Vanessa Gillette

Vanessa Gillette Wyland is a doctoral candidate studying the arts of colonial New Spain with Dr. Derek Burdette. Her research explores the intersection of art, faith, and gender in colonial Mexico. Her dissertation, tentatively titled “Feminizing Faith: Women, Sacred Objects, and Devotional Life in New Spain, 1650–1750” examines women’s religious culture in the city of Puebla de los Ángeles through a diverse set of objects and images. Her research has been supported by the Tinker Foundation and the Grinter Fellowship and is published in the Rutgers Art Review and The Latin Americanist. Vanessa has presented her research at SECAC (2025), the Midwest Art History Association (2025), FSU’s Art History Symposium (2024), and SECOLAS (2024), among others. Vanessa holds a MA in Art History (2022) and a BA in English – Writing Studies (2020) from the University of South Florida.