From Taste to Authenticity: Observations on the Role of the Connoisseur in Western Art History
吳介祥
Wu Chieh-hsiang
國立彰化師範大學美術學系助理教授
Assistant Professor, Department of Fine Arts, National Changhua University of Education
華鐸(Jean-Antoine Watteau),〈航向賽西拉島〉(The Embarkation for Cythera),1717,羅浮宮(Musée du Louvre),資料來源:http://www.paintingall.com/images/P/Jean-Antoine-Watteau-The-Embarkation-for-Cythera-Oil-Painting.jpg
Disputes over authorship and authenticity have a history as long as that of art museums themselves. Which professionals and what kind of professional training offer the authority to settle such disputes? Are art historians, art connoisseurs, art appraisers or art restorers qualified? There are mountains of research on individual art connoisseurs in the West; however, few studies have integrated these findings. This study aims to find out: What is the role of art connoisseurs today? Is art connoisseurship a prerequisite for art criticism? Why hasn't art history replaced art connoisseurship? Have technologies of value appraisal replaced art connoisseurship? Through case studies and reviews of existing literature, this study attempts to clear up the role, capacity and nature of art connoisseurs and their importance for determining authenticity in today's art world.
Keywords
connoisseur, authenticity of art, art appraisal, art forgery, art criticism