The Dessiner voir project investigates the epistemic functions of drawing in the practice of art history. Since
the establishment of art history as an academic discipline in the 19th century, the vast majority of art historians have used drawing to observe, document, classify, and interpret works of art. Yet despite the wealth of documentary evidence attesting to this practice, drawing’s role in shaping art-historical thought remains poorly understood. Addressing this gap requires exploring its diverse uses, tracing its changing forms in relation to the methodological shifts, and comparing its epistemic functions with those it serves in other disciplines. Anyone exploring this question inevitably encounters the difficulty of gaining access to this laboratory of thought, sometimes described as “private” and often shrouded in an air of “secrecy.” To take stock of existing holdings and begin mapping the archival legacies of the most prominent figures in art history, this first workshop, co-organised with the INHA Library (Paris), brings together researchers, archivists, and curators to discuss strategies for cataloguing, showcasing, and disseminating drawings as tools of scholarly inquiry.

Date
26-27 November 2026

Venue
Salle Yvonne Oddon,
Bibliothèque de l’Institut National d’Histoire de l’Art 
5 rue Vivienne, 75002 Paris

Organizer
Jérémie Koering

Attendance
By registration only : angela.kuratli@unifr.ch

A collaboration between UNIFR and INHA, with the generous support of the SNSF