Peer-Reviewed

Reframing Art History

Elli Doulkaridou

Abstract: Taking into account the call of this journal to examine the epistemological and meth-
odological assumptions in the field of art history on the verge of its digital turn, the aim of this
essay is to contribute to the ongoing discussion by questioning the role of the framing device in
the context of image appropriation and critical interpretation of visual documents. Focusing on
the cognitive and structural potential of the frame, a common feature between analogue and
digital art historical practice, we try to provide points of historical perspective through a selec-
tion of particular examples (Giorgio Vasari, Gustav Ludwig and Aby Warburg) and bring them
closer to the notions of instrumentation and interface.

Keywords: art historical methodologies, interface, frame theory, image manipulation, critical
visual thinking, visual perception

Introduction
Digital Art History is taking off. ble scholarly discipline, if its very objects
Summer institutes, conferences as well as come into being by an irrational and sub-
new resources such as this journal, are jective process? His answer was, in part:
1
emerging at an ever increasing rate. This question cannot be answered, of
Critical epistemological consciousness course, by referring to the scientific
begins to morph and the study of visual methods which have been, or may be,
forms of knowledge production makes introduced into art history. Devices such
room for the act of interpretation, more as chemical analysis of materials, X-rays,
common in the humanist realm than in ultraviolet rays, infrared rays and macro-
the natural sciences. photography are very helpful, but their
use has nothing to do with the basic me-
In his classic essay Art History as a thodical problem. [] These devices ena-
Humanistic Discipline Erwin Panofsky ble the art historian to see more than he
posed the question: How, then, is it pos- could see without them, but what he sees
sible to build up art history as a respecta- has to be interpreted 'stylistically', like

Figure 1: Orazio Samacchini (1532-1577), leaf from the Libro de Disegni.

Paris, Muse du Louvre, D.A.G. INV 9024-recto.
(Photo: RMN-Grand Palais (muse du Louvre) / Thierry Le Mage)
 Reframing Art History

that which he perceives with the naked more generic terms appropriation and
2
eye. What interests me here is not critical interpretation. In both of these
Panofskys method per se, nor the many activities/phases of research, the role of
more that have followed; it is rather the the framing device seems crucial. What
juxtaposition of the instruments and of happens to this device in the digital
the act of interpretation. For Panofsky (as sphere when it comes to art historical
for many others), the art historian is a interpretative practice? I will try to pro-
person with an equipped eye who inter- vide some answers below, but first let us
prets works of art. take a step back and approach our ques-
tion historically.
In Panofskys essay, which aimed
primarily to define the humanistic un- In her 2010 article Graphesis, Jo-
derpinnings of a then very young disci- hanna Drucker stated that: When it
pline, this takes the form of a theoretical comes to using visualization as interpre-
analysis. But there are also practical fac- tation, [] our practice is just beginning
3
ets of that act of interpretation. Panofsky to take shape. Her recent book, bearing
uses the terms re-creation and archae- the same title, provides a comprehensive
ology of patterns, which he argues, con- overview and extremely suggestive ob-
stantly interpenetrate and nourish each servations about the critical thinking of
4
other organically; today we could use the humanistic interfaces. Instructively, the

