Jeannette van Arenthals is a PhD candidate in Art History at Utrecht University. Her research focuses on the re-erection of obelisks in Rome in the late sixteenth century by Pope Sixtus V. Her research, with an anthropological component, also focuses on the contemporary prints that were inspired by the renewed interest in obelisks.

After earning her MA degree in English Language and Literature (1991) she taught at the English Departments of Utrecht University (1991-1992) and Leiden University (1991-1994). As a business owner (1999-2010) she delivered training courses in English for the government, the private sector and PhD candidates. Moreover, she edited academic books. 

Returning to academia in 2006, she began her BA studies in Art History at Utrecht University (2009, with honours). She started working for the Medieval Memoria Online (MeMO) project (2009-2013) at the Research Institute for History and Culture at Utrecht University. Her involvement resulted, among other things, in the book Living Memoria, of which she is a co-editor. Her MA degree in Cultural Studies was earned at Leiden University (2014, with honours).

Since 2016 she has been an external PhD candidate at Utrecht University. Her research regularly takes her to Rome, for which she received funding from the Elly Cassee Stichting (2018-2019). She was moreover generously awarded funding as a 'KNIR Project' (2017-2021) by the Royal Netherlands Institute in Rome (KNIR).