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The use of digital museum objects has become an essential part of museums' communication and marketing strategies, research and teaching, and curatorial practices. This new visibility, amplified by the COVID‐19 crisis, has not only revealed the possibilities of digital museum objects but has also underscored significant challenges, including the intricate relationship between digital museum objects and physical objects, the impact of digital museum objects on knowledge creation, and the online interaction with art and cultural heritage. Furthermore, it has drawn attention to the digital platforms that host digital museum objects, ranging from museum collection databases to online encyclopedias, cultural heritage platforms, and social media. The present paper explores these issues by examining how digital platforms are changing the way digital reproductions of artworks are used and reimagined, both inside and outside the institutions that house the artworks. To illuminate these dynamics, it looks at specific case studies, including the Getty Challenge, the online circulation of Delacroix's La liberté guidant le peuple, and the collection databases of Belgian museums and of the Mauritshuis. Theoretically, it combines the art historical concept of circulation with the notion of gray and colored memory drawn from digital memory studies. In doing so, it conceives of museum databases and cultural heritage platforms, as spaces of participation and neglect, of memory and oblivion, with a vast potential for producing new perspectives on art and cultural heritage and telling new (art) histories. In conclusion, the paper advocates for "circulation" as a key concept for revitalizing online collections of digital reproductions of artworks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents the current stage of an ongoing project at the Fondazione Federico Zeri, aimed at the modelling of the art market starting from the recognition of the peculiarities of this sector and relying on the data collected by this institute during its research activities on its documentary collection. Specifically, this essay provides a preliminary analysis of the domain, aimed at guiding in the development of an ontology able to describe agents, events and sources which define the art market and enable its investigation. The recognition of existing conceptual models is hence followed by a reconstruction of the studied domain thanks to motivating scenario, examples and competency questions collected during the first iteration of the SAMOD methodology. For each scenario, the paper will provide the most relevant entities and will draft an alignment with existing ontologies, as well as propose necessary integrations.

Quantitative measurements of similarity can help researchers understand the increasing amount of manuscript metadata or digital images now available for study. Researchers in archaeology, ecology, and information retrieval have developed diverse methods for quantifying the similarity of categorical, numerical, and presence/absence data. The variety of methods in use reflects the complex associations of the term "similarity" and suggests that quantitative approaches can preserve some of the nuance associated with traditional humanistic approaches. We argue that similarity metrics, contextualized against random simulations, provide flexible tools for identifying and analyzing trends in large sets of multifaceted historical data and can be applied to many kinds of manuscript research projects. Simulations (permutation tests) that highlight how observed patterns diverge from random or theoretical scenarios have allowed us to interpret similarity measurements against a baseline that is analogous to researchers' intuitions born of experience. In this paper, we model using similarity metrics to conduct multifaceted analyses of an iconographic dataset derived from Lilian M. C. Randall's Images in the Margins of Gothic Manuscripts (1966), indexing images in French, English, and Flemish manuscripts produced between about 1250 and 1350. We share examples of approaches such as statistical analysis, Analysis of Similarity, and clustering to model the type of quantitative approaches we believe will become increasingly important for the analysis of digital manuscript data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Keywords: Computer Vision; Distant Viewing; Distant Reading; Digital Art History EN Computer Vision Distant Viewing Distant Reading Digital Art History 1 5 5 11/02/23 20230701 NES 230701 Introduction While digital literary studies are well established, digital art history is only taking its first baby steps. We review the literature to identify similarities in goals and challenges in digital art history and digital literary studies and how the experience of the latter can help to define research questions most suitable for using machine-aided vision in art history. This essay primarily relies on the articles on digital art history ([26], [12][5]), critique of the quantitative approach in art history ([25]), and theoretical and methodological inquiries on digital literary studies ([32][23][8]). Digital Art History and Digital Literary studies Digital art history and digital literary studies are the disciplines under the umbrella term of digital humanities - an area broadly described as an intersection of humanities disciplines and computing or digital technologies [10][7]. [Extracted from the article]