68 DAH-Journal, Issue 1, 2015

 Reframing Art History

framing device emerges once again as a tion, a reading that will shed both light
basic but nonetheless powerful structure, on the notions of instrumentation and
one that takes on new dimensions in the interface and provide points of historical
digital arena. Art history, however, is perspective that might inspire the crea-
only briefly discussed in the scope of her tion of more meaningful resources that
essay, and I hope to contribute to the will resonate with art historians.
discussion by shedding light specifically
on art historical practices pertaining to
5
the use of the framing device. The re-
flections that follow are the result of two
converging interests and strands of re-
search, the common denominator of
The Framing Device as
which is the framing device. One is early
modern decorative systems (such as the
Element of Syntax and
Sistine chapel ceiling) and the other is
the use of the image as document by art
Cognition in Art
historians. Historical Practice
I approach this topic through particu-
lar examples of art historical practice
some familiar if not indeed canonical,
others less well-known. In adopting this
line of reasoning, I take into account the
T he notion of the framing device is
essential and should not be dismissed
7
casually. For the present discussion, the
recent call to examine our epistemologi- frame is considered as a cognitive and
6
cal and methodological assumptions. At structural element from the angle of vis-
the same time, I seek to bridge analog ual semiotics. The frame has a functional
and digital art history by highlighting value since it shows/ presents/ indicates
8
examples taken from the history of the it is a sign of the index family, and pro-
field where one can observe elements of vides the conditions of contemplation
syntax, interpretation and subjectivity. and critical reception of the object
9
My aim is to provide an alternative read- shown. In other words, it is an instru-
ing of art historical practices pertaining ment of cognitive perception that en-
to image appropriation and interpreta- courages the articulation of visual ele-
ments and their appropriation by the
viewer. But at the same time, when inte-
grated within a system or a complex
visual environment such as a digital re-
Figure 2: Probably Tomaso Filippi (photographer),
source user interface (UI) the frame
Reconstruction of Carpaccios SantOrsola cycle with
becomes a nodal element. In other words,
wooden model, albumen print, c. 1904.
without shedding its previous qualities
Photothek of the Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz,
the frame further enables a network of
inv. 87154.
visual relations through visual percep-
(Photo: Photothek des Kunsthistorischen Instituts in 10
tion.
Florenz Max-Planck-Institut)

DAH-Journal, Issue 1, 2015 69

 Reframing Art History

The use of the framing device in art the fact that Ludwigs approach shows
history goes all the way back to Giorgio the enormous potential of the surrogate
Vasari (1511-1574) and his Libro de dise- image as an agent of cognitive emancipa-
gni (Fig. 1). Starting out at the age of tion, it also provides an example of a
seventeen, Vasari compiled his collection model-frame where one could test a hy-
in a scrapbook where he pasted drawings pothesis of visual reconstruction. In his
by various artists spanning the periods case we are closer to a heuristic process.
laid out in his Lives of the Artists (1550,
1568). It is no coincidence that Vasari At this point one can hardly fail to
elected to employ frames to build a con- mention Aby Warburg (1866-1929) and
vincing visual rhetoric. His project, after his Mnemosyne Atlas, with its imposing
all, was contemporary with High Renais- panels holding various visual documents
sance fresco cycles where the semiotics such as artwork reproductions, newspa-
of the frame orchestrated effective rhe- per clippings etc. (Fig. 3). Without wish-
torical visual machines in the form of ing to add to the vast literature already
decorative systems systems which the dedicated to his oeuvre, it is worth noting
elite of the period conceived and were that Warburg used the framing device
also able to decode. Dispersed across a not only in the already established form
number of repositories, the surviving of the surrogate image; he also recorded
leaves of Vasaris Libro tell us the follow- his plates/montages, documenting there-
ing story: their creator used original by the stages of his argument. Moreover,
drawings, which he combined in such a he used frames as marks in order to de-
way that each leaf constitutes a complex sign his argument before integrating it
critical and aesthetical argument. His into his imposing panels.
11
approach is one of hermeneutics.

A second, not so famous example, is

that of Gustav Ludwig (1854-1905), who
was a Carpaccio specialist. In 1904, after
having mastered the technique of pho-
Theoretical
tography, he constructed a wooden mod-
el of the Sant Orsola Church in Venice
Observations
that would help him reconstitute the
12
cycle of Carpaccios paintings (Fig. 2).
He experimented with various place-
ments and combinations of the narrative
following the concordance of external
W hat theoretical observations can
we make based on these exam-
ples? First of all, both Vasari and Ludwig
and internal lightning conditions. When mastered the technique that allowed them
he was finally satisfied, he asked the pho- to build their projects and each invented
tographer Tomaso Filippi to take pictures his own way of playing with images in
of the finished model and then retouched order to formulate complex visual para-
the photographs in order to create the digms/arguments.
context and thus provide a satisfactory
rendering of his hypothesis. Apart from

