Museum labels look certain, but every date and every name on them is a conclusion from evidence. Art historians use four main kinds of evidence. Documents: contracts, payments, letters and inventories. The object itself: signatures, dates and inscriptions. Style: how the work compares with ones whose dates are known. Science: radiocarbon dating of charcoal or wood (for things up to about 50,000 years old), tree rings in wooden panels, X-rays and infrared images that show drawing under the paint, and tests of the pigments.
| On a label | What it means |
|---|---|
| 1434 | The year is known, usually from a dated signature or a document. |
| about 1503 (or c. 1503) | About; c. is short for Latin circa, "around." |
| 1495 to 1498 | Made over several years, or dated somewhere in that span. |
| attributed to … | Scholars think this artist made it, but it is not proven. |
| workshop of … | Made in the master's workshop, by assistants, perhaps with the master. |
| (?) in a title | A name or identity is a guess. |
Key idea
Why it works
Looking closely: A man in a red turban. A man of middle age looks out from a dark ground, his face lit from the left with every crease and stubble hair painted. The red cloth piled on his head is folded and twisted into a sculptural shape. The original frame is painted with words: "Jan van Eyck made me in the year 1433 on 21 October," and at the top his motto, "As I can." The date is certain. Whether the man is Van Eyck himself is not: many scholars think so, partly because of the motto and the direct gaze, so the title ends with a question mark.
Worked example: Read the label
- The painter: the museum gives it to Titian with no "attributed to," so it is accepted as his.
- The sitter: the question mark means the name Gerolamo Barbarigo is a guess.
- In fact, the man was once called the poet Ariosto, and some think it is Titian himself.
Answer: Titian is accepted as the painter; who the sitter was is uncertain.
Common mistake