Overview
Art attribution is the formal process of identifying the creator, period, and origin of an artwork, a practice that sits at the volatile intersection of [[art-history|art history]], forensic science, and the global [[art-market|art market]]. It is a discipline where a single expert's opinion can swing the value of a canvas from $500 to $450 million, as seen in the saga of the [[salvator-mundi|Salvator Mundi]]. The process relies on a 'three-legged stool' methodology: [[connoisseurship|connoisseurship]] (visual analysis), provenance (ownership history), and scientific analysis (pigment testing and carbon dating). In an era of sophisticated forgeries and AI-driven analysis, attribution has evolved from a subjective gentleman’s agreement into a rigorous, multi-disciplinary battlefield where the reputations of institutions like the [[louvre-museum|Louvre]] and the [[metropolitan-museum-of-art|Metropolitan Museum of Art]] are constantly on the line.