70 DAH-Journal, Issue 1, 2015

 Reframing Art History

In the first case Vasari used disegno projects have been primarily based on
a practice placing the tracing of an idea these conclusions. I would like to bring
conceived by the intellect in the center of into play a few more elements. Proceed-
13
the interpretative effort. In the second ing through a structural reading of his
instance, Ludwig found the tools and oeuvre, Maud Hagelstein has highlighted
learned how to use them in order to give two instances. On the one hand we have
form not only to a final product and the framing operations such as clip-
this is where it becomes interesting but pings and on the other the montage
to his own interpretative process. He effects, in other words a recombination
built a wooden model, a miniature archi- of elements. One could say that the art
tectural frame, in order to have the historian destroyed the initial frame and
18
whole picture and to be able to test his imposed his own subjective frame in
hypotheses; the mockup allowed for per- order to work with his visual documents
14
formative actions and enabled the re- in the organic manner of finding and
cording of an interpretative effort. If the appreciating through a process which
finalized albumen prints provide contex- mutually fed the two poles.
tualization, the photographs recording
the intermediate stages of this project In this dynamic process, the technical
clearly testify to an approach stressing specificities of the medium, in this case
the messy, non-conclusive, ambiguous the albumen prints, were exploited in
outcome. combination with the dialectical proper-
ties of the framing device. Framing and
One more parallel emerging from assembling constitute the real epistemo-
19
these examples is the question of the logical richness of Warburgs Atlas,
interface. Vasari built his own interface where unexpected association of ele-
by drawing frames and adding ornamen- ments, flexibility of scale (the whole and
tal figures that functioned as linking the detail) were treated simultaneously
agents and deictic cues, thus influencing and equally. But most importantly, War-
the perception of the drawings. Not only burg built systems of representation,
did he exploit the cognitive aspects of the where the framing device operated as a
frame as a device, but he also used its structural element but also as node; its
unifying qualities in order to assemble syntax alluded and enabled comparison,
what one could call a montage/ assem- combination and recombination, close-
blage of visual sources. The use of looking, rearrangement and of course,
frames denotes a desire for appropria- linking. As part of a visual system though
tion. What Vasari created was a kind of the images also brought into play their
hermeneutics playground. in-between space, the interval; a space
where decisions are made, where pattern
Warburg took this approach much change begins to emerge. Stable frames
further. Recent scholarship has contrib- and mobile frames, details and ensembles
uted essential observations concerning were thus combined in order to exploit
the linking aspect in Warburgs meth- the networking aspects of framing.
15 16 17
od; the HyperImage and Meta-Image

DAH-Journal, Issue 1, 2015 71

 Reframing Art History

Figure 3: Aby Warburg, Picture Atlas Mnemosyne, 1928-29, Panel 47.

(Photo: The Warburg Institute London)

72 DAH-Journal, Issue 1, 2015

 Reframing Art History

Figure 4: Results of the Ornamental Prints online catalog. Screenshot of website Ornamental Prints
Online http://www.ornamentalprints.eu.
( MAK Austrian Museum of Applied Arts / Contemporary Art - UPM - Umleckoprmyslov museum
Prague - Kunstbibliothek, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin Preuischer Kulturbesitz)
Retrieval date: April 10, 2015

