29. Critical fortunes of the catalogue raisonné

Catalogues raisonnés are among the most authoritative yet least critically examined tools in art history. Shaping attribution, authentication, and market value, they play a central role in constructing artistic legacies, with consequence for posthumous reputations. Despite this, they have rarely become objects of scholarly inquiry. Attention has focused on the artists they document rather than the intellectual, institutional, and methodological frameworks underpinning their production.

No single model exists for preparing a catalogue raisonné. Since the eighteenth century, diverse approaches have emerged, reflecting shifting understandings of expertise, authorship, artistic value, and the legal frameworks surrounding art. Yet the principles guiding individual publications are rarely examined collectively, leaving the genre characterised by what Antoinette Friedenthal identifies as a perceived “lack of theory”. Concerns also persist about authority, exclusion, and gatekeeping, captured in François Duret Robert’s critique of the growing “dictatorship of cataloguers”. These have gained new urgency in art law, where questions of liability, authentication disputes, and expert responsibility have drawn attention to the risks of catalogue raisonné production.

This session invites papers that critically examine and theorise the catalogue raisonné beyond its function as an inventory. How do catalogues raisonnés construct authority, define bodies of work, and shape cultural memory? What forms of expertise, labour, and institutional power determine whose knowledge dictates their production? How have digital technologies, artist estates, and legal frameworks transformed their reach? Case studies across all periods and geographies are particularly welcome, as are contributions that help identify future directions for catalogues raisonnés.

Themes: Catalogues raisonnes, authorship, reception

Lead Convenor: Danielle Smith, University of Glasgow, United Kingdom

Co-convenors: Samet Mor, University of Cambridge & Henry Moore Foundation, United Kingdom

To submit a Paper to this Session, please follow the guidance on our website and complete the AAH 2027 Call for Papers Proposal Submission Form.