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The Names of Artists: Artist’s Signatures in Europe, from the Middle Ages to the 18th Century

A Research Project at the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin’s Gemäldegalerie and Bode-Museum

This research project sought to carry out an interdisciplinary and comparative investigation of artists’ signatures. The works chosen for study included artefacts from Berlin’s Gemäldegalerie and the Bode-Museum. Additionally, the research group looked at selected works from the Kunstgewerbemuseum, the Kupferstichkabinett and the Münzkabinett of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin.

This selection of works provided a representative cross-section of artistic production in Europe between the 9th and the 18th century. The signatures investigated were subjected to detailed technical, formal, and philological analyses. The goal was to gain a greater understanding of the meaning of the signature and the status and self-conception of artists across various epochs and cultural regions. Initial findings will be discussed in a broadly framed context at an international symposium and in book publications.

  • Karin Gludovatz, Alessandro de la Latta (ed.): “Signaturen: Auktoriale Präsenz zwischen Schrift und Bild. 1400 – 1700”, Berlin/Boston 2023.
  • “The Names of Artists: The Corso”, L.I.S.A. Wissenschaftsportal der Gerda Henkel Stiftung, episodes 1–6.

Objectives and outcomes: Investigating the signatures on works from the Gemäldegalerie and the Mode-Museum; international conference and academic publications
Project overseen by: Gerda Henkel Stiftung, Gemäldegalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Lead researcher: Dr Alessandro della Latta
Project team: Dr Ute Stehr (paintings convservator, Gemäldegalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin), Candida Dreier (research assistant for six months)
Project duration: 2015 to 2018