Short abstract

To examine the strengths and limitations of replication in the humanities, an art historical Rembrandt study was replicated. This paper takes a meta perspective on epistemic advantages suggested by our case study, as a contribution to the discussion on the value of replication in the humanities.

Long abstract

Motivated by the ‘replication crisis’ that deeply impacted the biomedical, natural, and social sciences, a case study was conducted to examine the strengths and limitations of replication studies in the humanities. More specifically, this involved a replication of an art historical Rembrandt attribution study. This paper presents the current status of the discussion on the feasibility and desirability of replication in the humanities and discusses the broader relevance of the case study’s findings for replication in the humanities. The Rembrandt replication revealed epistemic advantages of replication related to the past (contributing to the historiography of the study), the present (assessment of the trustworthiness of findings, enriching existing argumentation and improving methodologies and exchange of expertise), and the future (enhancing transparency and enabling future replicability). The paper discusses how different approaches to designing a replication study in the humanities can be aligned with specific aims. Making humanities studies suitable for future replication entails detailed documentation, preregistration, ensuring the availability of the obtained data, and explicating the study’s methodology. This not only creates conditions for replication, but replicating also increases epistemic impact and allows future researchers to build upon previous research more easily and rigorously. Furthermore, the transparency this entails improves accountability and the trustworthiness of the studies in question. Based on these reflections, it is concluded that replication in the humanities can be both feasible and desirable. Replicability should not be seen as a challenge to credibility or a requirement for quality, but as an important epistemic opportunity for the humanities.