Dr. Christine Smith

Biography

Christine Smith is the Robert C. Marian K. Weinberg Professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. Her academic focus includes Architectural History, with a particular emphasis on Late Antique, Medieval, Italian Renaissance, and Baroque architecture. Smith has made significant contributions through her publications on Early Christian and Italian Romanesque architecture, as well as Twentieth-Century American art. Her recent work includes a book titled 'Eyewitness Old St. Peter’s: Maffeo Vegio’s “Remembering Ancient History St. Peter’s Basilica Rome”' published by Cambridge University Press in 2019, which presents the first English translation of Vegio’s text accompanied by full-color digital reconstructions of the Basilica as it appeared in Vegio's time. Smith is currently engaged in a comprehensive project examining the concept of wonder as it pertains to architecture, drawing from primary sources spanning from the fifth century B.C. to the eighteenth century A.D. This research delves into how ideas about wonder have evolved and the crucial role that 'wonderful' buildings play in human society.

Research Interests

Courses