Hands represent an important aspect of pictorial narration but have rarely been addressed as an object of study in art history and digital humanities. Although hand gestures play a significant role in conveying emotions, narratives, and cultural symbolism in the context of visual art, a comprehensive terminology for the classification of depicted hand poses is still lacking. In this article, we present the process of creating a new annotated dataset of pictorial hand poses. The dataset is based on a collection of European early modern paintings, from which hands are extracted using human pose estimation (HPE) methods. The hand images are then manually annotated based on art historical categorization schemes. From this categorization, we introduce a new classification task and perform a series of experiments using different types of features, including our newly introduced 2D hand keypoint features, as well as existing neural network-based features. This classification task represents a new and complex challenge due to the subtle and contextually dependent differences between depicted hands. The presented computational approach to hand pose recognition in paintings represents an initial attempt to tackle this challenge, which could potentially advance the use of HPE methods on paintings, as well as foster new research on the understanding of hand gestures in art. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper advocates an epistemological turn in the field of digital art history and cultural heritage studies. This epistemological turn is understood as the elaboration of a new (or renewed) epistemic apparatus that allows us to understand and interpret cultural phenomena from the perspective of a different order of thought. This epistemological labor is conceived of as an «epistemological technical practice», which means integrating epistemological reflection and production into technical making and design. Within this framework of discussion, this paper introduces the idea of a techno-concept, which is defined as a co-production between the machine rationale and the human thought/imagination. As particular cases, this paper argues that the mathematical concepts of n-dimensional, vector and latent spaces constitute examples of techno-concepts that can be reappropriated and reworked for cultural analysis and interpretation. This paper offers a preliminary inquiry, in which certain epistemological propositions are exposed as open gates for further discussions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hands represent an important aspect of pictorial narration but have rarely been addressed as an object of study in art history and digital humanities. Although hand gestures play a significant role in conveying emotions, narratives, and cultural symbolism in the context of visual art, a comprehensive terminology for the classification of depicted hand poses is still lacking. In this article, we present the process of creating a new annotated dataset of pictorial hand poses. The dataset is based on a collection of European early modern paintings, from which hands are extracted using human pose estimation (HPE) methods. The hand images are then manually annotated based on art historical categorization schemes. From this categorization, we introduce a new classification task and perform a series of experiments using different types of features, including our newly introduced 2D hand keypoint features, as well as existing neural network-based features. This classification task represents a new and complex challenge due to the subtle and contextually dependent differences between depicted hands. The presented computational approach to hand pose recognition in paintings represents an initial attempt to tackle this challenge, which could potentially advance the use of HPE methods on paintings, as well as foster new research on the understanding of hand gestures in art.

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The use of regression modelling to understand how characteristics of artworks, of artists, and of the circumstances of sale affect the price paid at auction is well-established among cultural economists. Drawing on auction sales data provided by Artprice (accessed on 20 March 2022) I use regression modelling to investigate the determinants of the price paid for artworks by twelve artists at auctions of contemporary art over the period from 1984 to 2019. Each of the artists is modelled separately. For nine of the twelve artists, there was a clear preference among collectors for paintings with specific titles rather than untitled paintings or paintings with generic titles such as 'abstract' or 'composition'. For the other explanatory factors included in the models, my analysis complements and re-contextualizes previous scholarship, showing how collectors' preferences differed between the contexts examined. Size was a stronger driver of the price paid than in the contexts examined in other studies, and for most artists, collectors were not deterred by the largest artworks. Paintings in oil have continued to appeal to some collectors. Although the number of artists looked at is small, there are some suggestive patterns in how the age of the artist at execution affected the auction price, which might merit further investigation. My models also give some insights into change within the auction market for contemporary art. