Today we regard paleontology and connoisseurship as very distant spheres of knowledge. But are they not sharing a commitment to the decipherment of clues, either natural or cultural? This richly illustrated collection of essays will substantiate this argument through a series of case studies, starting from Agostino Scilla, a painter and collector, author of an early work on paleontology: La vana speculazione disingannata dal senso (Empty speculation disproven by senses, 1670).

The reconstruction of this complex intellectual trajectory will go on, focusing on two friends, Petrus Camper (1722-1789) and François-Xavier de Burtin (1743-1818). The former, a well-known Dutch anatomist, was interested in painting and physiognomy: his argument about “facial lines” was reworked (and distorted) by 19th and 20th century racism. The latter, a paleontologist and a collector, moved from the study of fossils in the region of Brussels to the study of paintings. Burtin’s work inspired on the one hand, Georges Cuvier, the founder of comparative anatomy; on the other, Giovanni Morelli, the founder of “scientific” connoisseurship. This divergent, but connected reception will throw much light on the central theme of the book: the intricate relationship between paleontology and connoisseurship.