Week 2 Seminar: Verbal versus visual

Arguing the same disputed painting twice --- once from documents alone, once from the image alone --- and comparing verdicts.

1 March 2027

Before the seminar#

Read the short packet of translated colophons and catalogue entries for your assigned painting, provided on the course drive. Don’t look at a reproduction of the painting itself yet.

In the seminar#

Split into two groups. Group one argues attribution from the documentary packet alone — colophons, seals recorded in catalogues, provenance — with no image. Group two sees the reproduction and argues from visual style alone, with no documentary packet. Compare verdicts at the end: where they agree is unremarkable; where they don’t is this week’s actual content.

Afterwards#

Write two sentences, no more: your verbal-method verdict, and your visual-method verdict, for your own painting. You’ll want both on hand for the attribution note in week 5.