art history Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...

, a ''Notname'' (, "necessity-name" or "contingency-name") is an invented name given to an artist whose identity has been lost. The practice arose from the need to give such artists and their typically untitled, or generically titled works, an acceptable if unsatisfactory grouping, avoiding confusion when cataloging. The phrases provisional name, name of convenience and emergency names are sometimes used to describe anonymous masters; nonce name was at one time used. The practice of using generic names for unidentified artists is most common in the study of art of the antiquity, especially of the Roman era or with artists of the

Northern Renaissance The Northern Renaissance was the Renaissance that occurred in Europe north of the Alps. From the last years of the 15th century, its Renaissance spread around Europe. Called the Northern Renaissance because it occurred north of the Italian Renais ...

until about 1430. Typically a pseudonym is applied after commonality is established for a grouping of works, of which a similarity of theme, style,

iconography Iconography, as a branch of art history, studies the identification, description and interpretation of the content of images: the subjects depicted, the particular compositions and details used to do so, and other elements that are distinct fro ...

, biblical source or physical location can probably be attributed to one individual or workshop, but because of lack of surviving documentary record, the name of that individual is lost. Groupings of works under a given notname can often be contentious; in specific cases art historians have argued that the reality may be a group or school of artists working under a common influence or commercial demand. Linking a generically titled old master with a historical person is usually a tempting and exciting prospect, and would establish an art historian's reputation. The given notname usually depends on the artist's location, the most distinctive feature of their work, or the theme or iconographic element they are best associated with. Some notnames created based on a single artwork, called

namepiece In art history, a namepiece is an artwork after which an otherwise unnamed artist is named. There is a long history of giving notnames to artists whose identity has been lost. The Master of the Life of the Virgin (active c. 1463 to c. 1490) and th ...

. Examples include the Master of the Embroidered Foliage (active c. 1480 to c. 1510) so named after his distinctive way of painting grass and trees,Nash, 22 the Master of Sierentz whose activity is dated c. 1440 – 1450, the

Master of the Life of the Virgin __NOTOC__ The Master of the Life of the Virgin, in German the Meister des Marienlebens, (working ca. 1463 — ca. 1490), is the pseudonym given to a late Gothic German painter working in Cologne. He can also be known as the Master of Wilten, o ...

(active c. 1463 to c. 1490) and the

Master of the Legend of the Magdalen The Master of the Legend of the Magdalen (sometimes called the Master of the Magdalen Legend) was an Early Netherlandish painter, active from about 1483 to around 1527. He has not been identified; his name of convenience is derived from a large, ...

(active c. 1483 – c. 1527) both named after scenes from the

Life of the Virgin The Life of the Virgin, showing narrative scenes from the life of Mary, the mother of Jesus, is a common subject for pictorial cycles in Christian art, often complementing, or forming part of, a cycle on the Life of Christ. In both cases the nu ...

attributed to them, the

Master of the Prado Adoration of the Magi The Master of the Prado Adoration of the Magi was a Netherlandish painter active between c. 1475 and 1500 whose identity is now lost. He is thought to have originated from the southern Netherlands and is known for his vibrant colourisation in pan ...

(active c. 1475 – 1500) named after his most famous panel, and the Vienna Master of Mary of Burgundy (c. 1470 – c. 1480), named after a manuscript owned by one of his patrons. The

Berlin Painter The Berlin Painter (active c. 490–460s BCE) is the Notname, conventional name given to an Attica, Attic Ancient Greece, Greek vase-painter who is widely regarded as a rival to the Kleophrades Painter, among the most talented vase painters of t ...

(active c. 490s-c. 460s BCE) was named by Sir

John Beazley Sir John Davidson Beazley, (; 13 September 1885 – 6 May 1970) was a British classical archaeologist and art historian, known for his classification of Attic vases by artistic style. He was Professor of Classical Archaeology and Art at the U ...

for a large lidded

amphora An amphora (; grc, ἀμφορεύς, ''amphoreús''; English plural: amphorae or amphoras) is a type of container with a pointed bottom and characteristic shape and size which fit tightly (and therefore safely) against each other in storag ...

in the

Antikensammlung Berlin The Antikensammlung Berlin (Berlin antiquities collection) is one of the most important collections of classical art in the world, now held in the Altes Museum and Pergamon Museum in Berlin, Germany. It contains thousands of ancient archaeological ...

, the Berlin Painter's ''namepiece''. In the case of 14th and early 15th-century

Netherlandish The Low Countries comprise the coastal Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta region in Western Europe, whose definition usually includes the modern countries of Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands. Both Belgium and the Netherlands derived their ...

, French and German painters and illuminators, the problem is particularly acute and stems from a number of factors. Primarily, the practice of signing and dating works is rarely seen in the region until the 1420s,Nash, 123 and the inventories of collectors were uninterested in the artist's names.Nash, 44 Many of the unidentified late 14th and early 15th-century northern artists were of the first rank, but because they have not been attached to any historical person, have suffered from academic neglect. It is probably a truism to say that, as Susie Nash put it, "much of what cannot be firmly attributed remains less studied". Some art historians believe that this has led to a lack of caution in connecting works with historical persons, and that such connections often hang on thin threads of circumstantial evidence. The identities of a number of well-known artists have been founded on the basis of a single signed, documented or otherwise attributed work, with similar works sharing close style or within a geographical range also attached to that name. Examples include

Hugo van der Goes Hugo van der Goes (c. 1430/1440 – 1482) was one of the most significant and original Flemish painters of the late 15th century. Van der Goes was an important painter of altarpieces as well as portraits. He introduced important innovations in pa ...

Robert Campin Robert Campin (c. 1375 – 26 April 1444), now usually identified with the Master of Flémalle (earlier the Master of the Merode Triptych, before the discovery of three other similar panels), was the first great master of Early Netherlandish paint ...

, Stefan Lochner and

Simon Marmion Simon Marmion (c. 1425 – 24 or 25 December 1489) was a French and Burgundian Early Netherlandish painter of panels and illuminated manuscripts. Marmion lived and worked in what is now France but for most of his lifetime was part of the Duchy ...

.Nash, 22–23

References

Sources

* Nash, Susie. ''Northern Renaissance art''. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008. {{Authority control *Notname Pseudonyms

See also

References

Sources