Journal · Method
Why uncertainty matters
A careful visual reading is allowed to leave some doors open.
Confidence is not a score. It is a way of saying how much of a claim is supported by what is in front of us. The rest belongs in the realm of possibility, not fact.
This is especially important when an image is used to identify a work. A visual resemblance can suggest a direction for research, but it cannot settle authorship, provenance, condition, or value on its own.
Separate the layers
Observation, context, and interpretation can sit beside one another without pretending to be the same thing. Naming the layer makes a reading easier to question and easier to trust.
A better kind of answer
A useful answer can be clear about what it knows, precise about what it sees, and curious about what it cannot settle from one image.
Make uncertainty useful
When a detail is unclear, say what would help: a sharper crop, a second angle, a catalogue record, or a conversation with a specialist. Uncertainty becomes practical when it points toward the next piece of evidence rather than pretending to be a final verdict.
Name the next evidence
When a claim matters, write down what would change your mind. It might be a catalogue record, a clearer photograph, a conservation note, or a specialist's view.
Sourced starting points
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Heilbrunn Timeline of Art HistoryTate, Art terms