With its Digital Art History Lab DAHL, the Frick Art Reference Library seeks to encourage the use of digital tools in art historical inquiry. By providing datasets, workshops, and access to tools, the DAHL hopes to facilitate the collaboration between art historians and scholars from a variety of fields. The datasets presented are related to works of art currently or once attributed to Vermeer.
The dataset contains 203 works of art that were once or are currently attributed to the seventeenth-century Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer (1632–1675). At present, only thirty-five paintings are considered authentic. With this dataset, art historians may uncover hidden connections of provenance, attribution, style, and more between the thirty-five authentic Vermeers and the 168 other paintings, which range from forgeries and misattributions to lost or contested works. The dataset was created with a spirit of exploration and experimentation for those wanting a dataset with which to explore digital art history tools.
When possible, each entry in the Vermeer dataset includes information regarding alternate titles, rejected attributions, provenance, current location, date, image links, material, dimensions, signatures and inscriptions, citations, and exhibition history. This information has also been broken up into smaller datasets of works of art formerly attributed to Vermeer, lost works by Vermeer, an inventory of the Dissius Auction of 1696, and more. Some records still need to be completed: Library staff will continue researching and enhancing these records in the upcoming months.
The datasets are available in CSV format and JSON. We have used the standard UTF-8 encoding for our CSV files. The data in each file is identical. Both forms are provided for your convenience.
These datasets are placed in the public domain using a CC0 License.
While this dataset is open under a CC0 license, we have included a few guidelines that we encourage you to follow when using this data.
We have included links to the images in the Vermeer dataset whenever possible. However, please note that these images may be licensed differently. Additionally, while the Frick Art Reference Library’s Photoarchive includes some of these images, they may only be available for on-site consultation.
While we have worked hard to provide a complete dataset, the information included in this dataset may not be complete or accurate. We are offering the datasets as-is and wish to make no warranties or representations of any kind. If you encounter any errors or issues, please get in touch with us at dahlprograms@frick.org. We plan to update the datasets with new and revised information semi-regularly. Therefore, you are advised to update your copy regularly to ensure you are using the best available information.
We cannot accept pull requests for the data at this time. However, if you find a mistake or have a correction or a suggestion for improvement, please contact dahlprograms@frick.org.
When possible, the Frick respectfully requests acknowledgment as a source. This will help to preserve the datasets. Additionally, by citing our data and providing acknowledgement, you will help others to replicate, verify, and further explore your interpretation of our data.
Additionally, please share your work with us! We love seeing how people are using this data.
Use of this dataset does not grant or imply The Frick Collection’s approval, commission, or support of your work. The Frick Collection retains the rights to all of its trademarks, and they are not part of the dataset. If you transform or modify the dataset, you must clearly distinguish the resulting work as having been modified from The Frick Collection’s dataset. If you create a derivative dataset from the Frick dataset, we ask that you consider releasing the derivative under a CC0 license, which mirrors the licensing of the Frick dataset.
Thanks to the CMOA, MoMA, and Tate for providing excellent examples for these guidelines.