The Morellian Methodist

is based on the work of Giovanni Morelli, a 19th century Italian man who was a well-known art

critic and eventually a politician, but who is best known today for his ultra-detail-oriented

approach to categorizing and identifying the work of particular artists based on relatively

obscure aspects of their work. What this meant in practice

was looking at, for instance, the folds in the ears of people painted into the background

of a composition, or noting the way an artist would foreshorten or shade the digits on the hand

shown in a portrait, By fixating on what would

initially seem to be relatively minor details, someone like Morelli could work up a profile of a

particular artist, showing how they portray background subjects earfolds, and how their portrayal

of those earfolds changed over time, over the course of their career,

and then in turn show how artists compare and contrast to each other in this regard.

But also, quite possibly, he could figure out if a newly discovered work

actually belonged to a known artist's catalog, and if so, where that work fit, when it was painted

based on what was known about their earfold painting evolution. If you've ever read a Sherlock

Holmes story or seen one portrayed on TV or in a movie, you have likely seen a Merleian

analytical method being applied. This method is

impressive to watch or even hear about, because it requires a great deal of expertise and what's

often called connoisseurship. To become a connoisseur of a particular field, you're not just an

expert in the sense of being able to ramble off facts and data

that you've memorized. You actually know these facts, that data, so well that you can almost

feel in your gut when something is off, or something is done perfectly, or when, in the case

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