The Trees, the Forest, and the Passion for Prints

Transcript

1. The Trees, the Forest, and the
   Passion for Prints
   Networks of Dutch Print Production,
   1500-1750
   Matthew Lincoln
   University of Maryland
   @matthewdlincoln
   July 22, 2015
   Keystone Digital Humanities Conference
   

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2. Art objects in the British Museum, by type
   @matthewdlincoln
   

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3. “Sculptura in Æs”, from Johannes Stradanus’ Nova
   Reperta. Published by Philips Galle, c. 1588-1605.
   British Museum, London.
   What evidence can thousands
   of prints give us?
   

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4. Designer
   “Sculptura in Æs”, from Johannes Stradanus’ Nova
   Reperta. Published by Philips Galle, c. 1588-1605.
   British Museum, London.
   

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5. Engraver Designer
   “Sculptura in Æs”, from Johannes Stradanus’ Nova
   Reperta. Published by Philips Galle, c. 1588-1605.
   British Museum, London.
   

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6. Publisher
   Designer
   Engraver
   “Sculptura in Æs”, from Johannes Stradanus’ Nova
   Reperta. Published by Philips Galle, c. 1588-1605.
   British Museum, London.
   

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7. @matthewdlincoln
   

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8. @matthewdlincoln
   

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9. Peter Paul Rubens
   Schelte à Bolswert Gillis Hendricx
   designed
   @matthewdlincoln
   

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10. British Museum collections LOD: collection.britishmuseum.org
    Between 1500-1750:
    •  49,306 prints
    •  3,592 nodes: distinct designers, printmakers, and publishers
    •  76,697 edges: connections inferred from co-participation in an
    object
    Mining the museum for data
    @matthewdlincoln
    

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11. @matthewdlincoln
    Requisite Gephi mess:
    

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12. @matthewdlincoln
    1.  Create a set of subgraphs based on a rolling 10-year window:
    •  e.g. the 1640 subgraph contains only edges and nodes extant between
    1635 and 1645
    •  Edges (prints) exist between the start and end dates ascribed to an object
    o  Edges are unweighted to avoid biasing edge strength based on the
    number of surviving impressions (complicated!)
    •  Nodes (artists) exist during their life dates (also complicated!)
    2.  For each subgraph, calculate network metrics at the global, regional/national,
    and individual scale
    Dynamic network analysis
    

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13. @matthewdlincoln
    1. Did the northern Netherlands adopt and continue the
    highly-centralized Antwerp print production model
    through the seventeenth century? OR…
    2. Did rising Dutch prosperity instead support a more
    distributed network of local print markets?
    My question: centralized production
    

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14. é More centralized
    ê More distributed
    @matthewdlincoln
    Graph
    centrality score
    

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15. @matthewdlincoln
    é More centralized
    ê More distributed
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    é More centralized
    ê More distributed
    @matthewdlincoln
    

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16. 0.00
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    •  Rapid centralization around
    1580-1600
    •  Swift re-distribution within
    a generation, reverting to a
    low level by 1640s
    •  Economic contraction in
    1670s did not lead to an
    immediate return of
    centralization
    

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17. 0.00
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    Lucas van Leyden
    

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    Hendrick Goltzius
    

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    Claes Jansz.
    Visscher
    

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    Nicolaes de Bruyn
    

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    Abraham Blooteling
    

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    Bernard Picart
    

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23. centrality
    nodes
    edges
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    @matthewdlincoln
    

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24. centrality
    nodes
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    It’s not just the number of artists.
    It’s how they connect.
    

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25. @matthewdlincoln
    BUT WAIT
    We want to avoid “just-so” stories!
    How do we know if this theoretical explanation makes sense?
    

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26. Simulation time
    @matthewdlincoln
    IF our simulated network metrics appear similar
    to the observed network metrics from our dataset, THEN
    we can feel more confident about our proposed explanation.
    Let’s create a simulation w/ actor behavior we are proposing.
    

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27. Erdos-Renyi: edges
    added totally at random
    Random graph generation
    Scale-Free: edges follow a
    power-law distribution
    @matthewdlincoln
    

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28. 0.00
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    model erdos−renyi scale−free3
    @matthewdlincoln
    

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29. 0.00
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    Printmakers needed expert collaborators
    

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30. 0.00
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    @matthewdlincoln
    Networks deserve metrics, not just viz.
    They also need simulation, not just speculation
    

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31. Matthew Lincoln
    matthewlincoln.net
    @matthewdlincoln
    

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