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Catalogue raisonné

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The typical catalogue raisonné is either a monograph or the work of a committee of experts which gives a comprehensive list of artworks by an artist, describing the works in a way so that they may be reliably identified by third parties.

There are many variations, both broader and narrower than "all the works" or "one artist". The parameters may be restricted to one type of art work by one artist or widened to all the works by a group of artists.

Grammatical and linguistic matters

The term catalogue raisonné is French, meaning "reasoned catalogue"[1] (i.e., containing arguments for the information given, such as attributions.) but is part of the technical terminology of the English-speaking art world. The spelling is never Americanized to "catalog", even in the United States.[2][3] The French pluralization "catalogues raisonnés" is used.[4][5] Early examples consisted of two distinct parts, a biography and the catalogue itself. Their modern counterpart is the critical catalogue which may contain personal views of the author.[6].

Examples

An example of all the works of a group of artists is:

  • A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of the Most Eminent Dutch, Flemish, and French Painters by John Smith; published by Smith & Son, London in 9 volumes 1829-1842

In rare cases "catalogue raisonné" is not even used to refer to art or an artist but is used to catalogue an institutional collection e.g.

Most artists work in various media, e.g. oils, water colors, sculpture, etc. In some cases a catalogue raisonné is restricted to works in just one medium by the artist. For example:

  • Spies, Werner. Picasso; The Sculptures - With Catalogue Raisonné; Publisher: Hatje Cantz 2000

For an example where the parameters are limited to prints, for different time periods, for one artist (Jim Dine) see:

  • Jim Dine Prints: 1977-1985; A Catalogue Raisonné; Ellen G. D'Oench; Jean E. Feinberg; Publisher: Harper & Row Publishers, New York, 1986

Examples of online catalogues raisonnés include:

Rembrandt, an example of catalogues being modified

There are about 20 catalogues purporting to list Rembrandt’s complete etchings; each one building on the other, in some cases adding etchings, in others removing etchings and in others adding different states of the etchings. The important catalogues being:

  • 1751; The first significant catalogue was by the Paris art auctioneer, Edme-François Gersaint.
  • 1797; The Vienna curator, Adam Bartsch, brought out a new edition that became the classic reference (89 of the 375 Bartsch entries are no longer believed to be prints by Rembrandt).
  • 1895 + 1922; Woldemar von Seidlitz, Die Radierungen Rembrandts: Mit Einem Kritischern Verzeichnis Und Abbildung Samtlicher Radierungen; publisher: Leipzig: E. A. Seemann Verlag, 1922, Leipzig - Seidlitz added 3 prints not in Bartsch but now believed to be by Rembrandt.
  • 1912 + 1923; Hind, Arthur Mayger, A Catalogue of Rembrandt's Etchings; chronologically arranged and completely illustrated, 2 vols, London, Methuen & Co Ltd.
  • 1969; White, Christopher; Boon, Karel G, Rembrandt's Etchings: An Illustrated Critical Catalogue, 2 vols, Amsterdam, Van Gendt & Co, added more illustrations of the different states but continued to use the Bartsch numbering system where applicable.

Power wielded by editors of catalogues raisonnés

In the case of deceased artists the author of a catalogue raisonné which is regarded as a standard text may have considerable power to determine whether a particular work is authentic or not. Inclusion in, or exclusion from a catalogue raisonné can have a considerable effect on the market price of a work. In a television programme in the BBC series Fake or Fortune broadcast in the United Kingdom on 19 June 2011 the subject was the authenticity of the Monet painting Bords de la Seine à Argenteuil. The painting was submitted to the Wildenstein Institute which rejected it as a Monet despite being presented with considerable evidence of the painting's authenticity.[7] A later edition of the programme broadcast in the United Kingdom on 19 January 2014 investigated one of a group of paintings reputedly by French post-impressionist Édouard Vuillard and on this occasion the relevant committee of the Wildentstein Institute decided that the painting should be included in their catalogue raisonné for the artist.[8] The art dealer and historian Philip Mould stated whilst presenting the programme that this painting would be worth approximately £250,000 if it was accepted for inclusion in the catalogue raisonné, but that if it was not accepted it would be worth approximately £1,500 'as a piece of decorative art' - less than 1% of the full value.[9] The Wildenstein Institute's stated policy with regard to authentication of artworks (at 8 February 2014) is: 'After examination, and based on the opinion of the members of the committee, a recommendation is made in the form of the intention to include or not to include the work under study; a third possibility also exists, that of continuing the examination of the work. Under no circumstance is a recommendation to be considered as a certificate of authenticity or appraisal, and no justification will be provided for said recommendation.... Whatever the committee's recommendation, the work will be returned upon presentation of the consignment receipt.'[10]. This stated policy contrasts with the text of the letter from the Institute which was read out on the programme about the Monet painting, in which the Institute appeared to reject the authenticity of the work.

Even if there is no published catalogue raisonné for an artist there may be an organisation which publishes authentications of work and these are regarded as having the same effect as a formal catalogue. In the case of another painting featured on Fake or Fortune an example of such a committee was featured. The subject of the programme was a painting which bore a signature reading "Marc Chagall" thus implying that it had been painted by the Russian-French artist [[Chagall]. It had been included in a reference work on the painter, but not in the most recent edition, and forensic tests showed that it was painted with pigments not available at the time it was purported to have been executed. Despite this uncertain evidence of authenticity the makers of the programme submitted it to a group referred to as the "Chagall Committee" who ruled that it was a fake and sought its destruction either with the agreement of the owner or, failing that, by court order under the French law of droit moral.[11]

Other language equivalents

  • Spanish: Catálogo Razonado
  • Italian: L'Opera completa
  • German: Oeuvre-Katalog or Werkverzeichnis

References

  1. ^ Online Merriam Webster Dictionary
  2. ^ Artlex.com, Art Dictionary on catalogue raisonné
  3. ^ FAQ, placing the Catalogue Raisonné in context with other types of art catalogues arthistory.about.com
  4. ^ Merriam-webster.com
  5. ^ As seen in the CRSA homepage, catalogueraisonne.org
  6. ^ [1]
  7. ^ "Reviews". The Arts Desk. 23 March 2012. Retrieved 27 March 2012.
  8. ^ "Painting Bought For £3,000 On Ebay Actually Worth A Fortune". Huffington Post. 20 January 2014. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  9. ^ [2]
  10. ^ [3]
  11. ^ Guardian

Further reading

  • Art Books: A Basic Bibliography of Monographs on Artists (Garland Reference Library of the Humanities) by W. Freitag; Publisher: Routledge; Second Edition (April 1, 1997)
  • Judging the Authenticity of Prints by The Masters: A Primer for Collectors by David Rudd Cycleback

Software for electronic catalogues raisonnés

Databases for hard copy editions

Online projects

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