NAHR: A Visual Representation of Social Networks as Support for Art History Research

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In the field of art history, the analysis of community dynamics can give researchers precious insight on the subjects of their studies. Data on genealogy and community bonds can provide a rich understanding of the functioning of a community. Traditional family trees are not designed to support extra-familial links and often lack the time-bound aspect of these relationships, and timeline-style tools miss the mark on representing the network dimension of such structures. We introduce NAHR (Networks in Art History Research), a tool that visualizes small networks of families connected through marriage, god-parenthood and professional relationships, and that provides insight in the change of these dynamics over time.