Art History Faculty

Education: Master of Arts, Academy of Art University (San Francisco, California, Art History)

Maria Matthies has always been passionate about the arts. Maria began her career as a fine arts instructor at a private studio and also worked in the Education Department at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. Her experiences extend internationally, having lived in Germany where she attended immersion language courses at the German College of Stuttgart and studied Art History at the State Academy of Fine Arts in Stuttgart, focusing on the Art History and Conservation Department. Maria’s academic concentration is the Northern Renaissance, and has a deep interest in the art, literature, and culture of medieval Europe.

Education: Master of Architecture, Sapienza – Universita du Roma (Rome, Italy, Architecture)

Chiara Francesca Rosequist was born and raised in Rome, Italy. Her academic foundation lies in Art History and Architecture. She earned degrees in Architecture in both Aachen, Germany, and Rome, with a focus on the History of Art and Architecture, as well as Restoration. Throughout her career, Chiara has balanced roles in both academia and professional practice, working for many years as an architect and designer while also teaching.

In 2004, she moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts, where she continued her architectural work and served as an assistant to a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Before joining the School of Art History at the Academy of Art University, Chiara taught Visual Arts and Art History courses at Holy Names University, where she also directed the university’s study abroad program.

Chiara is deeply passionate about education and values the dynamic exchange she shares with her students. She strives to maintain a spirited dialogue not only about course material, but also about life, passions, beliefs, and dreams—believing that the best learning happens in community, and that she learns just as much from her students as they do from her.

Education: Doctor of Philosophy, University of Oxford (Oxford, United Kingdom, Classical Archaeology)

Gabriela Sotomayor’s research interests lie predominantly in ancient luxury trade, Classical art and archaeology, as well as ancient jewellery. She completed her D.Phil (PhD) at the University of Oxford, where her research employed quantitative methods to study trends in Roman gem supply and use from the 1st century BC to the 4th century AD.

Following a BA in Art History and Archaeology from Washington University in St. Louis, she attained her MA in Greek and Roman Art from the Courtauld Institute of Art in London, analyzing the jewelry of the Egyptian Fayum funerary portraits. She studied in Florence, Italy, and Athens, Greece as a Gates Millennium Scholar, and has worked in and curated for art museums and galleries in the US, UK and Chile. In addition to her duties as the Director of Professional and Continuing Education (PaCE) at CSU East Bay, Gabriela teaches art history courses and advises thesis students, while continuing her research on ancient luxury trade in the Egyptian and Graeco-Roman world.

Education: Master of Arts, University of Leuven (Leuven, Belgium, Philosophy)

Steven grew up near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and studied sociology and philosophy at Penn State University. He spent 10 years living in Belgium where he earned a Masters in Philosophy from KU Leuven focusing on phenomenology and psychoanalysis. He’s been working at the Academy of Art since 2005 across several departments, including English for Art Purposes, Liberal Art and Art History. His focus is on art and ideas in the 19th and 20th Century.