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article proposes a three-tier model for the analysis of cultural dynamics of the visual arts field, based on data extracted from cultural periodicals and art criticism. Originally developed on the case study of the visual arts scene in Croatia at the turn of the millennium, the model is flexible and can be applied to analyse the complexity of the art field in different (trans)national spaces and time periods. The article outlines the theoretical foundations of the model, developed at the intersection of (digital) art history, sociology of art, social network analysis and relational sociology, and gives a detailed description of the criteria that were used to define the network boundaries in the original research. The three-tier model foregrounds some of the central actors of the art field, such as cultural periodicals, art critics, artists and cultural institutions, who are approached using both quantitative and qualitative methods. It conceptualizes cultural periodicals and art critics that form part of their networks as sharing aesthetic and ideological values, and as producing specific cultural narratives within the structure of the scene. The analytic potential of the model is focused on determining the cohesiveness of different social circles present in an art scene, on identifying the changing cultural trends and narratives that permeate the field, and on revealing the contribution of different social circles to these network and cultural structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We are fortunate to live in a time of extraordinary technological innovation. Burgeoning technologies, such as augmented reality and virtual reality (VR), are making it possible for fields like art history to move beyond the limits of traditional two-dimensional pedagogical media. As an experiment to uncover the scope of digital possibilities for art history, we used photogrammetry and 3D modeling software to recreate and recontextualize a Roman sculpture and sarcophagus from the Harvard Art Museum as a VR game. In doing so, we aim to catalyze a reimagination of the present through a reconstruction of artistic contexts of the past and thereby drive the imagination of the future. The combination of art history and VR games functions not only to educate us about the past and enliven it but also to fundamentally redesign how students engage with the past in ways that can have profound impacts on student engagement, motivation, and learning outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Art history research examines objects as embedded in a web of relationships, including multiple spatial dimensions (e.g. of the materials, of the artist, of the cultural influences, of the museum collection, and of the temporary exhibitions). However, this richness of nuances is not yet fully encompassed in Linked Open Data standards. This paper aims to examine how the multiplicity of places entangled in art objects can be represented within existing vocabularies (Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names, Geonames, Pleiades, Trismegistos), ontologies (CIDOC CRM, Europeana Data Model, Linked Ancient World Data, Wikidata, LIDO) and interconnection formats (Pelagios, World Historical Gazetteer, SENESCHAL, Linked Art). In doing so, this article raises a series of questions concerning the potential and limitation of current solutions for representing geographical information. It highlights the needs for inclusive, interoperable, open and accessible features in LOD systems in spatial humanities and it traces possible areas of inquiry for further research. The article argues that there is the need to develop more granular and comprehensive solutions for encompassing the multiplicity of places that can be enclosed in an art object, and its itineraries across time and space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper pioneers a new computational approach for the study of changes in shape of objects across time. Previously, such a study was undertaken by scholars using a purely visual approach and relied on images of objects or in-person observations. This paper’s approach is based on 3D scans of historical artefacts. Sample points are extracted from these 3D scans and the distance between analogous points across different objects is computed using an approximation of the Wasserstein metric, namely the Sinkhorn distance. In this paper, the approach is demonstrated on a small set of ancient Greek vessels of the Krater, Pelike, and Kylix types, as the variation in their shapes across time is well known to archaeologists. Results offer, for the first time, a way of quantifying differences between objects. Benefits of this approach lie in its ability to quantify change, to study complex 3D material, and to analyse large datasets of objects, opening the possibility of constructing new large-scale studies of object shape across time and geographical regions. These have a range of applications in art history, archaeology, digital humanities, museology and extended reality studies.