DAH-Journal, Issue 1, 2015 73

 Reframing Art History

Panofsky was among the first to ob-

serve that Vasaris use of the framing Art historical
device constituted a major turning point
and in fact gave birth to art history.
20 research protocols
Vasari created a structure that not only
allowed for their aesthetic reception but in the digital realm
also for their cognitive reception, thus
encouraging a critical appropriation of
21
the images. Often referred to as the
first art historian, Vasari used original
drawings and transformed them into B earing in mind these theoretical ob-
servations and turning to the pre-
sent, I would like to examine the use of
objects of study by inscribing them with-
in a frame whose style corresponded to the framing device in an array of digital
his stylistic and aesthetic appreciation of environments. Following this I shall fo-
the whole. His process of framing decon- cus my attention on the potential of cre-
textualized the drawings from their ini- ating digital heuristic spaces which fully
tial context of creation and integrated exploit the image-as-document.
them into his conception of art historical
eras they had been repurposed. His ar-
guments can be refuted or criticized to- Frames and framing:
day but this has only become possible
because of his process. Of course, with
a method-inducing
photography this repurposing dimension mechanism
takes on its full potential, but it cannot be
denied that as an archetypal figure for If the frame is capable of shaping the
our discipline, Vasaris method proves reception of a given image within an
the systemic nature of image appropria- interface, these qualities are not always
tion and that of framing as its primary exploited at their full capacity. In order to
method, a need inherent in our modus illustrate this argument let us briefly
operandi, which transcends the technical compare the Ornamental Prints Online
aspects of the medium across time. 23
(OPO) meta-catalog with the Virtuelles
Kupferstichkabinett (VK) catalog of the
One final note on the non-innocence Herzog-Anton Ulrich Museum.
24

of these systems. The examples discussed

above do in fact carry the mark of their Both projects present a collection of
makers, their view of historical time, prints. The first one is a bit more special-
their conceptions of pattern evolution or ized, pertaining solely to ornamental
style, the importance of context etc. prints. What I wish to stress here is how
Warburg for instance seems to have been the VK catalog alone proposes an instru-
influenced by Simmels image of history, mented interface and links the data in a
his opening of the frame and that of a way that makes sense for people who
22
transhistorical view. work with prints.

74 DAH-Journal, Issue 1, 2015

Figure 5: The Virtuelles Kupfer-
stichkabinett results display. Multi- Reframing Art History
ple images have been selected;
their frames are a lighter shade of
grey.
( Herzog-Anton Ulrich Museum,
Braunschweig)

Figure 6: Results for "Adam and Eve" from the Cranach Digital Archive.
( Cranach Digital Archive, 2015)

DAH-Journal, Issue 1, 2015 75

 Reframing Art History

The fundamental difference of princi- no longer extant, sheds additional light

ple lies among other things in the theo- on the potential of the surrogate image as
retical foundations behind the use of document which in its digital form ena-
frames. In the OPO catalog the frames bles the researcher to use and visualize it
simply present the image and they sepa- in much more meaningful ways.
rate it from its surroundings (Fig. 4). By
contrast, in the VK project the slide Turning to the Cranach Digital Ar-
frames are not purely decorative (Fig. 5). chive, which is by all means an amazing
By stressing the presence of the frames project, we marvel at the high quality of
through visual means, these capture the the images and the fact that each of the
users attention and direct it towards the artworks is presented as a unit of docu-
practice of a historically meaningful and mentation along with a substantial criti-
deeply familiar process that of spread- cal apparatus (Fig. 6). In this case the
ing ones slides across a light-table in interface functions as a documentation
order to make a selection, by assembling frame but it is still not possible to ac-
and comparing multiple images. On the tively engage with the image, in the way
one hand we have an index destined for Ludwig did. There are many different
passive consultation comparable to a versions of Adam and Eve for example,
printed inventory the Illustrated Bartsch but one can only compare two images at
for instance while on the other the a time and in addition to that the zoom-
results page is only the beginning of the ing levels are predefined. In other words
quest. By virtue of such features such as the interface gets in the way of image
multiple selection, comparative zooming manipulation.
light tables and linking series of prints
together the platform becomes not just a If interface is an enunciation space
26
finding aid but a research resource where a subject is invoked, then in this
adapted to its object of study, capable of case this subject can only passively con-
becoming a denkraum a space for reflec- sume the information provided. One
tion. Interestingly once the user enters could of course propose that the ancestor
the zooming light table workspace, the of such a project is the traditional schol-
frame becomes invisible allowing one to arly catalog. And yet the project has se-
concentrate solely on the object of study, lectively integrated a feature stemming
in other words the print itself. It would from a different tradition that of the
seem that in this case the intensity of the atlas. I am referring to the pre-
framing device is calibrated according to visualization thumbnails view which
25
the context of use. reminds us of paradigms such as the
plates of Seroux dAgincourts Lhistoire
27
de lart par ses monumens [sic] (Fig. 7).
Towards systems of So, if in fact we have the possibility to
mix and match scholarly precedents
interpretation? and why shouldnt we? why not create
more dynamic creator-centered projects?
Ludwigs project, apart from alluding Historically conscious instrumentation
to projects of restitution of monuments and critical apparatus play a crucial role

