Mariette and the Science of the Connoisseur in Eighteenth-Century Europe

'This historically grounded and conceptually nuanced account of Pierre-Jean Mariette‘s career and activities gives us a much needed insight into the eighteenth-century practices of art dealership, connoisseurship and collecting, illuminating their key role in the formation of the modern notions of style, authorship, authenticity and the oeuvre. Smentek‘s elegantly argued study will be important not only to the scholars and students of eighteenth-century art but also to those who are interested in the Enlightenment origins of art history as a discipline.' - Ewa Lajer-Burcharth, Harvard University, USA

'This is a fascinating account of the early history of connoisseurship in France in which the role of the print collector, Pierre-Jean Mariette, and his drawings were without equal. Kristel Smentek‘s wonderfully rich and detailed analysis brings Mariette‘s professional and private activities of collecting to life by reconstructing the social networks of trade, erudition and politeness that determined and sustained them. Here, connoisseurship emerges not as a dry and arcane epistemological practice, but as a set of intellectual and physical performances by which works of art were attributed and authenticated and also displayed and enjoyed. Mariette and the Science of the Connoisseur in Eighteenth-Century Europe is an outstanding contribution to the field.' - Katie Scott, The Courtauld Institute of Art, UK

'This book is a mine of interesting information that moves seamlessly from the economics of the 18th century print and publishing trade to the development of connoisseurship and individual attribution in the 18th century. All the issues are intelligently handled and discussed.' - Art Newspaper

'Smentek‘s study offers a multitude of new material on Mariette and thoughtfully situates him within a larger context of connoisseurship, artistic associations, European-wide networks of expertise, and early calls for a shift from the contempo