We are pleased to share “Re-Presentations of the Past: Through Francesca Woodman’s Lens” by Ambar Vasquez-Mitra, who was our Research Intern this summer through the Studio Institute Arts Intern program. In this essay, Vasquez-Mitra examines how Francesca Woodman reimagined enduring motifs and timeless imagery throughout her oeuvre, particularly through continuous references to classical mythology and iconography—Greek temples, Daphne’s metamorphosis, Icarus’s flight, and beyond. On Woodman’s caryatids, Vasquez-Mitra writes:

“[Woodman’s] study of classical sculpture featured in the work, specifically the Caryatids and their subsequent representation using models and draped fabric, transformed the female body from background decorative ornamentation within these structures to the very pillars that sustain them. In doing so, Woodman not only presents a modern day spin on classical architecture and its purpose but calls into question and subverts the gendered imagery of classical sculpture.”

Click here to read the essay.

Ambar Vasquez-Mitra is a recent graduate of Middlebury College with a Bachelor of Arts in History and Museum Studies.