Everything about Connoisseur totally explained
A
connoisseur (Fr.
connaisseur, from
connoistre,
connaître meaning "to be acquainted with" or "to know sb/sth.") is a person who has a great deal of knowledge about the
fine arts, or an expert judge in matters of
taste.
Modern connoisseurship must be seen along with
museums,
art galleries and "the cult of
originality". Connoisseurs evaluate works of
art on the basis of
aesthetic conclusions. Judgment informed by intuition is essential, but it must be grounded in a thorough understanding of the work itself. On the basis of empirical evidence, refinement of perception about and
form, and a disciplined method of analysis, the responsibility of the connoisseur is to
attribute authorship, validate
authenticity and appraise
quality. These findings can be collected and organized into a
catalogue raisonné of the work of a single
artist or a
school.
During the
18th century, however, the term was often used as a synonym for a still vaguer man of taste or a pretended
critic.
In 1760,
Oliver Goldsmith says, "
Painting is now become the sole object of fashionable care; the title of connoisseur in that art is at present the safest passport into every fashionable Society; a well timed shrug, an admiring attitude and one or two exotic tones of exclamation are sufficient qualifications for men of low circumstances to curry favour."
In 1890,
Giovanni Morelli wrote, "art connoisseurs say of art historians that they write about what they don't understand; art historians, on their side, disparage the connoisseurs, and only look upon them as the drudges who collect materials for them, but who personally have not the slightest knowledge of the physiology of art."
In his
Meaning in the Visual Arts (1955),
Erwin Panofsky explains the difference between a connoisseur and an
art historian: "The connoisseur might be defined as a laconic art historian, and the art historian as a loquacious connoisseur."
The term connoisseur is also used in connection with fine
food,
beer,
wine and many other products whose consumption can be pleasing to the senses.
Further Information
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