2025 Benefactors Day Highlights Dr. Heidi Hornik and Undergraduate Art History Research

On Thursday, October 2, 2025, at 3:30 p.m., the Armstrong Browning Library & Museum proudly welcomes Dr. Heidi Hornik, Department Chair and Professor of Italian Renaissance and Baroque Art History, along with Baylor undergraduate Art History students Haydin Davis and Ellery Copple, as the 2025 Benefactors Day presenters. As part of “Primary Visual Sources at the Armstrong Browning Library: Digital Humanities and Undergraduate Research,” Davis will present her final project on the painting “Madonna and Child,” while Copple will present on the painting “Christ, the Man of Sorrows.” The event will be held in the Hankamer Treasure Room at the Armstrong Browning Library & Museum and available online via Zoom Webinar.

“The presentations of undergraduate students Haydin Davis and Ellery Copple,” said Hornik, “will represent the incorporation of art historical techniques of critical analysis based on primary and secondary documentation to further our understanding of two works of art in the permanent collection of the Armstrong Browning Library.”

During the Fall 2024 semester, Dr. Hornik’s Advanced Art History seminar on Connoisseurship studied ten Italian Renaissance paintings in the Armstrong Browning Library. By utilizing a data visualization dashboard through a Digital Humanities project linked to the Armstrong Browning Library & Museum webpage, scholarly research from all ten seminar students is now available to future scholars and the public. Two students from this seminar, Haydin Davis and Ellery Copple, will be presenting their methodology and results of their scholarly study at the 2025 Benefactors Day event. 

“I hope the audience will understand the unique nature of the work and the discoveries my research has brought to light,” said Davis. “I drew on several methods [in my research]: visual comparisons, study of artist biographies, provenance research, conservation analysis, and even data science techniques to identify punch marks from the artists’ workshops.”

Davis worked with the “Madonna and Child,” a 14th-century altar panel in the Hankamer Treasure Room at the Armstrong Browning Library, originally believed to have been created by Pietro Lorenzetti sometime during 1350-1400. Davis’s research found that she disagrees with the traditional artist designation, and instead believes the work was made by Lorenzetti’s subsequent followers, Niccolò di ser Sozzo and Luca di Tomme. Davis narrowed the probable date for the creation of the painting to be between 1350 and 1362 based on this reattribution.

“I hope my presentation will provide insight into the intricate and fascinating web of students, teachers, and traditions that exists behind every Old Master in art history,” said Copple. “Additionally, I analyzed the unique iconography found within the piece to ascertain its meaning and place the work within the larger context of Leonardo’s artistic circle.” 

Copple worked with the “Christ, the Man of Sorrows,” a 16th century oil painting in the Hankamer Treasure Room at the Armstrong Browning Library, originally believed to be created by Giampietrino around 1540. Using methods of connoisseurship, Copple’s research was able to affirm the initial attribution of the work to a student of Leonardo da Vinci named Giampietrino. While shedding light on the work of one of da Vinci’s largely unrecognized students according to Copple, she suggests an adjustment for the date of creation. 

Hornik earned her doctorate in Art History from the Pennsylvania State University. She teaches advanced art history courses in the areas of Italian Renaissance, Mannerism, Baroque, and Art History Methods and Theory as well as the Survey of Western Art. Davis is a senior University Scholar major with concentrations in Art History, Museum Studies, and History in the Honors Program. Davis’s final paper on the painting “Madonna and Child” was recently published in Volume V of Dies Legibiles, an undergraduate journal for medieval studies, and she is currently continuing this work as the subject of her honors thesis to be presented in May 2026. After graduation, Davis will pursue a doctoral degree in Art History with the goal of becoming a curator at an art museum. Copple is a senior Art History major with a minor in English. After graduation, Copple plans to attend graduate school to complete a master’s degree and potentially pursue a doctoral degree in Art History, with the ultimate goal of working in an art gallery. 

This event is free and open to the public, with CAE credit available to Baylor students. Following the presentation, a reception with light refreshments will be held in the Cox Reception Hall.

The Armstrong Browning Library & Museum’s Benefactors Day began in 1999 under the directorship of Dr. Mairi Rennie. The annual celebration was created to honor the Brownings’ wedding anniversary and provides an opportunity for the Armstrong Browning Library & Museum to thank its gracious donors. The Benefactors Day program is made possible through donations to the Guardian Angel Fund. 

For more information visit https://library.web.baylor.edu/benefactorsday.