Generate a tailored SOP for Dr. Kristel Smentek. Improve your application with a focused, well-structured draft.
Kristel Smentek is an Associate Professor and historian specializing in eighteenth-century European art, focusing on the histories of graphic and decorative arts within transcultural contexts. Her research examines the historical significance of collecting practices and the interactions between Europe and Asia during this period. Smentek is the author of the book 'Mariette: Science and Connoisseurship in Eighteenth-Century Europe' (Ashgate, 2014; paperback Routledge, 2017), which reassesses the role of Pierre-Jean Mariette, a celebrated art dealer and connoisseur. She explores themes of intellectual and social structures in the eighteenth century and contextualizes the emergence of 'art' and 'aesthetics' against the backdrop of the consumer revolution. Her ongoing project titled 'Disorient: Arts of China in Eighteenth-Century France' analyzes European engagements with Asian imports and their impact on continental art and aesthetic theory. Smentek has published extensively, including articles and book chapters that address the intersections of European and Asian artistic production. Active in curatorial practice, she co-curated the exhibition 'Know: Prints and Drawings of the Age of Enlightenment' and contributed to its catalog. Smentek teaches courses on European visual culture from the fifteenth century to the present, including the ornamentation of the Rococo period and the material histories of art and design.