Painting by Numbers: Data-Driven Histories of Nineteenth-Century Art

Painting by Numbers is a groundbreaking history of art that uses digital research and economic tools to reveal enduring inequities in the formation of the art historical canon. It provides new quantitative evidence for more than five hundred thousand works of art, challenging long-standing questions about the effects of industrialization, gender, and empire on the art world. By examining art in France, the United States, and the United Kingdom, Greenwald demonstrates the importance of access to the countryside for painters, the impact of domestic responsibilities on women artists, and the absence of images of empire in British imperial power. The book offers an innovative look at the nineteenth-century art world and its legacy, challenging traditional perspectives and reintegrating works that have been excluded from art historical inquiry.

Format: Hardback
Length: 256 pages
Publication date: 16 February 2021
Publisher: Princeton University Press

Painting by Numbers is a groundbreaking history of art that employs digital research and economic tools to uncover enduring inequalities in the formation of the art historical canon. By utilizing new quantitative evidence for over five hundred thousand works of art, Diana Seave Greenwald provides fresh insights into the nineteenth century, revealing the extent to which art historians have focused on a limited and potentially biased sample of artwork from that time. Through her examination of art in France, the United States, and the United Kingdom, Greenwald highlights the significance of access to the countryside for painters showcasing natural imagery at the Paris Salon, the challenges faced by women artists due to time-consuming domestic responsibilities, and the absence of images of empire in the walls of London's Royal Academy during the height of British imperial power.

Moreover, Greenwald delves into the question of how many works may have been excluded from art historical inquiry and demonstrates how data can aid in their reintegration into the history of art, even after they have disappeared or faded into obscurity. By upending traditional perspectives on the art historical canon, Painting by Numbers offers an innovative approach to understanding the ninet.

Weight: 526g
Dimension: 190 x 244 x 24 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780691192451