Picture Cataloguing

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Until about 40 years ago cataloguing consisted of the compilation of information about a work of art (as opposed to the catalogue raisonne which involved bringing together all the known information about an individual artist). The process of cataloguing was never deemed to require a specific skill other than the (now rare) ability to copy information accurately. Examination of old sale catalogues and most museum catalogues before c. 1960 see this method in operation.

Modern Cataloguing

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The Auction Catalogue

Since Auctioneers changed their role from simple broker to art experts and advisors the catalogue has changed out of all recognition, as it has become the instrument that establishes the written authority of the auction house. Many criticisms have been levelled at these lengthening volumes, mainly because they give an appearance of sound scholarship when in fact they are so variable that no generalisation is valid. Another weakness is that the auction house frequently relies on information supplied by the vendor whose reliability is equally variable.

Nevertheless, a vast amount of information is published in these sale catalogues, some of it taking advantage of the more recent advances in specialist scholarship, but a considerable proportion still relying on old references which are not always checked. It is unlikely that the role of the sale catalogue will change in the foreseeable future.

The Museum Catalogue

Outside the National Gallery seriously researched museum catalogues have virtually disappeared from UK Public Collections. Instead there are now an increasing number of illustrated inventories of major collections, some more detailed than others (e.g. the Wallace Collection supported by Lindsay Fine Art Ltd, and the Southampton City Art Gallery Collection published by Lindsay Fine Art Ltd).

The reverse is true in Continental Europe where an increasing number of collections, great and small, issue detailed catalogues of their complete holdings, almost always with comprehensive reference material. These are the basis on which scholarship is founded.

Quite often an auction catalogue (see above) will refer to the existence of another version or variant in a museum. The prospective buyer should always check the relevant museum catalogue as often there will be more detailed information not quoted in the sale catalogue.

As a rough guide each of the main European countries adopt slightly different styles of presenting the information, which can be confusing.

Some standardisation is seen in the fully illustrated volumes covering the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, the museums of Antwerp and Brussels, the Louvre, the Prado and the Uffizi to name a few examples.

The French tend to be as complete as possible with their bibliographical information, as do the Germans. The extensive work done on Italian public collections is more uneven.

The Exhibition Catalogue

Most exhibition catalogues are now written in the form of books that can mislead the unwary as key works by the artist or movement cannot always be lent. Where the exhibition is of a great artist, e.g. Titian at the National Gallery, there is an increasing tendency to omit details of provenance and early literature. This increases the popular appeal of the ‘Catalogue’ and makes it more portable in the exhibition itself.

Sometimes, however, where the figure exhibited is a more minor one the exhibition catalogue (with or without detailed entries) takes on the role of the only standard reference work.

The Cataloguing Process

This now requires a variety of skills in order to achieve the level of accuracy expected. The precise information recorded in a statement catalogue entry is as follows: -

• Dimensions, inscription, both the front and back. These have to be recorded accurately as they are often wrong in previous publications. Frequently the exact form of the signature/inscription requires revision.
• History (or Provenance as it is known). This is often contentious in Auction Catalogues (see above) as the exact history of a painting can affect its potential value e.g. the existence of a prestigious previous owner. Provenances are often painfully inaccurate or at best misleading.
• Literature/Bibliography. This should be complete as far as possible, but often it is not. Some auction houses gloss over opinion detrimental to the picture being offered for sale – they never claim the literature is complete. In museum catalogues the French tend to be the most assiduous in making their bibliographies complete.
• Exhibition History. This is often limited to recent exhibitions, when in fact the 19th century exhibition history of a painting may be of great interest especially to the historian of taste.
• Related works. The catalogue is not obliged to present information about related works – copies, other versions, similar compositions by other artists etc. However, good catalogues will present this information and a great deal of skill is required here as it presupposes a detailed knowledge of the field.
• Comments. Here the compiler of the catalogue entry usually employs his own method. Auction catalogues must impress the intended buyer and thus tend to bring in as much extraneous information as the entry will carry without descending into mindless waffle. The French tend to be laconic, the Italians on the verbose side but in these countries a high standard is usually achieved. Thus, in assessing a particular catalogue entry the prospective user must first assess its purpose (i.e. commercial, academic or populist) and judge accordingly.

The Catalogue Raisonne

This is in a category of its own, as anyone compiling a raisonne on an individual artist has to rely on the existing corpus of published information. When the artist is much written about this is now daunting indeed and it has become increasingly difficult for scholars to be thorough on great artists.

In many cases the real flaws in a raisonne are caused by the variability of information available to the compiler. A significant work in a great national gallery or prestigious private collection will accumulate a body of literature that is extensive. Works in less ‘accessible’ locations will have attracted much less attention, as fewer people will have seen them. This can be downright misleading where a picture in a remote provincial museum will have attracted a modicum of literary references written by people who have never seen the picture concerned. Like the other sections listed above the catalogue raisonne varies greatly in standards of accuracy.

Christopher Wright, September 2006, London.

Christopher Wright is an art historian who writes extensively on art and in particular on the Old Master painters. After graduating from the Courtauld Institute he was Deputy Librarian at the Witt Library before become an independent writer. He has published articles in most of the leading art journals and written over 30 books including numerous museum catalogues and catalogue raisonees on Vermeer, Rembrandt, Bonnington, Poussin and Georges de la Tour.

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