María Salvador’s research focuses on medieval Japanese religious painting, specifically the art of the Kasuga cult in Nara. She’s interested in issues of icon animation and reproduction, elite and non-elite approaches to religious art, materiality and ritual, sacred and poetic landscape, and identity construction. María received her BA in History of Art at the Universidad de Granada in 2012. Her interest in Japanese religious art led her to complete an MA in Japanese Studies at SOAS, University of London in 2013, and an MA in History of Art at the Ohio State University in 2017.

In addition to her studies, María has participated in numerous exchanges and activities, including an academic exchange at UC Berkeley, an internship in the Curatorial Department at the Cleveland Museum of Art, and a quarter as a CIC Traveling Scholar at the University of Chicago. She has received several academic awards for her work including a Fulbright Fellowship, a Korea Foundation Fellowship, and an Ishibashi Foundation Scholarship.