SpazzyAzi

Eep, forgive me for reviving a months-old thread, but I was reading this and saw a lot of recommendations for 19th c. French art. Are there any recommendations anyone has for 18th c. French art (both MA and PhD)? I'm definitely interested in Rococo and French Revolution stuff. Thanks much.

Hello all, first time poster but long time lurker. Been reading all the advice here and it's helping me tremendously. I have a question about my potential for a good art history MA program. I'm very interested in French art, something inside the 17th-19th century range, and my ultimate career goal is the museum field - hopefully curatorial. However, I fear that my messy academic record may ruin chances for me. My GPA is embarrassingly low (2.7 cumulative), and I'm already 25 years old and only just finishing up my BA in history (Euro emphasis) ... at a state school (SJSU). My transcripts consist of four years at community college that make it very clear I had no idea what I was doing there, until I finally managed to transfer to SJSU, where I was very average for the first year (Cs, Bs, only a couple As). Only now have my grades picked up, but certainly not in time to save my GPA. My major classes do have mostly As and some Bs, though. Anyway, that's the huge scar on my record. I fear it makes me appear unmotivated (which I certainly was). I do have some relevant strengths, but I don't know if they'll outweigh my transcripts: -I have a double minor in art history and French. (I actually entered as a French major but switched it to a minor). I wouldn't say I'm fluent in French, but I'm getting there, and my reading knowledge and writing is very strong so I have no worries about the language exam. -I have reading knowledge of Latin too! -I'm good at writing; it's the first thing that gets my professors to notice me. Everything from critiques, to analyses, to research papers, etc. I have a solid portfolio of good writing samples. -On the same thread, I have strong relationships with my history and art history professors, all of whom are ready to write me letters of rec when the time comes. -I've been working at the Beethoven Center here at SJSU; it's the seat of the American Beethoven Society and houses the largest collection of Beethoven ephemera here in the states! (end plug). I work directly for the curator to help maintain the collections, as well as occasionally assisting in setting up rotating exhibitions. By the time I graduate I'll have worked there for two years. -I'm talking with the curatorial department at the Rosicrucian museum here in San Jose for a summer internship, so hopefully that will be squared away soon! Basically the tl;dr is that I've only discovered my passion for the museum/art history career path in the past few years, and my record shows it. I fear it's too late for me to redeem myself, but I also hope that, GPA/transcripts aside, I might present myself as a well-rounded individual otherwise. Has anyone experienced a similar situation to mine, or have any insight to offer on it? Thanks a ton for your help guys.