Le blog d’AdmiNet
Benezit, the dictionnary of artists, published by Editions Grund.
When it was first published in 1911, the Benezit immediately became the vital source of documentation for art historians and dealers, providing both the amateur and the professional with the most important factual information about almost any painter, sculptor, engraver or draughtsman, of all countries and schools, from Antiquity to the present day.
Since the 1920s, a team of specialists has been working on it full-time, and thousands of new entries have been added to reflect current art trends and innovations. This essential working tool gives not only biographical data, but also a general presentation of an artist’s work, as well as a selection of bibliographical references, museum listings and auction records.
The first 3-volume edition was followed by an 8-volume edition in 1955, 10 volumes in 1976, and finally 14 volumes in 1999. Although all these editions were in French, the Benezit quickly acquired an international reputation.
Today, the Benezit is used daily in most libraries, museums, auction houses and galleries all over the world, and owes its reputation partly to its staying power, but mainly to the quality of its information. The first English language edition of the Benezit Dictionary of Artists will appear in Spring 2006. Over the past 5 years, a highly skilled and dedicated team of over 150 translators, editors and art historians have been working to complete this monumental work. More than a simple translation, it has been revised, adapted and updated to serve a wider audience. Reflecting the international nature of the dictionary and its readership, this English edition marks a milestone in the history of the Benezit. It runs to over 20,000 pages with over 170,000 entries, including thousands of new or updated entries since the last edition (1999) that bring it right up to date.
Since 1911, the Benezit Dictionary of Artists has been the indispensable work of reference for art historians, dealers, and collectors, providing important factual information about almost any painter, sculptor, engraver or draftsman of all countries and schools, from antiquity to the present day. The english version of Benezit has been extensively updated and greatly expanded. Features include biographical entries on artists, descriptions of museums and galleries where the works of an artist can be found, graphics (including artist signatures, monograms and stamps of sale), auction records, and bibliographies of written works about the artist. Each entry conveys essential biographical information : name, nationality and dates, fields of expertise, media, genre and subject matter, broad art-historical classification, movement, group or school. Sources range from books, periodicals and exhibition catalogues to essays, dissertations and multimedia. The original entries have been re-written and updated by a team of scholars working for the last 5 years. With 175,000 entries and over 20,000 pages in 14 volumes, this first English edition makes Benezit the world’s most complete and up-to-date biographical dictionary of artists of all times and all countries. Blue cloth gold blocked.
What Benezit Dictionary of Artists offers :
Biographical entries
Each entry conveys at-a-glance essential information : name, nationality and dates, field of expertise, media, genre and subject matter, broad art-historical classification, movement, group or school. This is followed by a critical biography, which is concise and specific, and concentrates on training, influences, exhibitions and works.
Bibliographies
These have been updated and augmented, and concentrate on English texts. They range from books, periodicals and exhibition catalogues to essays, dissertations and multimedia.
Museums and Galleries
The main public collections where the works of an artist can be found are listed, together with brief details of the work.
Graphics
Around 11,000 signatures, monograms and stamps of sale are included where relevant, to help with identification and authentication.
Auction Records
Never intended to be an exhaustive directory of sales, these listings provide an invaluable record of the movements in prices of an artist’s work. Prices are given in the currency of the country of sale.
RSS 2.0