Acknowledgements
This book realizes the glancing dream I had as a teenager of being a writer, though I expected, at the time, that I would devote myself to fiction—stories that would become novels. I could never have predicted the path I would take to becoming an author, but I am immensely grateful for it. Along the way, I was fortunate enough to have the indispensable support of so many people, for the real fiction is that a book is ever a solitary endeavor.
First and foremost, I thank Frits Scholten for believing that this book should exist. His encouragement was essential in motivating me to pursue the topic of plaster casts in Dutch paintings as the subject of my dissertation. For that alone I would be eternally grateful, but his vision for that dissertation to become this book was paramount. His scholarship remains central to the arguments and interpretations that I present here and his feedback on the manuscript significantly improved it. The dissertation that this book is based on would not have come to fruition without the guidance, support, and friendship of David Freedberg. It is wildly insufficient to say that it has been an honor to know him and to spend precious moments in the light of his intellect. I will forever cherish the privilege of being his student and the recipient of his wisdom. I also extend my profoundest gratitude to Pamela Smith, one of the most generous and compassionate mentors I have ever had, whose formidable scholarship has inspired me so many times. I count myself lucky to have been not only a contributor to the Making & Knowing project (which fundamentally changed me as a thinker) but also a member of Pamela’s graduate reading group, an extraordinary community that reflects her generosity, kindness, and breadth of knowledge. An extra special thanks to Pamela for opening her lab up to me for a hands-on plaster casting experience in 2021, which turned out to be one of my absolute favorite parts of writing the dissertation, despite the fact that I inadvertently held her hostage for much longer than expected.
This book would never have been possible without the inimitable Emily Beeny, whose faith in me has been a gift I cannot adequately describe in words. As my supervisor at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Emily understood the importance of the work that went into transforming the dissertation into a book manuscript and supported me at every step. To learn from Emily, and to admire her brilliance, has been one of the highlights of my life. I offer her my most heartfelt thanks for hiring me into the perfect job at the perfect juncture and for devoting so much quality time to helping me grow.
I am eternally grateful to the Department of Art History and Archaeology at Columbia University, where I wrote the dissertation that this book is based on. Most especially, I offer my thanks to the rest of my fantastic dissertation committee: Michael Cole, who always had time for me and granted me stimulating conversations critical to the process of developing my dissertation, and Diane Bodart, my first instructor in early modern European art at Columbia and a model scholar. Special thanks also to Keith Moxey for his guidance my first year in the PhD program; to Alessandra Russo, Anne Higonnet, Zainab Bahrani, Meredith Gamer, Zeynep Celik Alexander; and to Nicole Meilly, Sonia Sorrentini, Faith Batidzirai, and Midori Oka, who also became cherished friends.
A heartfelt thanks to John Walsh, who changed my life at the Yale University Art Gallery, years before I chose to work on Dutch paintings, and who has been beyond generous with his support. I can never say dankjewel enough to Wijnie de Groot and Frans Blom, who taught me Dutch and so much more. I am insanely lucky to count them among my friends and to be so warmly invited into their buoyant company. Thank you also to Amy Walsh for always checking in on me and especially for believing in me when I struggled to do so myself.
My dissertation work was supported in transformative ways by the Theodore Rousseau Fellowship at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (2018–2019) and the Samuel H. Kress Predoctoral Fellowship at the Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts (2020–2022). My thanks to the Center for the Study of the Golden Age at the University of Amsterdam for hosting me in 2018 and to Bashar for helping me navigate my residence in Amsterdam. My friends and colleagues at the Center made my final year of graduate school truly unforgettable. My sincerest thanks to Chris Nygren, Betsy Wieseman, Alex Libby, Henriette Rahusen, Kaira Cabañas, Juliet Koss, Peter Lukehart, Alison Luchs, Sarah Battle, and Brooks Rich, and especially to Luke Fidler, Christine Garnier, Mohit Manohar, Rachel Patt, Catherine Popovici, and Erhan Tamur, who were essential sources of joy and awe alike. For both the dissertation and this book manuscript, I relied on a number of superior research institutions. My wholehearted gratitude goes to the staff of Avery Library at Columbia, the library at the National Gallery of Art, and the Rijksmuseum library; the staff of the archives in Amsterdam, Leiden, Haarlem, Utrecht, and Rotterdam; the staff of the libraries at UC Berkeley, Stanford (especially Lindsay King), and the San Francisco Public Library. Thank you also to Melissa Gonzales, Head of Libraries & Archives at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, for additional and crucial research assistance (and warm friendship). And of course, hartelijk dank to Ivo Romein and colleagues at Brill who produced this wonderful book.
There are so many extraordinary people who stood by me—and provided more succor than they can imagine—during the tumultuous and beautiful phases of my life that comprised writing the dissertation and preparing this book. I will be grateful to you for the rest of my life. Thanks to my fellow art historians: Sarah Mallory, who has given substantial real estate to me in her big heart; Daniel Ralston, my karaoke partner-in-crime, always excellent and never as overweening as he ought to be; Emogene Cataldo, my cocoon pal and storm queen; Jun Nakamura, who believed in this study before I could even commit to it; Lizzie Marx and Anna-Claire Stinebring, my brainy and sweet Amsterdam crew; Marsely Kehoe and Carrie Anderson, art history heroes; Cleo Nisse, an all-around treasure; Joseph Larnerd, a quality friend and a soulful human; and Charles Kang, my lab partner and the most humble superstar I’ve ever met. I also thank my graduate student colleagues in the Department of Art History and Archaeology at Columbia who became dear friends, especially Rozemarijn Landsman, Diana Mellon, Caitlin Miller, Virginia Girard, and Mikael Muehlbauer. Special thanks to my writing groups who got me through the darkest days of the pandemic, especially Chloe Bordewich, Cynthia Kok, Lydia Harrington, and Tamar Nachmany, and to the incredible scholars of Pamela’s graduate reading group.
My heart is full of gratitude for friends who have been rooting for me long before I had a book contract: Molly Rugg, the ultimate hype man, a loving frond for the ages; Rachel Brooke Leswing, my intellectual soulmate, whose fantastic conversation and sense of humor seduced me immediately; Ari Livne, an artist unlike any other, whose friendship touches the most tender parts of me; mis hermosas hermanas en New York, Allie Ossa and Mari Cardenas, and our beloved Pollitos; my chosen LA family, especially Austin Bell, Sara Hollar, Rmax Goodwin, Taylor Haney, and Daniel McLaughlin; Natalie Abeles, my effervescent old pal, one of my most steadfast cheerleaders; Monique, Vitor, Ben, and Meg, who made my time in Amsterdam so unforgettable; and Sarah Kleiner, a true gem, who has deeply enriched my life with her affection and kindness.
Most of all, I thank my family. From the bottom of my heart, thank you to Joe Tarantino, my one-of-a-kind husband, who has always shown me boundless love, who sees me so clearly and celebrates any opportunity I get to shine. I am unbelievably lucky and grateful to have you by my side and to build my home with you. Thank you also to the Tarantinos, who have embraced me so completely. Gracias a Alvaro, por su apoyo y las conversaciones tan interesantes que tenemos. Massive thanks to Andy, an exceptional human being and the best brother I could ever have asked for, who shows me what it means to live a good life. And to my two mothers, incomparables mujeres: Chavela, who is still here with me every single day, and Janet Chavez, who dreamed it all long before any of us could. Esto es para tí.