Historic libraries offer underutilized resources for understanding art history. This session explores the potential of such collections – whether intended explicitly for the study of art or not – to deepen and broaden our interpretation of art historiography and its relationship to social, intellectual and geopolitical currents.

In 1821 Leopoldo Cicognara published a bibliography that still stands as a milestone in the history of art librarianship: it records a key collection assembled shortly before the establishment of art history as an academic discipline. Conceptualized as a database, his Catalago ragionato provides a basis for digital visualizations that offer fresh insights, because they…

In 1821 Leopoldo Cicognara published a bibliography that still stands as a milestone in the history of art librarianship: it records a key collection assembled shortly before the establishment of art history as an academic discipline. Conceptualized as a database, his Catalago ragionato provides a basis for digital visualizations that offer fresh insights, because they…