Expertise

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Expertise is a discipline that ranges over a number of fields of knowledge and competencies. Topics covered include: preparing a condition report on a work of art (knowledge of internal or external causes that change the appearance of a work of art), forgeries, the value of works of art, identification of stolen or looted works, the art market.

In Belgium, expertise is performed mainly by dealers in artworks. It is therefore important for art historians to acquire competence in giving an independent opinion based on defensible arguments. By the end of the course, students will be able to establish the state of conservation of an artwork (condition report). They will also be aware of the existence of forgeries in the art world and of the means used to identify them, and of the tools available for identification of stolen or looted works, as well as of the workings of the art market.

The contribution of this Teaching Unit to the development and command of the skills and learning outcomes of the programme(s) can be accessed at the end of this sheet, in the section entitled “Programmes/courses offering this Teaching Unit”.

Oral examination (/20)

Lectures, exercises in museums, lectures and contributions from external experts

- A practical approach to the condition reporting of a painting's state of conservation (condition report, internal and external causes of damage to a painting, ageing of the paint layers, methodology used in identification of changes made to the work).
- Forgeries and forgers (history, types of forgery, use of scientific methods in identification of forgeries).
- Value of works of art (valuation) and the information an expert must keep in view (catalogues of stolen or looted works).
- The art market (how it works, issues...)
 

A selective bibliography will be distributed

Support = note-taking in lectures