Jenifer Hernandez

Jenifer Hernandez is a Ph.D. candidate studying colonial Latin American art under Dr. Maya Stanfield-Mazzi. Her research examines the abundance of flowers in religious painting from the Cusco School, with special attention to the presence of flora endemic to the Andes. She approaches the floral motifs from a Native Andean perspective, exploring the cultural and spiritual significance that flowers had for the Incas, and how Indigenous and mestizo artists under colonial rule exercised their agency by incorporating elements of Andean cosmology within the framework of Christian imagery. Jenifer has presented her work at SECAC (2023, 2025), 3º Congreso Internacional sobre Cultura Visual Iberoamericana (siglos XVI a XIX) “De reinos y naturalezas: ecologías, saberes y visiones del territorio” (2025), CAA (2026), First Colloquium on Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala at UF (2026). Her research has been supported by the Grinter Fellowship and the Rothman Doctoral Fellowship in the Humanities. Prior to starting her PhD, she received a BA in Art History and a BS in Classical Studies, and a MA in Art History, all from the University of Florida.