76 DAH-Journal, Issue 1, 2015

 Reframing Art History
Figure 7 : Tableau historique et chronologique
des frontispices des temples, avant et durant
la dcadence de l'art. Plate 64. Extract of :
"Histoire de l'art par les monumens depuis sa
dcadence au IVe sicle jusqu' son renou-
vellement au XIVe" / by J. B. L. G. Seroux
d'Agincourt. Vol. IV. Paris: Treuttel and Wrtz,
1823. Anonymous. Paris, bibliothque de
lInstitut National dHistoire de lArt, collec-
tions Jacques Doucet.
(Photo: INHA, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais/
image INHA)

here. Ludwigs example demonstrates appropriation/interpretation within a

how by thinking through a given inter- digital environment? Could this instru-
face one can create an instrument that mentation differ from one frame to an-
goes beyond the optical metaphor of the other within the same resource depend-
Latin word speculum and gives way to an ing on the specificities of its content?
interpretative space. Would it be desirable that a frame adapt
to its content but also its context? Art-
The multiplication of frames and their works are anachronic objects especially
30
mobility seem to be in the heart of more when it comes to interpreting them.
recent environments such as Mirador Could the instrumentation of the frame
(Fig. 8) and the Virtual Mappa project and its interaction with the rest of the
28
(Fig. 9). These two characteristics inevi- system help us grasp that by playing on
tably bring forward their impact on ar- the separating/unifying dimension? By
ticulation and their potential for mean- allowing their insertion into a completely
ingful combination in the process of different conception of time? By combin-
building a visually compelling argu- ing its different contexts (historical, art
29
ment. How could we exploit the notion historical, critical evaluation, material
of interval in the digital environment? history, history of collections, visual cita-
tions etc.) and materiality aspects? All
Apart from being a device which pre- these factors come with their individual
sents, the frame is also a space in its own frames, which the interface could help
right and one that does not have to be either accentuate or keep more discreet
necessarily transparent or invisible. What depending on the type of question asked
kind of instrumentation could a frame by the user.
carry in order to allow for a meaningful

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 Reframing Art History

Figure 8: The Mirador project, screenshot of website.

http://projectmirador.org/demo/?json=552702fee4b06666571d23a1. Retrieval date: April 10, 2015

Figure 9: Screenshot of the Virtual Mappa project. Reproduced by permission of Martin K. Foys.

78 DAH-Journal, Issue 1, 2015

 Reframing Art History

Imagine for instance comparing a Throughout the discussion I have

fresco detail from Renaissance Rome chosen not to distinguish between refer-
with an illuminated manuscript border of ence resources and virtual research envi-
the fourteenth century and an ancient ronments since my primary aim has been
Roman sarcophagus relief. You might not to shed light to the cognitive aspects of a
need the parallax view for the miniature, common visual device and to stress its art
but you certainly need a 360 view of the historical prerogatives in the context of
sarcophagus and you need to see the visual thinking. At this pivotal moment
detail of the fresco in context, perhaps for digital art history it seems necessary
also some preparatory drawings and rel- to bear in mind the variety of methodol-
evant archival material. Going back to ogies in the field, the multiple angles and
the miniature, you might want a thumb- traditions from which we select to ap-
nails view of the entire book. Cropping, proach our objects of study. Even if the
annotating and linking can follow and for act of constructing an interpretative
their combination an additional space is space carries seeds of interpretation it-
required where a button, for instance, self, promoting for example a certain
could allow for capturing and archiving view of historical time, we could use this
of the workspace in its current phase. to our advantage by using frames to dif-
The full documentary value of these ferentiate the dimensions of the object in
practices can emerge when the capacity relation to its various contexts. In other
to record and integrate in previous work- words, being flexible and intuitive is not
31
flow are enabled. merely an interface design issue; it
touches the core of our practices.

