Problems of identification and attribution of Italian paintings of the XVI-XVIII centuries on the example of works from the collection of the Omsk Regional Museum of Fine Arts named after M. A. Vrubel

The study and attribution of works of fine art remains one of the most important activities of modern art museums. This task is particularly relevant for regional museums, whose collections were formed in the 20th century due to transfers from the State Museum Fund and the capital's state collections. Attribution of works not only allows establishing authorship, but also provides an opportunity to reach the level of deeper generalizations, fills in existing gaps in the history of art, and finally leads to an understanding of the general laws of artistic development. The article highlights some of the research experience of recent years of Italian paintings of the XVI–XVIII centuries from the collection of the Omsk Regional Museum of Fine Arts named after M. A. Vrubel. Attribution was carried out on the basis of an integrated approach involving the use of comparative stylistic analysis, technical and technological research, as well as work with archival documents. The works of Soviet art historians B. R. Vipper, V. N. Lazarev, as well as publications by leading Russian specialists I. V. Linnik, V. E. Markova, I. S. Artemyeva, and others were of methodological importance. The study showed that the focus of the study of Italian painting is not only on the issue of establishing authorship, but also on the problem of identification itself – establishing affiliation to a national school, identifying original works, identifying copies and imitations. In the course of the research, previously accepted attributions were revised, and individual works that were considered nameless acquired the author's name. The introduction into scientific circulation of previously unknown works by Italian masters of the XVI–XVIII centuries from the collection of one of the largest regional museums, as well as the identification of new paintings by artists significant for the history of Western European art, enriches the picture of Italian painting, which determines the novelty of the study. In addition, the obtained data from technical and technological research can serve as comparative material in the study and proof of attribution of works of Western European painting.

attribution, Italian painting, national school, stylistic analysis, technical and technological research, collection, artist, museum, copy, State Museum Fund