Picture titles: how and why Western paintings acquired their names

Abstract

Shows how the practice of naming Western paintings developed in response to the conditions of the modern art world and how titles have shaped the reception of artwork.

Contents

Naming and circulating : middlemen. Before titles ; Dealers and notaries ; Early cataloguers ; Academics ; Printmakers ; Curators, critics, friends--and more dealers -- Reading and interpreting : viewers. Reading by the title ; The power of a name ; Many can read print ; Reading against the title -- Authoring as well as painting : artists. The force of David's Oath ; Turner's poetic Fallacies ; Courbet's Studio as manifesto ; Whistler's Symphonies and other instructive Arrangements ; Magritte and The use of words ; Johns's No and the painted word.