Today, we discover a new way of identifying paintings from Italian Renaissance.
Art History, as an academic subject, appears along the 19th century.
Historians of that period were very concerned about awarding paintings they newly discovered, but how could it be done properly if these paintings weren't signed ?
Giovanni Morelli was an historian who, during the 19th century, activily participated in the development of attributionism. He defended the idea that some signs could reveal the identity of an artist. Focusing on paintings from Italian Renaissance, the "Morellian" technique established a certain number of conventions that were specific to artists, especially : hands.
Here is an illustration of this technique. You can see some strong differences from a hand to another, and even if this process of awarding only focuses on the hands, it's still very useful before you decide to undertake a full study about the painting, said Morelli.
Now let's put our knowledge into practice. I'm showing you two hands, both from Italian Renaissance paintings.
According to Morelli's technique, can you guess which belongs to Bernandino de' Conti and Botticelli ?
Would you be able to award them correctly ?
Hand #1
Hand #2
I'll be waiting for your anwers !
Keep posted ;)