Catalogue raisonné

A catalogue raisonné (or critical catalogue) is an annotated listing of the works of an artist or group of artists and can contain all works or a selection of works categorised by different parameters such as medium or period.^[2]

A catalogue raisonné is normally produced by an artists themselves or by a committee of family members, experts or academics, collectively known as "producers". A catalogue ordinarily contains a list of characteristic of an artwork such as the title, year of production, dimensions, medium and a description of the work usually, alongside an image of the work. Some catalogues also include scholarly commentary about each work or, in some cases, commentary about a piece from the author themselves.^[2][3] This information is relied upon by other to identify works and plays an important role in authentication.^[4]

While historically catalogues have been produced as physical books, there is a shift towards catalogues existing as digital only like that of the artist Isamu Noguchi and Roy Lichtenstein.^[5]

Depending on the nationality of the artist or the country in which the catalogue's producers are based other terms maybe used which include; oeuvre, catalogo razonado, catalogo ragionato, catalogo generale, opera completa, werkverzeichnis, complete works or critical catalogue.^[6]

The term catalogue raisonné is French, meaning "reasoned catalogue"^[7] (i.e. containing arguments for the information given, such as attributions), but is part of the technical terminology of the English-speaking art world. The spelling is never Americanized to "catalog", even in the United States.^[8][9] The French pluralization catalogues raisonnés is used.^[7][a]

The process by which the catalogue raisonné is produced by the artist or an appointed committee of experts known as the catalogue's "producers". The process of creating and updating the catalogue is normally based on the research and investigation of art historians and experts and can take many years to complete.^[10] A team of 25 professionals created the three-volume catalogue raisonné of American painter Robert Motherwell over the course of 11 years led by the Dedalus Foundation and published by Yale University Press in 2012.^[11][12]

Once a catalogue raisonné has been created, the producers continues to meet periodically as new works are discovered or submitted to them for their consideration. Members of the public, museums and galleries can all propose work for the consideration of the producers.^[4]

For most submissions, the works are ordinarily submitted to the producers alongside historic photographs, exhibition catalogues, dealer’s records, and other archival documentation to evidence the prominence of an artwork. When such documentation doesn't exist, works can be considered using scientific evidence and forensic techniques. Producers are free to define their policies for inclusion and may include works in the catalogue raisonné based on their own educated opinions and professional experience.^[2][5]

The College Art Association and the Catalogue Raisonné Scholars Association have both created protocols and best practice for the creation of Catalogues Raisonnés.^[13][14] However, there is no collective body to decide on the authority of a given catalogue raisonné publisher which can sometime result in more than one catalogue being produced for the same body of work. The work of the artist Amedeo Modigliani is the subject of at least five catalogues raisonnés.^[15]

The catalogue raisonné is often described as the "definitive" catalogue of an artists work.^[16] However, some producers choose to only certain works in their catalogues. Some producers will not consider juvenile works of an artist or ephemera for inclusion in the catalogue raisonné. Some artists, such as Roy Lichtenstein have some works recognised by their catalogue producers as potentially genuine but are not included in their respective official catalogues due to being unfinished, abandoned or destroyed.^[17]

The New York Times has described catalogues raisonnés as the "supreme arbiter of the genuine and fake".^[16] In the case of deceased artists, the producer of a catalogue raisonné may have considerable power to determine whether a particular work is regarded as authentic or not.^[b]

The inclusion of an artwork in the catalogue raisonné can be considered as a mark of authenticity and the inclusion in or exclusion from a respected catalogue can have a considerable effect on the market price of a work, amounting in some cases to large sums of money. Inclusion has been called the difference between "great wealth and the gutter",^[16] and auction houses sometimes refuse to handle unlisted works.^[18] This has led to some catalogue raisonné producers being the targets of lawsuits, bribes and death threats^[18]. For this reason, some catalogues raisonnés producers have decided to not update their catalogues, irrespective of new discoveries, for fear of legal action from sellers and buyers unhappy with a particular decision.^[18] In 2012, the Andy Warhol Art Authentication Board was dissolved, citing as the primary reason the substantial legal fees incurred in defense of its authentication activities.^[5]

To distance themselves from liability, some institutions like the Wildenstein Institute, who were once responsible for the catalogues raisonnés of impressionists such as Monet, had a stated policy for considering works which was: 'After examination, and based on the opinion of the members of the committee, a recommendation is made in the form of the intention to include or not to include the work under study; a third possibility also exists, that of continuing the examination of the work. Under no circumstance is a recommendation to be considered as a certificate of authenticity or appraisal, and no justification will be provided for said recommendation.'^[3]

Some bodies of work have no published catalogue raisonné but organisations exist who are regarded as having the same authority for authentication as the producers of catalogue raisonné. These organisations are usually made up of the descendants of the artist, members of an artists foundation, or other academic bodies.

When works are submitted for consideration to the producers of an artist's catalogue raisonné the works are normally returned to the owner once the process has concluded. The Wildenstein Institute, for example, had a policy stating "Whatever the committee's recommendation, the work will be returned upon presentation of the consignment receipt".^[3]

However, there has been evidence of some producers of catalogue raisonné refusing to return works or having them destroyed. In 2014, the Chagall Committee deemed a work that was submitted to be a forgery and informed the owner that they intend to destroy the artwork either with the agreement of the owner or through the courts under the legal president of droit moral.^[19] The art historian Dr Bendor Grosvenor criticised the decision to destroy the painting. Art dealer and TV Presenter Philip Mould said of the decision "I would now [think] three times or more before sending [works] to Paris. Ugly acts like the one proposed by the Committee can have the effect of damaging the progress of art history."^[20][21]

The reality of more than one body creating competing catalogue raisonné can sometimes lead to rivalries that can led to anomalous listings. During the process of authenticating a waterscape by Pierre-Auguste Renoir currently on display at Picton Castle, two of the artist's competing catalogue producers, the Wildenstein Institute and Bernheim-Jeune, reached different conclusions about the painting's authenticity. It is reported that Guy-Patrice Dauberville of Bernheim-Jeune said of the matter "[The Wildenstein institute] would be thrilled to turn [the Renoir] down." A journalist at the time said the rivalry between the two is "now out in the open" and described it as "ugly".^[22]

In 2013 Christian Parisot, the president of the Modigliani Institute, responsible for the Catalogue of Italian painter Amedeo Modigliani, was arrested for knowingly issuing certificates of authenticity to forged artworks.^[23]

• Art Books: A Basic Bibliography of Monographs on Artists (Garland Reference Library of the Humanities) by W. Freitag; Publisher: Routledge; Second Edition (April 1, 1997)
• Judging the Authenticity of Prints by The Masters: A Primer for Collectors by David Rudd Cycleback

• The Catalogue Raisonné Scholars Association
• The International Foundation for Art Research's database of catalogues raisonnés
• Authentication in Art 2014 Guidelines on Catalogues Raisonnés