Our Research Methods



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Every painting is examined as both a work of art and a historical document. Our research combines visual analysis, archival enquiry, provenance investigation, and art-historical comparison to build a fuller understanding of each work.
At Titan Fine Art, research is central to the way we select, catalogue and present each painting. A portrait is rarely only a likeness: it may reveal family history, social ambition, political allegiance, fashion, taste, inheritance, patronage and collecting history. Our role is to examine these clues carefully and to present them with clarity, proportion and integrity.
Understanding the painting before presenting it.
A SCHOLARLY APPROACH

Provenance & Documentary Research

Historical Context

Visual & Stylistic Analysis

We study composition, handling, costume, pose, format and comparison with known works by the artist or workshop. These observations help establish period, authorship, studio practice and historical context.

We examine inscriptions, labels, auction records, family histories, heraldry, estate collections, wills, inventories and related archival material where available.

We place each work within its wider cultural setting, including sitter biography, patronage, political events, fashion, marriage, inheritance and the social meaning of portraiture.

Careful judgement, not speculation.
Attribution is approached cautiously. Where a work cannot be securely assigned to an individual hand, we use appropriate terminology such as “studio of”, “circle of”, “follower of”, or “after”, according to the evidence. This allows collectors to understand the degree of confidence behind an attribution and the relationship between the painting and the artist’s known practice.
ATTRIBUTION & CONNOISSEURSHIP

Studio of



Used where the work appears to have been produced within the artist’s workshop or under the influence of the master’s established studio practice.

Circle / Follower / After



Used where a painting relates to an artist’s style, period or prototype, but where direct authorship or workshop production is less certain.

Artist



Used only where authorship is supported by strong visual, documentary or scholarly evidence.

WHAT WE LOOK FOR
Paintings often preserve evidence beyond the image itself. Labels, inscriptions, stretcher marks, canvas type, frame history, old restorations, family traditions and auction references can all contribute to understanding a work. Even when an identification cannot be proved conclusively, these details can narrow the field and provide a more responsible historical reading.
  • Inscriptions and old labels
  • Auction and collection records
  • Costume and hairstyle dating
  • Comparable portraits
  • Frame and stretcher evidence
  • Family, estate and heraldic connections
  • Conservation and condition history

The evidence within the object.

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