Finally, it seems to me and at this

Conclusions point I completely agree with Nuria
32
Rodrguez Ortegas conclusions that
The objective of this essay is to under- this kind of specifically art historical
line the fundamental and constitutive epistemological awareness is essential if
dimension of image appropriation in the we want to bridge the gap between tradi-
field of art history. In the enunciative tional methodologies and innovative
system that is interface, the frame has a computational practices. Historically
strategic role to play. It is capable of de- relevant epistemological perspectives are
contextualizing an artifact as well as just as important as the vision of things
reintegrating it into a new pattern of that we could not do before. One way to
thought. As we have seen, the frame bring this kind of discourse into play is
separates but also brings together; it pro- by integrating it into our peer-reviewing
vides an intermediate space where action protocols and by training students not
and decision-making can occur. Viewed only learning how to use new software
33
from the perspective of art historical and resources but to critically process
methodologies I would argue that present these resources and situate them within a
environments should at least enable or methodological framework, thus building
accommodate previous methodologies. a continuity with the previous phases of

DAH-Journal, Issue 1, 2015 79

 Reframing Art History

3
the field, a continuity that could only Johanna Drucker, Graphesis: Visual Knowledge
reinforce the meaningful use of resources Production and Representation, paj:The Journal of
the Initiative for Digital Humanities, Media, and
in the future as well as the questions Culture 2, no 1 (2010): 3, accessed January 23, 2015,
asked. Apart from finding the tool which https://journals.tdl.org/paj/index.php/paj/article/vi
best serves our needs, we should also be ew/4.
4
conscious of how we want to see our ob- Johanna Drucker, Graphesis: Visual Forms of
ject of study, now and in the future. Knowledge Production, metaLAB Projects (Cam-
bridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2014).
5
An earlier version of this essay was presented
during the 102nd annual conference of the College
Notes Art Association in February 2014. I would like to
thank Victoria Scott, Martine Denoyelle, Anne
1
Anne Collins Goodyear and Paul B. Jaskot, Digi- Helmreich, Max Marmor and Emmanuel Chateau
tal Art History Takes Off, CAA News | College Art for reading drafts and for providing me with much
Association, October 7 2014, accessed January 22, useful feedback.
6
2015, http://www.collegeart.org/news/2014/10/07 Drucker, Is There a Digital Art History?;
/digital-art-history-takes-off/. A substantial body Rodrguez Ortega, Digital Art History; Zorich,
of literature is already available. See for example, Transitioning to a Digital World.
7
Corinne Welger-Barboza, Lhistoire de lart et sa Surrogate images reproducing decorative cycles
