If Paintings Were Plants: Measuring Genre Diversity in Seventeenth-Century Dutch Painting and Printmaking

Presented at DH2016 in Kraków on July 13, 2016

1. If Paintings were Plants Matthew Lincoln, PhD University of Maryland Getty Research Institute @matthewdlincoln July 13, 2016 DH2016 - Kraków Measuring Genre Diversity in Seventeenth-Century Dutch Painting and Printmaking
2. Frans Francken II, “Kunstkammer”, c. 1620-1625. Oil on panel. Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien.
3. Frans Francken II, “Kunstkammer”, c. 1620-1625. Oil on panel. Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien.
4. @matthewdlincoln “Sculptura in Æs”, from Jan van der Straet’s Nova Reperta. Published by Philips Galle, c. 1588-1605. The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
5. !! = −∑ !! ! ln !! ! Diversity index: 1.10 Diversity index: 0.56 @matthewdlincoln Shannon’s diversity index
6. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorisches Documentatie The Montias Database of 17th Century Dutch Art Inventories (@ Frick Collection) Print collections in the Rijksmuseum @matthewdlincoln
7. @matthewdlincoln •  Information from 1,280 Amsterdam household inventories between 1597-1681 •  Around 4,300 described and attributed paintings •  One subject keyword per entry (assigned by Montias) The Montias Database of 17th Century Dutch Art Inventories (@ Frick Collection)
8. @matthewdlincoln •  Modern database known Dutch and Flemish paintings held in both public and private collections •  Around 47,000 attributed paintings made between 1500-1700 •  5-12 Keyword tags per object (e.g. “vrou”, “zittend”, “meid”) •  Used k-means clustering to sort objects into single categories based on keyword tags Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorisches Documentatie
9. Print collections in the Rijksmuseum @matthewdlincoln •  Rich collection of around 35,000 Dutch and Flemish prints, 1500-1700 •  Tagged with 1-5 hierarchical ICONCLASS codes •  e.g. 71C: •  7 (Bible) •  71 (Old Testament) •  71C (Story of Isaac) … •  Used k-means clustering to sort objects in to single subject categories based on shared 2nd-level ICONCLASS topics
10. Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorisches Documentatie The Montias Database of 17th Century Dutch Art Inventories (@ Frick Collection) Print collections in the Rijksmuseum @matthewdlincoln
11. 0 100 200 300 400 1500 1550 1600 1650 1700 Artist birth year dataset MDI RKD RKM Artists in each dataset, by birth year @matthewdlincoln
12. •  Calculate oeuvre diversity metrics for every artist •  Using a moving window, calculate the mean diversity value for artists born within that window •  Bootstrap random samples to derive confidence intervals @matthewdlincoln
13. MDI RKD RKM 0.0 0.5 1.0 1550 1600 1650 1550 1600 1650 1550 1600 1650 Artist birth date dataset MDI RKD RKM Mean career diversity (with bootstrapped 95% CI) @matthewdlincoln
14. Adriaen van Ostade Cornelis Pietersz Bega Cornelis Dusart Renier Nooms Allaert van Everdingen @matthewdlincoln
15. after Adriaen van Ostade after Nicolaes Berchem after Peter Paul Rubens after Gerard ter Borch after Frans Hals “Jonas Suyderhoef sculpsit”
16. Specialization in Haarlem tabletop still lifes with Quint Gregory IN PROGRESS
17. Henry Duval Gregory, “Tabletop Still Lifes in Haarlem, c. 1610-1660: A Study of the Relationships between Form and Meaning” (Ph.D. diss., University of Maryland, 2003). @matthewdlincoln
18. Compositional •  Orientation (por./land.) •  Disposition (wedge? pyramid?) •  Viewpoint (high/low) •  Cropping (tight/expansive) •  Height •  Width Symbolic •  Significant Motifs •  Illusionistic Signature? @matthewdlincoln
19. 1.  Lemon (peeled) 2.  Candle (extinguished) 3.  Oyster 4.  Beer 5.  Tazza (overturned) 6.  … Willem Claes Heda, Banquet Piece with Mince Pie, 1638. National Gallery of Art, Washington
20. 1.  Meat pie (Turkey) 2.  Mince Pie 3.  Oyster 4.  Wine (white) Pieter Claesz, Still life with Turkey Pie, 1627. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.
21. Low viewpoint
22. High viewpoint
23. Unpredictable Composition Unpredictable Motif Predictable Composition Unpredictable Motif Predictable Composition Predictable Motif Unpredictable Composition Predictable Motif • • • • • • • • Cornelis Mahu Floris van Dijck Floris van Schooten Gerrit Heda Nicolaes Gillis Pieter Claesz Roelof Koets Willem Claesz Heda 0.00 0.25 0.50 0.75 1.00 0.00 0.25 0.50 0.75 1.00 Composition−based error Motif−based error artist_relationship • Definite
24. Matthew Lincoln matthewlincoln.net @matthewdlincoln