Summer Curatorial Research Intern: Marcela Pareja-Araujo (UMass ’26)
Marcela Pareja-Araujo is a second-year MA student specializing in colonial and postcolonial Latin American art. Her research interests include the Quito School, Baroque art, and the interplay of indigenous and European influences.
As a master student in the History of Art and Architecture program at UMass, I was seeking a summer internship that would help me strengthen my research skills and immerse me in a museum environment and I found it at the Smith College Museum of Art. I had the opportunity to work as a summer intern under the incredible mentorship of Danielle Carrabino, Curator of Painting and Sculpture. This experience was especially meaningful to me as my research interest focuses on Latin American colonial and postcolonial art and SCMA had just acquired Portrait of a Lady with a Chiqueador by an unknown Peruvian artist from the late seventeenth century. I was assigned to write the museum label for this work. The portrait was sent to the Yale University Art Gallery for X-ray scans and the information we got back helped me have more insight into the history of the painting.
I also researched and wrote the label for a prayer bead currently on display at the museum. The Prayer Nut with the Mass of Saint Gregory (top) and the Virgin of the Rosary (bottom), c. 1500-1530 is an intricate work of art made of boxwood containing miniature carvings of religious scenes. The research for this piece helped me discover many similar prayer beads and boxwood carvings that were made around the same time period in the sixteenth century in the Low Countries, a historical and cultural region including the present-day Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg. It is a fascinating technique with a rich history behind each piece.
Workshop of Adam Dircksz, Prayer Nut with the Mass of Saint Gregory (top) and the Virgin of the Rosary (bottom), c. 1500-1530, Purchased with funds realized from the sale of a work given by Mr. and Mrs. Alexander Rittmaster (Sylvian Goodkind, class of 1937) in 1958, SC 1991.23
Another key area in my career focus is provenance research—the study of a work’s previous ownership— and Danielle helped me develop these skills by assigning two works of art that needed provenance research. In the middle of one of the projects, a new piece came to the museum as a bequest, a 1946 drawing by Diego Rivera. The drawing came from a donor’s estate and the museum needed to have as much information as possible so Danielle put me to work on the Rivera drawing as a priority. (To see an image of this work in the collections database, please click here.)
Aside from these projects I also attended meetings with museum curators and collection management. This gave me a better insight into the many moving pieces that are required in order for the museum to function successfully and make art available to all. One of the highlights of the internship was our visit to The Harvard Art Museums where we had a wonderful tour of the Edvard Munch exhibition and a behind-the-scenes look at the Conservation Labs. It was fascinating to hear about the research done to curate the exhibition and the meticulous work involved in the restoration and conservation of artworks. I am grateful for this opportunity that allowed me to learn, grow my network and strengthen my skills. I have a clearer perspective of what it means to work in the art world. Special thanks to Danielle for her thoughtful mentorship, trust, and guidance in helping me develop both personally and professionally.