapes it. Artists chose an unknown path, one that prompted me to understand their motivations, methods, and message behind each piece. One class in particular peaked my interest, “European Art of the 1800s,” and allowed me to discover the transformative art of Balthasar Permoser. Stemming from the Late Baroque and Rococo, his pieces were grandiose, full of emotion, and immediately grasped my attention. I was so inspired, I continued to research his works as the topic of my Departmental Honors Thesis, “Tell Me How You Really Feel: An Examination of Torment Through Balthasar Permoser’s Works.” Research on Permoser was minimal, due to the lack of exposure and interest to the public. Working with limited recourses was rewarding, as it gave me an appreciation for what was there and a yearning for what was not. Permoser created pieces suffused with themes of varying emotion in unmatched detail. In my thesis, I engaged in the analysis of each piece, elaborating on his skill as one of the most progressive artists of his time. This project let me use my research to share the works of a skilled artist with the art history community, starting a conversation about someone who was once unknown. I want to be the medium through which artists, such as Permoser, are given a louder voice, and recognized for the brilliance they have