The specifics of attribution of paintings: the Morelli method

Sheremeteva Natalya Vladimirovna Senior Lecturer, Department of Civil Law Disciplines, Vladivostok State University; Master's student, School of Arts and Humanities, Far Eastern Federal University; assistant judge, Arbitration Court of Primorsky Krai. 690105, Russia, Primorsky Krai, Vladivostok, Russian str., 57zh, sq. 274 nata-sheremet@mail.ru Other publications by this author

The aesthetic theory of art is studied logically and consistently. Art is defined as a problem area of artistic culture, one of the cognitive forms of the world, a realistic model of an artistic image. The artistic image is considered as a general artistic phenomenon and artistic thinking, a specific form of artistic cognition, a special means of reflecting thoughts and feelings about the surrounding world, its internal structure: universal, special and individual, objective and subjective, perceptual unity. with reason; ambiguous, metaphorical.

Already in the 18th century, the issue of attribution became particularly relevant due to the increase in the number of undated and unsigned monuments and works of art being studied. The art of determining a picture by the way it is painted is the most dubious of the arts after medicine.

One of the problems of the so-called stylistic criticism of works of art is to separate the original elements of the artist's approach and technique from the secondary and accidental ones. This is what distinguishes the original from the reproduction, the author's repetition and forgery in the hand of a less talented master, how the artist matures and how early and atypical his work is, the work of the master and the work of his students and imitators, primary state and later edits, additions and corrections, editing of masters in student works.

Another question is the peculiarities of personal style and author's technique, their evolution in the creative path of the artist. The works of early artists often differ greatly from the works of the middle and late period.

As for old paintings, there is a so-called "problem of old paints". Paintings painted with oil paints are covered with a colorless varnish for better preservation of color and brightness. This is usually done by the artist himself before presenting the work to clients or the public. On the eve of the opening of the exhibition, the artists directly varnished the paintings in the exhibition hall in the presence of specially selected guests.

Research methodology. The methodology is based on a systematic analysis of a wide range of historical and cultural material (primarily paintings). The main condition and feature of such an analysis was the attention to the general cultural side of a phenomenon and, as a result, the explanation of the phenomena of art as part of culture. At the same time, works of art are considered in accordance with their specifics, their formal and stylistic qualities, iconographic features, and sometimes symbolic meaning are revealed.

The state of study of the issue. The identified problems were touched upon in one way or another by the majority of researchers who turned to art and culture. A great contribution to their study on the material of literature was made by F.I. Buslaev, A.S. Arkhangelsky, A.I. Sobolevsky, D.S. Likhachev, A.N. Robinson, N.S. Demkova, A.S. Demin, O.A. Belobrova, E.K. Romodanovskaya, N.I. Prokofiev, L.I. Sazonova, A.M. Currently, I.A. Bondarenko, V.V. Sedov, S.S. Popadyuk, Yu.V. Tarabarina and others are working in this field. Iconography, painting and graphics have become the subject of research by A.I. Uspensky, I.E. Grabar, V.N. Nechaev, B.V. Mikhailovsky and B.I. Purishev, N.E. Mneva, S.I. Maslenitsyn, I.P. Bolottseva, V.G. Bryusova, E.S. Ovchinnikova, A.A. Pavlenko, T.E. Kazakevich, L.N. Savina, N.I. Komashko, T.L. Nikitina, V.P. Golikova, A.A. Sidorova, O.R. Khromova, A.G. Sakovich, A.V. Gamlitsky and a number of other scientists. Carving, sculpture and applied art are reflected in the works of N.N. Sobolev, N.N. Pomerantsev, N.V. Maltsev, I.M. Sokolova, V.I. Troitsky, M.M. Postnikova-Loseva, N.A. Mayasova, A.V. Silkin, M.N. Levinson-Nechaeva, I.N. Ukhanova, M.V. Martynova, I.A. Bobrovnitskaya, I.A. Selezneva, V.V. Igosheva, S.V. Gnutova. A.V. Preobrazhensky, N. Findeisen, V.M. Brazhnikov, V.N. Peretz, V.N. Vsevolodsky-Gerngross, O.A. Derzhavina, L.A. Sofronova were engaged in music and theater.

There are few works on the general problems of attribution of culture and art. As fundamental, it is necessary to highlight the works of B.A. Uspensky, A.M. Panchenko and M.B. Plyukhanova, where various aspects of the topic are covered, including the topic of specificity and the problems of attribution studied in this article.

