Connoisseur
.png)
A connoisseur (
Connoisseurship in art
"The ability to tell almost instinctively who painted a picture is defined ... as connoisseurship".
In his Meaning in the Visual Arts (1955),
The English dealer and art historian, Philip Mould says, "it is about noticing things which have specific characteristics of the artists involved, as opposed to general characteristics of the era".[2] He points out the importance of condition and understanding what the artist originally painted (as opposed to how the painting now looks).[3] His colleague, Bendor Grosvenor takes the view that connoisseurship is learned by looking at paintings and cannot be taught in the classroom. He believes that it has become unfashionable in the world of art history and as a result, activities such as producing a catalogue raisonné are undervalued by the art history establishment.[1] Svetlana Alpers confirms the art historians reservations that the identification of individual style in works is "essentially assigned to a group of specialists in the field known as conoisseurs".[4] Nonetheless, Christie's Education offers an MA in the History of Art and the Art Market that includes a seminar on connoisseurship.[5] This covers "the critical skills needed to look at art, write about art, research and evaluate works, including handling and viewing art objects and visiting artists' studios, conservation labs and museums."
Earlier views of connoisseurship
During the 18th century, the term was often used as a synonym for a still vaguer man of taste or a pretend critic.
In 1760, Oliver Goldsmith said, "Painting is and has been and now will someday become the sole object of fashionable care; the title of connoisseur in that art is at present the safest passport into every fashionable Society; a well timed shrug, an admiring attitude and one or two exotic tones of exclamation are sufficient qualifications for men of low circumstances to curry favour."
In 1890, Giovanni Morelli wrote, "art connoisseurs say of art historians that they write about what they do not understand; art historians, on their side, disparage the connoisseurs, and only look upon them as the drudges who collect materials for them, but who personally have not the slightest knowledge of the physiology of art."
The attributions of painted pottery were an important project to the History of Ancient Art and Classical Archeology (Ancient Greece and South Italy). Two specialists were the most important authorities in archaeological connoisseurship:
Connoisseurs in other fields
Connoisseur is also used in the context of
See also
- Amateur, dilettante
- Appraiser
- Collector
- Expert
- Fan, aficionado, enthusiast
- Gourmet, gourmand
- Sommelier
References
- ^ a b Grosvenor, Bendor (2010-12-08). "On Connoisseurship". Arthistorynews.com. Retrieved 2015-03-18.
- ^ "Interview by Gabriella Griffith". Londonlovesbusiness.com. Archived from the original on 2012-03-14. Retrieved 2014-04-15.
- ^ Mould, Philip (2009). The Art Detective. Penguin.
- ^ Alpers, Svetlana, "Style is What You Make It", p. 139, in The Concept of Style, ed. Berel Lang, (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1987), 137-162, google books
- ^ "Christie's MA course components". Christies.edu. Archived from the original on 2013-08-27. Retrieved 2014-04-15.
- ^ "Connaisseur" in its original French
- ^ "'Connaisseur' in the Centre National de Ressources Textuelles et Lexicales, 3rd meaning". Cnrtl.fr. Retrieved 2014-04-15.
Further reading
- Beck, James H., From Duccio to Raphael: Connoisseurship in Crisis (Fucecchio: European Press Academic Publishing, 2006).
- Friedländer, Max J., On Art and Connoisseurship, trans. Tancred Borenius (London: B. Cassierer, 1942).
- L'art du connaisseur = The art of connoisseurship (Montréal: Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal, 1978).
- Robinson, Terry F., "Eighteenth-Century Connoisseurship and the Female Body" Oxford Handbooks Online. Oxford University Press. Web. 10 May 2017.
- Scallen, Catherine B. Rembrandt, Reputation, and the Practice of Connoisseurship (Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2004).
- Trummers, Anna, and Koenraad Jonckheere, eds., Art market and connoisseurship : a closer look at paintings by Rembrandt, Rubens and their contemporaries (Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2008).