Rachel
Cropsey Simons,
Professor of Art History
Professor Simons (PhD University of Maryland 1994, MA University of Illinois 1978, BA Beloit College 1973) specializes in Northern European Art 1300-1569, with particular focus on illuminated manuscripts produced in France in the early 15th century and on Flemish panel paintings of the early 15th century. She has researched and written about the creative process in the late Middle Ages, specifically regarding the production methods adopted to prepare Books of Hours attributed to the Rohan Workshop. She has also organized an exhibit of Picasso prints and prepared a catalogue for the exhibit. A current area of study includes Jan van Eyck as self-conscious creator. Dr. Simons recently published “Rohan Workshop Books of Hours: Reassessing the Models” which appeared in Gazette des Beaux-Arts (September 2002). In this article, the close relationship between the visual models seen in manuscripts attributed to the Boucicaut and Rohan Workshops is explored.
Dr. Simons has taught advanced courses in Northern European painting
and Medieval art with emphasis on religious iconography and the function
of works of art.