[1]
From: Ingo Herklotz <herklotzstaff.uni-marburg.de>
Date: 3 November 2009
Subject: Osservatorio Mostre e Musei

L'Osservatorio Mostre e Musei, istituito presso la Scuola
Normale Superiore di Pisa nel 2004 e attualmente diretto dai
professori Maria Monica Donato e Paul Zanker, si propone di
esaminare con sguardo critico il panorama espositivo italiano,
producendo in particolare recensioni di mostre, che sono
pubblicate sul sito dell'Osservatorio, all'indirizzo
http://mostreemusei.sns.it. Chiunque
sia interessato è
invitato a visitare il sito, recentemente rinnovato (è
possibile tra l'altro iscriversi ad un servizio di newsletter,
per essere aggiornati sulle uscite di nuove recensioni), e a
comunicarci le sue eventuali osservazioni e critiche,
scrivendo all'indirizzo mostreemuseisns.it.
Vi ringrazio per l'attenzione.

Fabrizio Federici
Assegnista di ricerca presso la Scuola Normale Superiore,
coordinatore dell'Osservatorio Mostre e Musei

[2]
From: K. Bender <bendertelenet.be>
Date: 5 November 2009
Subject: Contribution to quantitative research in art history

he following Google-site on a quantitative approach in iconography may
be of interest to you:
http://sites.google.com/site/venusiconography/
published under the Creative Commons License.

The site is updated and presents:
1 Topical Catalogues of the iconography of Venus from the Middle Ages to
Modern Times. At the present two catalogues have been published: Vol.1.1
'The Italian Venus' with 1840 artworks of 649 Italian artists and
Vol.2.1 'The French Venus' with 2997 artworks of 977 French artists;
Vol.3.1 'The Venus of the Low Countries' is scheduled for 2010 and other
volumes will be published later.

2 Research Papers on the quantitative analysis of the Topical
Catalogues, i.e. the time distribution of artworks and artists and the
changing popularity of the topics; a singularity in art history is the
application of an inverse power-law, known in bibliometry and
informetrics as Lotka's law.

3 Connectivity Maps, a term borrowed from graph theory and network
analysis, using VUE-Visual Understanding Environment, an open source
programme of Tufts University; these Maps explore the possibilities of a
graphical presentation of the links between masterworks, preparatory
drawings or earlier related artworks, and later copies, prints and other
closely related or derived artworks; two examples have been developed:
'Venus and the Musician' of TIZIANO and 'The embarkation to Cythere' of
WATTEAU.

Regards,
K. Bender, independent researcher
bendertelenet.be