Objects of ancient art are a storehouse of secrets and riddles. While studying collections, researchers are faced with the need to solve various problems related to the exhibits. This concerns establishing the date of their creation, clarifying the plot, the identity of the person depicted or determining the place shown in the landscape, and, finally, authorship ^{[5, 112]}. Sometimes it can be done immediately and without much effort. Sometimes the solution of such problems stretches for years. The proposed options, according to the researcher, are close to the truth, can then be revised by the author of the idea himself or his opponents. This is always associated with the emergence of new data, including those obtained using the latest scientific methods. Ultraviolet and infrared radiation help to analyze the surface of canvases; X-ray reveals the inner structure of painting; chemical analysis of pigments allows you to specify the time of performance of a work of art. Knowledge also retains its significance - the quality of the researcher, which gives him the opportunity to draw conclusions based on his experience. Nevertheless, these conclusions should be reasoned by comparisons and references to well-known precedents.

Such work in art history is called attribution. This term originated on the basis of the Latin word attribuere, meaning "to attribute". It should also be noted that the Latin concept attributum, rooted at first in the field of philosophy with the meaning of "essential property" or "attribute", influenced the definition of the priorities of the new discipline ^{[4, p. 18]}.

The problems of attribution of painting are widely known and not new. As one of the ways to overcome this problem, we will consider the well-known Mrelli method.

In the scientific passport, which each exhibit should have, there is even a special section – attribution. Of course, not every exhibit passes the re-attribution test. Many modern works of art are accompanied by complete information about them.

Attribution of works of art is one of the main tasks of scientific activity in the field of art, without the solution of which it is impossible to create expositions, organize exhibitions, and ultimately, to reconstruct the historical situation or biography of a particular creative personality. 

Today, new archival documents are being introduced into scientific circulation, allowing to change the seemingly established point of view on a particular picture; new electronic resources appear at the services of researchers, the real geographical boundaries of the search for analogies and information disappear, new methods of technical and technological analysis are proposed. At the same time, even in the modern world of high-tech expertise, a specialist's view, his intuition and experience often remain decisive.

Attribution capabilities have expanded significantly these days, which allows us to take a fresh look at this issue. 

Formed on the wave of knowledge, initially selectively related to the object of study ("masterpiece studies"), the science of art has always raised doubts about the adequacy of methods and the reliability of results ^{[6, p. 9]}. Already in the twentieth century, attempts to reduce research practice to concentrated work with a specific work, to reliance on a philosophical and theoretical basis, to scrupulous identification of the narrative foundations of visual language or to the analysis of pure form detached from the context formed a very contradictory in its mosaic methodology of art studies. Neither the structuralist scheme of oppositions, nor the interdisciplinary approach, nor the liberation from the conventions of scientific language and the transition to an essayistic style of presentation have solved the problem of forming a scientific research base: history and art criticism, source specificity and dynamic individualism of the author's interpretation collide, forming a complex set of methodological problems of studying art.

Modern art criticism inherits the traditions of the past, including issues of the formation of a corpus of scientific approaches to the monument, doubts about the adequacy of certain methodological guidelines, memories of the selectivity of preferences and the "amateur nature" of the original concept of reasoning about art. The scientific status of research installations comes into conflict both with the subject of study and with the established tradition of verbal embodiment of visual experience, the primary nature of which generates a kind of ambivalence of reception. The duality of perception and the emphasis on visual impression, which gave rise to the "visual turn" of modern humanitarian knowledge, forms a new body of methodological guidelines and rules when working with a work of art ^{[6, p. 215]}.

The study of the means of artistic expression of the epoch becomes a scientific problem somewhat later, although the question of the characteristic features of the style appears in the reflections of scientists. The formation and development of the methodology for the study of decorative and applied art is primarily due to the principles of formal stylistic analysis and the study of everyday culture, the classification can be based on chronology, technical characteristics, types of objects, etc. ^{[7, p. 105]}

Attribution of art initially assumed an integrated approach, logically connected with an appeal to the art history, historical-archaeological, cultural-anthropological principles of material analysis. Since the appearance of reference publications and analytical scientific publications, it has been the artistic design of household items and the environment that has contributed to the formation of interdisciplinary methods of study ^{[6, p. 219]}.

