Who created the first Catalogue Raisonné in History?

The first Catalogue Raisonné dates back to the mid-18th century, at the crossroads of art history, commerce, and encyclopedic thought.

In 1751, Parisian art dealer Edmé-François Gersaint, the main representative of Rembrandt in France, published (posthumously, thanks to his collaborators) the Catalogue Raisonné of Rembrandt’s printed work, titled “Catalogue raisonné de toutes les pièces qui forment l’œuvre de Rembrandt.”

This document marked a historic milestone: for the first time, an artistic corpus was presented in a systematic way, with descriptions, classifications, and criteria for authenticity.
Each print was cataloged, analyzed, and sometimes compared to other versions or states — a level of scholarly rigor that was unprecedented at the time.

The term “Catalogue Raisonné” captures the intellectual ambition of the project: to bring order to the apparent chaos of creation through critical methodology.
It was not a simple commercial inventory, but an attempt to secure the memory of the artist’s work, reliably and sustainably.

This model would deeply influence how art historians, collectors, and institutions approached authentication.
In the 19th century, the Catalogue Raisonné became a standard tool in European art circles, especially for the great masters (Velázquez, Rubens, Ingres…), and it developed further in the 20th century with academic rigor, particularly around Picasso, Matisse, and Monet.

Over time, the Catalogue Raisonné has become the ultimate reference for attributing, authenticating, and documenting the complete works of an artist.
Today, it is an indispensable tool for researchers, collectors, auction houses, and museums.

This long-term endeavor requires rigor, methodology, and impartiality. It also carries an ethical responsibility: to help preserve and transmit a reliable, coherent, and enduring artistic legacy.

InventoZen supports you in this demanding but fascinating process of Catalogue Raisonné creation.

InventoZen is the leading solution for creating, archiving, and publishing Catalogues Raisonnés online, with a focus on visibility, structure, and protection of artworks.

With more than 120 Catalogues Raisonnés currently in development, InventoZen has established itself as a reference player in the protection, classification, and transmission of artworks.