Naomi Makowska is an academic researcher and scholar specializing in early modern history, women's studies, and social history. Academic Background
Strategic, practical tools used to exert control over domestic and romantic spheres. Isolated women turning on each other due to fear.
During this era, approximately were brought to trial by the Modenese Inquisition. The state and church explicitly classified their offenses under religious crimes, including: Love magic Superstition Blasphemy Demon conjuring From Victimhood to Agency
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The turning point came in 2021 when she posted a 47-second reel titled "A day without a phone." The video—silent, mostly POV shots of making bread, reading a physical newspaper, and walking through an empty gallery—amassed 4.2 million views on Instagram. It was the antithesis of hyper-stimulating content, and it worked.
A central thesis of Makowska's work is that despite Modena's pervasive culture of surveillance, non-elite women were not merely passive victims of inquisitorial systems. Instead, they actively generated a .
Exploring the Social Networks of Early Modern Italy: The Research of Naomi Makowska Naomi Makowska is an academic researcher and scholar
Makowska’s signature technique involves a labor-intensive chemical process she calls "reverse bleaching." She partially submerges silver gelatin prints in diluted fixer, allowing the emulsion to lift and re-settle in unpredictable patterns. The result is an image that looks both ancient and futuristic—like a photograph left in the rain for a century, or a memory being erased in real time.
Makowska has been called "the patron saint of beautiful sadness" ( Artforum ) and "a necessary antidote to the algorithmic image" ( Frieze ). However, she has also faced criticism for what some call "aesthetic over-privileging"—a sense that her work can feel too insulated, too precious. A 2023 review in The Brooklyn Rail argued that her focus on atmospheric erosion sometimes avoids the "gritty, political urgency" of her Polish contemporaries.
Her analytical book reviews, such as her critique of Non-Elite Women’s Networks Across the Early Modern World published in The Sixteenth Century Journal , emphasize her focus on uncovering non-elite voices—ranging from single mothers to sex workers—and analyzing how localized alliances functioned outside dominant patriarchal institutions. Digital Humanities and Leadership During this era, approximately were brought to trial
This signature look has made her a favorite among smaller, independent fashion brands like Rouje , Arket , and Sezane , with whom she frequently collaborates.
Her doctoral research was supported by prestigious grants, including those from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the Ontario Graduate Scholarship.
“I don’t do hauls. I do edits. Before I buy a coat, I ask: Will I wear this in autumn, winter, and spring? If the answer is no, it doesn’t enter my closet.”
: Makowska has contributed reviews to academic journals, such as the University of Chicago Press Journals , where she reviewed The Art of Medieval Falconry by Yannis Hadjinicolaou.
She completed her doctoral studies at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, successfully defending her dissertation in November 2025.