Practice · Private capital and collections · Glossary
Catalogue raisonné
A catalogue raisonné is the list of an artist’s works that scholars treat as complete, each one numbered, described and dated, with its owners, exhibitions and publications.
Published by ArtisDomus, written by Polina Surina.
What the law says
French law on attribution wording says nothing about catalogues.
In France the décret n° 81-255 du 3 mars 1981 governs the words a seller uses to describe a work. It sets what an invoice must say and what each formula commits the seller to, from attribué à down to d’après. Its eleven articles never mention a catalogue raisonné or give one any weight as evidence.
What it is used for
Four practical uses, none of them binding in law.
- Naming
- The catalogue number identifies a work in a sale, a loan agreement, an insurance schedule and a probate inventory. It tells apart two works with the same title and date.
- Attribution
- If a work is included, the compiler believes the artist made it. If it is left out, the compiler believes the artist did not. Both are the opinions of a named person or committee, and the next edition can change them.
- Ownership history
- An entry usually lists the work’s owners, exhibitions and publications. A buyer’s adviser reads this part first. It is the same material covered under provenance.
- Price
- The market prices a work higher when it is included and discounts it when it is left out.
None of these uses has force in law. Scholars, a foundation or an estate compile the catalogue, and it records what they think. It does not settle ownership or authorship in any forum. It does not bind a seller who describes the work in different words.
What binds the seller
In France the seller’s own words bind. The catalogue backs them up.
If the buyer asks, the seller must hand over an invoice, receipt, sale note or extract from the public sale record (art. 1 of the decree). It must state what the seller claims about the nature, composition, origin and age of the work. Using the artist’s name without qualification guarantees that the artist made the work (art. 3). The only exception is an express reservation about authenticity alongside the name.
The promise sits in those words alone. A seller can rely on a catalogue entry when writing them. A buyer can use the entry if the words turn out to be wrong.
The formulas themselves are explained under certificate of authenticity, and ownership history under provenance. For why a living artist usually has no entry at all, see checking a contemporary work is authentic.
Sources
- Décret n° 81-255 du 3 mars 1981, arts. 1 to 11
- Décret n° 81-255, arts. 1 and 3