About
Helena Guzik is a Research Fellow at the University of Oxford’s Department of History. She holds the Clarendon Scholarship and the Sarah Louise Dale Renaissance Scholarship at Lady Margaret Hall. Her research focuses on the visual and material culture of pilgrimage in fifteenth- and sixteenth-century Italy, particularly under the Este family courts. She founded The Oxford Pilgrimage Studies Network, funded by TORCH, to foster interdisciplinary research on pilgrimage. Additionally, she has organized conferences like Pilgrimage and the Senses and co-led the Talking Sense research group, linking art collections to sensory studies. She has taught courses on early modern European art, court culture, and Renaissance politics.
Her academic interests span medieval and early modern cross-cultural exchange, scientific instruments, and the ideal built environment. She has contributed to the Ashmolean Magazine and Trusted Source, and collaborates with institutions like the Ashmolean Museum. She is affiliated with Oxford’s Centre for Early Modern Studies and the Talking Religion research group.
- Awards: Clarendon Scholar, Sarah Louise Dale Renaissance Scholar
- Key Roles: Junior Teaching Fellow at the Ashmolean Museum, Co-Organizer of Talking Sense, Member of Talking Religion
Her work bridges art history, religious studies, and sensory analysis, emphasizing how pilgrimage shaped elite patronage, diplomacy, and public piety in early modern Europe.
