Dr. Melisa Palermo

Melisa Palermo received her Ph.D. in art history from Rice University, and her Masters in art history from the University of Texas at San Antonio as well as from Rice University. She is currently a Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of St. Thomas (Houston) and an AP art history high school teacher. Melisa’s primary interest is the relationship between Baroque sacred art and theology, spirituality, and mysticism. Her dissertation focused on the iconography of the heart aflame as a symbol of the virtue of charity, divine union, and the Sacred Heart of Jesus in art from 1550-1750.