Student Spotlight: Olivia Schaedler '26
2023 Mary Ellen Hale Lovett Travel Fellow
The third recipient of the Lovett Travel Fellowship this year is Olivia Schaedler, a rising sophomore majoring in Art History and Ancient Mediterranean Civilizations, who was also selected to join fellow classmate Ellie Mandelker at the San Gemini Preservations Program in Italy for two months over the summer. The program is dedicated to the preservation of cultural heritage and offer students the opportunity to study and travel in Italy where they acquire hands-on experience in restoration and conservation.
Hear more from Olivia about the program and her research goals:
“I would like to research the traditional painting methods that were used in Italy during the Middle Ages (5th-15th century) to further my exploration of how Early Christian frescoes in Roman catacombs are cultural expressions of a changing Roman society. Through the San Gemini Preservation Studies Program E: Traditional Painting Materials, Methods, and Restoration Issues, I would like to examine the methods used to create the frescoes in the catacombs. I hope to answer why this art form was used and how the frescoes have been preserved. Answering these questions might reveal connections between art forms/materials and class divisions. Additionally, understanding fresco preservation and conservation in the past may better inform our interpretations of the frescoes we see today (for example, understanding how pigments change with time might change our current views of the intended artwork).”
The Lovett Travel Fellowship provides students with the opportunity to enhance their educational experience at Rice by traveling to significant sites to conduct field research in art history and architectural history.