Reading a wall label
キャプションの読み方
A wall label tells you what a work is, what it is made of, and how the museum came to have it.
01About
Many museum labels list the title, the artist (with life dates when known), the date (“c.” means circa, about that year), the medium, the dimensions, and a credit line saying how the museum acquired the work, such as purchase, bequest, loan or donation. Many also carry an accession number, a record number given when a work enters the collection. Some labels add an extended text about the work or the artist. What a label includes differs from museum to museum.
02In the gallery
Look at a work for a while first, then read the label and see what it adds.
Wall label terms in Japanese
- キャプション
- Wall label
- クレジットライン
- Credit line
- 収蔵品番号
- Accession number
03Notes
A wall label adds to what you see, and is best read alongside long looking.
Before reading the label, what do you guess a work is made of?