technologie - Concordance des Temps, LObser- of the Renaissance testify to the neglect of the
vatoire Critique, December 4, 2012, accessed Janu- syntactic dimension by omitting the margins,
ary 30, 2015, http://observatoire-critique. hypothe- where their syntax and logic resides. More recent-
ses.org/1862; Murtha Baca, Susan Edwards, and ly art historical research has begun to take into
Francesca Albrezzi, Rethinking Art History, The account decorative systems and study their syntax
Getty Iris, March 4, 2013, accessed January 30, and modes of enunciation. In this context the
2015, http://blogs.getty.edu/ iris/getty-voices- frame holds a dominant position as a mediator
rethinking-art-history/; Murtha Baca and Anne between the decorated space and the viewer. The
Helmreich, Introduction, Visual Resources 29, no. theoretical underpinnings of these studies are
12 (2013): 14, accessed January 23, 2015, doi: primarily based on the work of Louis Marin.
8
10.1080/01973762.2013.761105; Johanna Drucker, Groupe , Trait du signe visuel. Pour une rhto-
Is There a Digital Art History? Visual Resources rique de limage (Paris: Seuil, 1992), 378.
9
29, no. 12 (2013): 513, accessed January 30, 2015, Louis Marin, Le cadre de la reprsentation et
doi: 10.1080/01973762. 2013.761106; Nuria quelques-unes de ses figures, Cahiers du Muse
Rodrguez Ortega, Digital Art History: An Exami- national dart moderne, no. 24 (1988): 6381; Marin,
nation of Conscience, Visual Resources 29, no. 12 Figures de la rception dans la reprsentation
(2013): 12933, accessed January 30, 2015, doi: moderne de peinture, in De la reprsentation, ed.
10.1080/01973762.2013. 761124; Hubertus Kohle, Daniel Arasse et al. (Paris: Seuil/Gallimard, 1994),
Digitale Bildwissenschaft (Glckstadt: Hlsbusch, 31328.
10
2013), accessed January 30, 2015, http://archiv. For a thorough analysis on the role of the fram-
ub.uni-heidelberg.de/artdok/2185/; Diane Zorich, ing device in humanist practices, see Drucker,
Transitioning to a Digital World: Art History, Its Graphesis, 2014, esp. 138179.
11
Research Centers, and Digital Scholarship. Report to Stefania Caliandro, Introduction au mtavisuel:
the Samuel H. Kress Foundation and the Roy le Libro de disegni de Giorgio Vasari, in Images
Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media. dimages. Le mtavisuel dans lart visuel (Paris:
George Mason University, May 2012, accessed LHarmattan, 2008), 1535.
12
January 03, 2015, http:// www.kressfoundation. Costanza Caraffa, From Photo Libraries to
org/research/transitioning_to_a_digital_world/ Photo Archives: On the Epistemolons, in Photo
2
Erwin Panofsky, Art History as a Humanistic Archives and the Photographic Memory of Art His-
Discipline, in The Meaning of the Humanities, ed. tory, ed. Costanza Caraffa, (Berlin/Munich:
Theodore M. Greene (Princeton, NJ: Princeton Deutscher Kunstverlag, 2011), 1144. For the
University Press, 1940), 106-107. complete image set see the online exhibition Gus-

