Visual Arts History 1045A/B Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Craquelure, Tutankhamun
29 Apr 2018
School
Department
Professor
Why do museums collect?
ā¢educational purposes"
ā¢economic hoards (prestige, elitism)"
ā¢immortality"
ā¢for the public good"
ā¢to reveal āmagicā"
How do museums collect?
ā¢gifts and bequests, donations (the most common method of accession)"
ā¢archeological digs"
ā¢private and public auctions"
Fake - a genuine art piece of little or no value that has been altered or added onto in order to
increase its value
Forgery - a copy of a painting that has been made for fraudulent or proļ¬table purposes"
Provenance - a record of ownership and origin of a work as a guide for authenticity or quality
Hans van Meegeren:
ā¢Hans van Meegeren was a dutch artist who upheld a distaste for the elitist premise of the
art world "
ā¢van Meegeren made a living by painting and selling replicas and forgeries "
ā¢van Meegeren recreated Vermeerās ālost paintingsā during the artists 10 year hiatus where
none of paintings were known of or existed"
ā¢1942 - van Meegeren sold a Vermeer forgery to Nazi general Hermann Goering"
ā¢Holland and Germany were enemies during WWII"
ā¢1945 - WWII ended and van Meegeren was arrested for treason: punishable by death"
ā¢van Meegeren revealed that the painting was a forgery and during his trial he recreated the
process of painting a āVermeerā"
Mandate - a museumās mandate regulates and deļ¬nes the parameters of how a museums
collects, and functions - a mandate is the stated goals of a museum"
Accessioning - the process by which a museum acquires an object for its collection"
ā¢an object must align with the museumās mandate"
ā¢once an object is accessioned it is registered and catalogued - each object is given a
unique identiļ¬cation number"
Visible storage (Victoria and Albert Museum)
Deep storage
Scientiļ¬c analysis: (authentication)
ā¢radiographic (x-ray)"
ā¢chemical analysis (sample is taken - destructive)"
ā¢visual examination"
ā¢microscopic examination"
Historical analysis: (authentication)
ā¢provenance is determined"
ā¢can the geographical location of the object be traced at all times?"
ā¢receipts, letters, auction records, inventories, dealer stamps"
Stylistic analysis: (authentication)
ā¢analysis of craquelure (pattern of cracks visible on the surface of paintings)"
ā¢compare brushwork, pain choices, paint types, and an artist oeuvre "
Museums keep 3 types of information:
ā¢management - contextual information, physical description, cataloguing information
ā¢in-depth - artist info, context, precise condition reports
ā¢usage - exhibition history, loan history
Why objects are deaccessioned:
The museumās board of directors must grant approval for the removal of an object that isā¦"
Document Summary
Why do museums collect: educational purposes, economic hoards (prestige, elitism, immortality, for the public good, to reveal magic . How do museums collect: gifts and bequests, donations (the most common method of accession, archeological digs, private and public auctions. Fake - a genuine art piece of little or no value that has been altered or added onto in order to increase its value. Forgery - a copy of a painting that has been made for fraudulent or pro table purposes. Provenance - a record of ownership and origin of a work as a guide for authenticity or quality. Mandate - a museum"s mandate regulates and de nes the parameters of how a museums collects, and functions - a mandate is the stated goals of a museum. Scienti c analysis: (authentication: radiographic (x-ray, chemical analysis (sample is taken - destructive, visual examination, microscopic examination.
