[Vienna Secession Professors for PhD]

You mention that you realize how competitive and impossible the job market is, and you can see that there are no professors specializing exclusively in Vienna secession... don't sound too promising as a long-term specialization. I second Silverman and Koerner, and I expect they would give you similar advice - don't focus in on something so narrow, especially not so early. 

 

If the job market worked that way, we'd be a discipline full of Titian scholars, no? 

[one paper needs your peer review]

Yikes. The TA in me is cringing and I didn't even read your paper. Go speak with your professor or Teaching Assistant about the grade (in a respectful and non-confrontational way). Ask him or her to identify a weak point in your paper, and if you can try modeling an alternative approach together. Or ask if you might be able to read an anonymous example of an A paper--I hand similar examples to my students occasionally and I find it clears up the "why did I get a B+ instead of an A?" confusion in a flash. If you can understand the weaknesses in your writing, you can avoid those patterns in the future. 

[Writing Sample Selection]

Another option to consider: Create an academia.edu account, and post your that brilliant chapter of yours there. You never know who may read that. 

 

I would strongly recommend against this for too many reasons to get into here. By all means, make an account, but don't post papers there until it's representative of how you want to be seen as a scholar--in quality, subject matter, and methodology. 

[Language Exams]

That's absolutely the best thing you can do. I'd suggest mixing up the sample documents as much as you can--one day translate an article about Cezanne, the next day do one about Assyrian architecture. There's a lot of area-specific vocabulary that you won't be exposed to otherwise. Jstor is a good place to filter journals by language. 

 

Also, if you're on friendly terms with your future adviser, consider emailing to ask if s/he could recommend any recent french/german scholarship in your field, and practice translating with something that you'd actually like to read. Make it work for you! 

[Are there any pre-renaissance art pieces that have to do with vanity or mirrors?]

The TA in me is grimacing at you all doing her homework for her. 

[New Graduate Student Fears]

You will continue to feel this way for a long time. You should continue to feel this way. They didn't make a mistake in admitting you, but your future professors and advisors know that you have a vast amount still to learn. I think it's healthy for you to know that too. Honestly, right now, you're probably not very good! Even if you've done a MA, if you've spent years in curatorial fellowships, whatever, being a good Ph.D. student is something that you need to learn by immersion.  If you're going to a good program, that's what your next several years of coursework is for. You'll get there. Take risks with your term papers. Try on new methodologies for size as you encounter them. Maybe most importantly, don't worry about "keeping up" with your future peers, or even worse, competing with them. Most likely, some of your classmates will blow you away with how adept they are at certain things. You'll undoubtedly outpace them in certain aspects as well. Treat your colleagues as the most valuable resources that the grad school setting has to offer. When one of your classmates' seminar paper presentations makes yours look like a 3rd grade modeling clay diorama in comparison--this will happen, so many times--take them out for a beer and pick their brain. Instead of comparing your own work to that of your peers, consider work you admire as a model to examine. Why was it so good? What questions were they asking? How was it organized? How, when, and to what effect did they incorporate visual analysis?  It took me longer than it should have to really understand this, but it's so, so good for you to have kickass colleagues. 

[Funded Masters]

So, for places like UPenn, which is in my top choices, would you suggest that I apply to the MA program and let them know I hope to plan on continuing to the PhD program? I'm worried that if I apply for the MA strictly (and this is for any school), I will be cut out of funding anywhere, but that if I apply for the Phd then my chances for acceptance will be very low. Any thoughts? 

 

Penn's art history department doesn't accept students from the terminal MA for the PhD. It seems to be an unwritten policy. If you want a PhD from Penn, you should either apply directly for the PhD or do a terminal MA somewhere with a good reputation--Williams and Tufts are the main two that come to mind.