80 DAH-Journal, Issue 1, 2015

 Reframing Art History

24
tav Ludwig. The Photographic Bequest of the KHI in Virtuelles Kupferstichkabinett, at http://www.
Florence, at http://photothek.khi.fi.it/documents/ virtuelles-kupferstichkabinett.de/.
25
oau/00000045. For a detailed commentary of this resource, see
13
See Anne Burdick and Johanna Drucker, Digi- Elli Doulkaridou, Vers les cabinets destampes en
tal_humanities (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2012). ligne: Le cas du Virtuelles Kupferstichkabinett,
Interestingly what is placed in the heart of this Lobservatoire Critique, January 9, 2011, accessed
book project is design. January 30, 2015, http://observatoire-critique.
14
For further discussion on the aspects of per- hypotheses.org/775.
26
formative engagement, see Johanna Drucker, Drucker, Performative Materiality, para. 33.
27
Performative Materiality and Theoretical Ap- J.B.L.G. Seroux dAgincourt, Lhistoire de lart
proaches to Interface. 7, no. 1 (2013), accessed par ses monumens depuis sa dcadence au IVe sicle
January 30, 2015, http://www.digitalhumanities. jusqu son renouvellement au XIVe, 6 vols. (Paris:
org/dhq/vol/7/1/000143/000143.html. Treuttel et Wurtz, 1823). Now also available
15
For example, see Lisa Dieckmann, Anita Klie- online, http://www.purl.org/yoolib/inha/8909 to
mann, and Martin Warnke, Meta-Image For- 8914. See also Welger-Barboza, Lhistoire de lart
schungsumgebung Fr Den Bilddiskurs in Der et sa technologie.
28
Kunstgeschichte, CMS Journal, no. 35 (2012), Mirador is an open access platform which allows
accessed January 23, 2015, http://edoc.hu-berlin.de the user to display documents from various collec-
/cmsj/35/dieckmann-lisa-11/XML/diekmann-11. tions across the web, at http://projectmirador.org;
xml.; Warnke and Dieckmann, Prometheus meets Virtual Mappa is part of the DM project. For more
Meta-Image: implementations of Aby Warburg's information and other implementations, see
methodical approach in the digital era, Visual http://schoenberginstitute.org/dm-tools-for-
Studies (forthcoming). digital-annotation-and-linking/; other good exam-
16
HyperImage, at http://hyperimage.ws/en/. ples are Manuscriptorium, at http://www.manu-
17
Meta-Image, at http://www2.leuphana.de/meta- scriptorium.com/ and the Chinese Painting and
image/index.php; for additional bibliography, see Calligraphy catalog of the Seattle Museum of art,
http://www2.leuphana.de/meta- at http://chinesepainting.seattleartmuseum.org/.
image/Publikationen.php Belonging to the OSCI initiative the latter presents
18
Maud Hagelstein, Lhistoire des images selon an interesting use of sliders combined with
Warburg: Mnmosyne et ses oprations de ca- adapted static and mobile contents.
29
drage, in Cadre, Seuil, Limite. La question de la Warburgs models still linger and the Meta-
frontire dans la thorie de lart (Brussels: La lettre Image project definitely steers in that direction.
vole, 2010), 257. The Getty Scholars Workspace could equally pro-
19
Ibid., 258. vide some answers in the near future, see
20
Erwin Panofsky, Le feuillet initial du Libro de http://www.getty.edu/research/scholars/research_
Vasari, in Loeuvre dart et ses significations. Essais projects/
30
sur les arts visuels, tr. Marthe et Bernard Teys- Georges Didi-Huberman, Devant le temps: his-
sdre (1969; repr., Paris: Gallimard, 2004), 138, 186. toire de lart et anachronisme des images (Paris: les
21
Caliandro, De lusage dimages par la critique, ditions de Minuit, 2000).
31
in Images dimages, 10. Pourtant, il est fortement Tiziana Serena, The Words of the Photo Ar-
remarquable que lide de crer une structure de chive, in Caraffa, Photo Archives, 57.
32
rception visuelle aie dj t conue lpoque Rodrguez Ortega, Digital Art History, esp.
moderne et par le mme auteur cens avoir pos 132133.
33
les fondements de lhistoire de lart occidental. Matthew P. Long and Roger C. Schonfeld, Sup-
22
Hagelstein, Lhistoire des images selon War- porting the Changing Practices of Art Historians
burg, 271. (Ithaka S+R, April 30, 2014), 47, accessed April 30,
23
Ornamental Prints Online, at http://www.orna- 2014,
mentalprints.eu/. Some days before the publication http://www.sr.ithaka.org/sites/default/files/reports
of this article the author observed that the website /SR_Support-Changing-Research-
is no longer available online. The prints can now ArtHist_20140429.pdf.
be consulted through the separate collections of
each partner institution.

DAH-Journal, Issue 1, 2015 81

 Reframing Art History

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Elli Doulkaridou is a PhD candidate in art history at Centre dhistoire de lart de la Renaissance,
University of Paris I Panthon-Sobonne. Between 2011 and 2014 she was also a research
assistant at the Institut national dhistoire de lart. Her research, under the supervision of
Professor Philippe Morel, concerns Roman illuminated manuscripts of the first half of the 16th
century. Part of her thesis will be focusing on digital practices and methodological shifts in the
domain of illuminated manuscripts. Between 2009 and 2011, she taught the course
Management of digital resources in the department of art history at her university. She has
also led workshops on digital art history for two summers at the European Summer University
in Digital Humanities (University of Leipzig).

Correspondence e-mail: [email protected]

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