Developing a field of knowledge through bibliography: art history in the 16th century

We propose a discussion on two writings of the 16th century, specifically the fourth chapter of his Idea del tempio della pittura by Giovan Paolo Lomazzo (first published in 1591), dedicated to “the ancient and modern writers of art” (Lomazzo, 1971, p. 34) and Antonio Possevino’s chapter “Painting precepts transmitted by the ancients and the moderns”, from his Tractatio de Poesi et pintura ethnica, humana et fabulosa collata cum vera, honesta et sacra (1595). Both the authors must be considered, beside the much more known Vasari, as authors which starts to elaborate systematic approaches to art books, designing a field of knowledge through the compilation of bibliographies, somehow a new approach in this new specific fields of knowledge at the time that is called Art. The methodological approach of the study is historical, working on the original sources, in order to understand the choices in art literature that established the bases and marked the frontiers of a field of knowledge organization (KO) called Art as designed by Art History. Sources studies combine with literature reflections, inquiring what kind of knowledge field was designed by these authors and how it determined the development of art studies.