The problematic field of research is the issues of chronology and style. Researchers use the principle of periodization based on the sequence of historical events, determine the epochs by the ruling dynasties. Attribution requires the definition of the region of creation, school, workshop, perhaps a group of masters or a specific artist, the author's problem has become one of the key ones in modern research that refutes the concept of "nameless art". On the basis of identifying stylistic analogies, fixing the distinctive features of the workshop (brand), determining the ways of movement of the artel, the concept of medieval art is formed, characterized by an individual creative manner. The problem of exhibiting medieval monuments in the museum space - the formation of permanent expositions and exhibition projects - is solved through the scientific reconstruction of the principles of the existence of the object in the architectural and artistic environment.

Determining the significance of the works of Giovanni Morelli and his expert art criticism practice for improving the methods and means of forensic research is important both for the purposes of identification or attribution of works of fine art, and for solving forensic problems that require the analysis of human skills and habits. The name of Morelli and his works are not well known to domestic criminologists and forensic experts, although his works, which provide data on the skills of artists to depict human ears, hands, nails, as well as elements of the landscape and the environment captured in paintings, are of undoubted interest. Some of his observations can also be used to improve the methods of identification research of terrain areas and certain categories of objects based on their images.

In 1870, at the request of the Minister of Education, he went to Naples to formulate new legislative norms for the creation of galleries, the reform of fine art education and the rules for the restoration and conservation of works. According to the results of the trip, a report was submitted in which Morelli described about 760 paintings, some of which, in his opinion, were attributed incorrectly. In 1874, having settled in Milan, Morelli spent two years publishing articles on the attribution of paintings from the Italian Renaissance in the Viennese fine Arts magazine (Zeitschrift fur bildende Kunst).

The Morelli method

The method ^{[10, p. 37]} is based on a long-term study of the works of Italian Renaissance artists. The main discovery to which Morelli first drew the attention of art historians is the repeatability and individuality of the features of the artists' performance of "secondary" elements of images, mainly peripheral, details of the appearance of people in portraits and in paintings with images of groups of people, clothing, the environment (landscapes, architecture, interior, drapery). Convincing attributions of Giovanni Morelli, which proved the validity of his approach, made it possible to talk about the "Morelli method", and more often – the "Morellian" method ^{[10, p. 40]}.

The method is based on the use of "hints" – the features of the image of minor details, rather than the general features of the composition and the subject or other broad interpretations that are often used by art historians, copyists and imitators ^{[2, p. 39]}. Morelli believed that the artist's individuality is expressed most reliably in the details that the audience is least interested in. The discovery of this pattern was largely facilitated by Morelli's medical education and deep knowledge in the field of anatomy ^{[10, pp. 51-52]}.

Giovanni Morelli attributed the "Donna Velata" by Raffaello Santi, paintings by Lorenzo Lotto, Palma il Vecchio, Antonio da Correggio; established the authorship of the famous "Sleeping Venus" from the Dresden Art Gallery, belonging to the brush of the outstanding Venetian painter Giorgione. Previously, the painting was considered a copy of the work of Titian (Tiziano) that has not been preserved ^{[8, p. 204]}.

Morelli was called an amateur and tried to prove that his method was possible only in theory. But he had a strong following. For example, the Italian attribution master Federico Zeri (1921-1998) believed that the one with the most photos wins. An expert should have erudition and "seen enough material", therefore, have an archive and a file of sketches and photographs at hand ^{[1, p. 179]}.

Morelli denied that his method could be reduced to a mechanical process in which attribution is carried out using just a small detail. He came to his conclusions about the authorship of paintings not only by the shape of hands, nails, ears or toes. He claimed that his observations are just one of many tools that help in the practice of attribution of paintings ^{[3, p. 31]}. Analyzing Morelli's works on attribution of paintings by Italian artists from a forensic and forensic point of view, it should be noted that his methods are extremely important not only for the purposes of identifying a particular author, but also for the purposes of developing and using diagnostic and classification studies of works of fine art, in particular, for attributing a particular work to a certain circle artists or painting school, assessment of the quality of restoration of paintings, etc. ^{[9, p. 12]}

Morelli's name and his method are mentioned in many scientific works devoted to the history of art criticism, attribution of paintings and graphics, fine art of the Italian Renaissance, as well as collecting. It should take its deserved place in the history of criminology and forensic examination.

Giovanni Morelli made a great contribution to the theory and practice of scientific attribution of works of fine art. He can be considered the founder of the method of identifying the author of the product by professional skills reflected in the created objects. He also characterized such properties of professional artistic skills as stability and individuality ^{[8, p. 133]}.

