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Art History: Catalogue Raisonné

Last Updated: Jul 9, 2024 3:55 PM

What is in a catalogue raisonné?

In addition to a complete list of the artist's works, the catalog may include the following information about the works listed:

  • Title and title variations
  • Dimension/Size
  • Date of the work
  • Medium
  • Current location/owner at time of publication
  • Provenance (history of ownership)
  • Exhibition history
  • Condition of the work
  • Bibliography/Literature that discusses the work Essay(s) on the artist
  • Critical assessments and remarks
  • Full description of the work
  • Signatures, Inscriptions and Monograms of the artist
  • Reproduction of each work
  • List of works attributed, lost, destroyed and fakes
  • Catalog number

- from The New York Public Library

Finding Catalogues Raisonnés

Start by:

Search the artist's name  AND catalogue raisonné as a subject in the UB library catalog

 

Online:

Catalogue Raisonné Database: Catalogues raisonnés — scholarly compilations of an artist's body of work — are critical tools for researching the provenance and attribution of artwork. Below are two new electronic resources — a database of published catalogues raisonnés and one of catalogues in preparation. They can be searched separately or together and will be updated regularly. 

Associate Librarian for the Humanities

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Michael Kicey
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424 Lockwood
716-645-7744