Christian Kleinbub, associate professor, history of art, has been awarded the 2013 Gustave O. Arlt Award in the Humanities from the Council of Graduate Schools for his book Vision and the Visionary in Raphael (Pennsylvania State University Press, 2013). Kleinbub was nominated by Ohio State for the award in the Division of Arts, which encompasses art history, criticism, conservation, and music. Andrew Shelton, chair, history of art, said that this is Kleinbub's first book -- and derives directly from a dissertation for which he received his PhD with distinction from Columbia University.

"Vision and the Visionary in Raphael is a truly ambitious, far-reaching study, one that not only offers a major new interpretation of the works and historical significance of Raphael but that grapples with a problem at the very heart of Renaissance art—namely how to reconcile the new, scientifically and aesthetically grounded emphasis on pictorial naturalism with the ongoing religious demand to capture and convey spiritual realities that transcend the capacities of human vision," Shelton said.

The response to the book, he added, has been "positively glowing."

Kleinbub himself said he was enormously gratified to find that his book has such an enthusiastic audience. "When writing an academic book there is always the danger that you'll ultimately reach only the most recondite specialists. Yet, because you put so much of yourself into its creation, you nevertheless hope that your work will make a real difference. The Arlt Award convinces me that my book has hit its target, that it has and will continue to generate conversation. For me, that is wonderfully encouraging."