About

Preserving Legacies: Why Every Artist Should Build a Living Catalogue Raisonné

At the heart of Artalyr lies a simple but powerful mission: to help artists document, organize, and safeguard their body of work in a way that is clear, accessible, and agreeable. We believe that a catalogue raisonné should not be a daunting academic exercise reserved for estates and institutions, but a living, practical tool that every artist can create for themselves.

Why a Catalogue Raisonné Matters

A catalogue raisonné is more than a list of artworks. It is a structured narrative that provides context, history, and authenticity. It serves multiple purposes:

Legacy: It ensures that the full breadth of an artist’s career is preserved for future generations.
Authenticity: It combats misattribution and forgery by providing an authoritative source.
Professionalism: Collectors, galleries, and museums value artists who can present a well-documented body of work.
Reflection: It helps the artist see the evolution of their practice, thematic cycles, and the connections between works.

From Static to Living Catalogue

Traditionally, catalogues raisonnés were static publications, often released posthumously. This approach made them monumental but also inaccessible to many working artists. Today, we can move toward a living catalogue raisonné - one that grows, evolves, and adapts alongside the artist.

With Artalyr, artists can:

Continuously update new works, exhibitions, and critical references.
Organize artworks into series and portfolios, highlighting thematic or conceptual progressions.
Set visibility for certain works, balancing private archives with public showcases.
Integrate context - condition reports, ownership history, or exhibition notes - in a way that strengthens the long-term value of the work.

Empowering Artists to Take Control

The initiative to sensitize artists to this practice is about agency. Too often, artists rely on others - dealers, curators, or family members - to manage the legacy of their work. By engaging with their own documentation, artists take control of their narrative.

Artalyr teaches that documentation is not bureaucracy but creative stewardship:

It turns archiving into an ongoing part of artistic practice rather than a retrospective task.
It ensures that no artwork, however small or experimental, is lost to time.
It empowers artists to shape how their body of work will be seen, understood, and remembered.

A Concise and Agreeable Practice

For many artists, the idea of a catalogue raisonné sounds intimidating - something only institutions undertake. But with digital tools, the process can be concise, flexible, and artist-driven.

Artalyr guides artists step by step, encouraging them to:

Start with the essentials (title, medium, year, image).
Build gradually with context (exhibitions, notes, condition reports).
Keep the process sustainable and agreeable, never overwhelming.

Building a Culture of Documentation

This initiative is not just about preserving individual legacies. It’s about cultivating a culture of documentation in the arts. If artists begin to think of their catalogue raisonné as a living document - as natural as sketching, exhibiting, or selling - then we foster a healthier ecosystem for artists, collectors, and scholars alike.

In doing so, Artalyr transforms the catalogue raisonné from a final monument into a living companion to the creative journey.