The Digital Art History is distinguished as a field in constant relation with the institutional part of the GLAM sector (Galleries, Library, Archives, Museum). The possibility of interoperable access to high-resolution images is the factor influencing virtual access to the online collection and reshaping the indexes and catalogues of each institution. A model such as IIIF - International Images Interoperability Framework represents a new tendency in art historical methodologies when the role of the images as an autonomous digital cultural object impacts the method of data classification and reconstruction of a dispersed art collection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper pioneers a new computational approach for the study of changes in shape of objects across time. Previously, such a study was undertaken by scholars using a purely visual approach and relied on images of objects or in-person observations. This paper’s approach is based on 3D scans of historical artefacts. Sample points are extracted from these 3D scans and the distance between analogous points across different objects is computed using an approximation of the Wasserstein metric, namely the Sinkhorn distance. In this paper, the approach is demonstrated on a small set of ancient Greek vessels of the Krater, Pelike, and Kylix types, as the variation in their shapes across time is well known to archaeologists. Results offer, for the first time, a way of quantifying differences between objects. Benefits of this approach lie in its ability to quantify change, to study complex 3D material, and to analyse large datasets of objects, opening the possibility of constructing new large-scale studies of object shape across time and geographical regions. These have a range of applications in art history, archaeology, digital humanities, museology and extended reality studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article demonstrates how an expanding population of artists in the seventeenthcentury Dutch Republic was connected artistically, and how such connections were translated into artistic innovations that fuelled the rapid flourishing of Dutch arts and the art market. It does so by conceptualising and visualising an art-historical network of iconography that, for the first time, connects artists not through social relations but through shared subject matters. Using network analysis, this study revisits the definition of product innovations used by the socio-economic art historian John Michael Montias. It further demonstrates that painters' choices of subject matter, styles, and qualities were often unrelated while artists' thematic connections had little to do with their social relations and the location of their residence. Rather, the choices of subject matter were subject to market forces and rooted deeply in an artist's ability, ambition, and marketing strategy. Lastly, this article visualises the artistic network implied in Rembrandt's rivals by Eric Jan Sluijter, which helps explain the breakaway success of the Dismissal of Hagar paintings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Creating access to digital surrogates of primary source materials has spurred the growth of history of science as a field. Enabling and supporting virtual access requires an understanding of the behind-the-scenes requirements of a digitization project. Using McGill's Taylor White Project as a case study, this article reveals how such a project is managed, to result in a unique digital collection that supports research in both the humanities and the sciences. The workflows described transformed a collection of 938 eighteenth-century natural history drawings from a relatively inaccessible archive to a searchable and browsable digital collection, complete with contextualizing interactive visualizations. Understanding this process reveals some of the ways in which digitized data can create new avenues for questioning and examining information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explains how the Replica project is a particular case of different professionals coming together to achieve the digitization of a historical photographic archive, intersecting complementary knowledge specific to normally unconnected communities. In particular the community of Art History researchers, brought together here in relation to their common methodologies in the practice of visual pattern research, became protagonists in the construction of a specific tool, the Morphograph, to navigate through the archive’s photos. A specific research problem, the recognition of visual patterns migrating from one work to another, became the key to developing a new technology initially intended for a specific community of users, but with such a generic character in its approach that it could easily be made available to other uninformed users as learning by doing tools. The Morphograph tool also made it possible to demonstrate how, within a community, the partial expertise of individuality needs to be related to each other and benefits enormously from the knowledge densification mechanism made possible by the sharing. The digital context easily makes it possible to create tools that are specific in terms of content but generic in form that can be communicated and shared with even diverse and uninformed communities.

This paper advocates an epistemological turn in the field of digital art history and cultural heritage studies. This epistemological turn is understood as the elaboration of a new (or renewed) epistemic apparatus that allows us to understand and interpret cultural phenomena from the perspective of a different order of thought. This epistemological labor is conceived of as an «epistemological technical practice», which means integrating epistemological reflection and production into technical making and design. Within this framework of discussion, this paper introduces the idea of a techno-concept, which is defined as a co-production between the machine rationale and the human thought/imagination. As particular cases, this paper argues that the mathematical concepts of n-dimensional, vector and latent spaces constitute examples of techno-concepts that can be reappropriated and reworked for cultural analysis and interpretation. This paper offers a preliminary inquiry, in which certain epistemological propositions are exposed as open gates for further discussions.