The artist's abilities and habits, according to his opinion, manifest themselves mainly in the depiction of minor details – hands, fingers, nails, ears, halos, furnishings, elements of the background landscape. In the future, this served as an impetus for the development by criminologists of methods for identifying a person by the structure of the auricle, which is displayed both in paintings and photographic portraits, and in traces-displays on the surface of some elements of the scene of the incident (windows, doors, etc.).

The use of the Morelli method and the possibility of a comprehensive forensic examination of the cultural value of works of art, together with an appropriate arsenal of tools and special knowledge in the field of art history, criminology and materials science, as well as the involvement of digital technologies, can significantly improve museums, art historians and the reliability of the results of attribution activities for world experts, auction houses and amateur collectors.

Conclusions:When it comes to knowledge in the field of art, the discussion often boils down to a very simple, but very ambiguous question of attribution, that is, establishing the authorship of a work.

This seemingly simple question often causes controversy — partly because large sums of money can be at stake: if a work of art is created by a famous master, it is expensive, and if it is created by someone not very important or if it is a fake, then it is worth nothing. Because of this, if people get the wrong answer to the question about the authorship of the picture that they would like to hear, it can make them very angry. So we should focus our attention on how exactly we form knowledge in the field of art.

It is necessary to recall an extremely important figure in the field of art — the konosiere. This word comes from the French connoisseur ("the one who knows"). In the art world, this word has a very specific meaning: a conosier is an expert, an expert on a certain era or author who can establish authorship, that is, if you show him some work of art and ask who created it, they will be able to answer this question. 

This field of activity was founded by the Italian Giovanni Morelli, who tried to apply scientific methods to the definition of authorship in painting. He specialized in the Italian Renaissance, an era that is still considered the most important, valuable and expensive. Thus, Morelli researched the works of those artists who worked in Italy between 1400 and 1600, including Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Tintoretto, Titian, Bellini, Mantegna, Giorgione and many, many other artists. At that time, the authors usually did not sign their works, and often the artist's followers made copies of his paintings — for example, so that the owner of the painting could hang the original in his city palazzo, and a copy in the country, and no one saw anything wrong with making a copy. However, over time, the owners (and the owner could also be a temple or monastery) could forget where the original is and where the copy is, and in many cases we simply do not know who the author is. Sometimes, over time, the owners of the painting formed a somewhat optimistic idea that it was created by one of the famous artists, for example, Botticelli or Raphael, although in fact this is not the case. 

Morelli decided to try to streamline the whole system and establish who created these works — both in Italy and in museums in other European countries — and published a number of works in which he re-attributed many paintings. He regarded his method as a scientific technique that differed from the approach of other art historians of that time. He said: you should not get hung up on the catchy details of the picture. So, if you are examining the image of the Virgin Mary, you should not look at her eyes and lips, because if it is a copy, the author probably made every effort to make them look exactly the same as in the original, but the author of the copy could neglect less important details. 

In particular, Morelli believed that artists develop their own ways of depicting, for example, ears and hands, and in these details, one might say, they give themselves away. Morelli described how different artists — for example, Botticelli, Mantegna and Giovanni Bellini — depict ears and hands. He used this technique because he believed that it was in these parts of the body that the author resorts to individual artistic solutions and this will give him away, especially if we are talking about a copy. This is how the concept of a bill of lading arose. 

The idea of considering less significant, less obvious details has greatly influenced other scientists. So, Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis, got acquainted with the works of Morelli and came to the conclusion that his ideas are very similar to the methodology, which, in his opinion, should be successful in psychoanalysis, in particular in the interpretation of dreams. When patients described their dreams to him, he paid special attention to the little things: in his opinion, in this way he was approaching a true understanding of the psychological state of the patient. So Freud believed that Morelli's technique— attention to minor details that are usually ignored — is similar to the methodology of psychoanalysis. In particular, dream analysis and minor details that patients mention when describing their dreams can become "clues" to understanding their psychology. 

And this is another idea that originated from Morelli's work — the concept of evidence. The word "evidence" is often found in detective novels, but then it was a new intellectual concept — to take a small fact and draw extensive conclusions from it. So, Morelli's work greatly influenced another physician — Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the author of the stories about detective Sherlock Holmes, who solved riddles with the help of evidence, getting a huge amount of information from them. In particular, in one of the stories, Sherlock Holmes solves the riddle by drawing attention to the unique features of the shape of the human ear.