Journée d’étude : “The Limits of Connoisseurship. Attribution Issues & Mistakes”.

David Seymour alias Chim, Bernard Berenson observant une oeuvre à la galerie Borghese de Rome, 1955, photographie (gélatine sur argent), New York, International Center of Photography.

Type : Journée d’étude.
Date de la manifestation : vendredi 22 juillet 2016.
Lieu : Bielefeld, Universität Bielefeld, Raum X-A2-103.

Recent publications and conferences dedicated to connoisseurship have unanimously recognized the need to situate this practice within the context of its sociocultural conditions. One ought to view the connoisseur’s attribution as the final affirmation of a long and manifold procedure. This approach requires not only an investigation of the practical knowledge that informs the act of attribution but also a consideration of the network in which the judgment takes place, as well as its artistic, political and conceptual stakes.

With this perspective in mind, the workshop will focus its attention on a central yet often forgotten aspect of artistic expertise: mistaken attributions. Examination of these inaccurate assessments allows for a better understanding of the cultural and intellectual contexts in which they occurred and reveals the various discrepancies between connoisseurial theory and its practical application. By analyzing a few case studies situated at the limits of connoisseurship—whether they be drawings, paintings or, more generally, art objects—the workshop will question the various operations that guide the (re?)attribution of artworks and the theoretical or practical tensions generated by this process.

Organised by Dr. Valérie Kobi (valerie.kobi@uni-bielefeld.de).

Interested participants can register before July 17th 2016 at :
mira_claire.zadrozny@uni-bielefeld.de

Programme 

Vendredi 22 juillet

Welcome of Participants.

1.15pm
Opening of the Workshop.

1.45pm
Joris Corin Heyder (Universität Bielefeld):
Same, Similar, Semblable – On the Language of Connoisseurship.

2.30pm
Noa Turel (University of Alabama at Birmingham):
Over Morelli and Under the Surface: Connoisseurship and Infrared Imaging in the Study of Early Netherlandish Painting.

3.15pm
Joachim Rees (Freie Universität Berlin):
A Tribute Paid: Les Mains de Michel-Ange and the Art of (mé-)connaissance in the 18th Century.

Coffee Break.

4.30pm
Neville Rowley (Gemäldegalerie & Bode-Museum, Berlin):
Two Paintings, Philology, and a Mistake: on a Book by Federico Zeri.

5.15pm
Johannes Grave (Universität Bielefeld):
Comparing Pictures. On Implications and Limitations of Connoisseurship in Practice.

6.00pm
Final Discussion.