I'd really like that. Enriching posts with this kind of metadata is what sets this apart from just a Google Image search, IMO.

Like you said, it's important context, and it's really helpful to have when I want to learn more about an artist or image. I'm way more likely to revisit something if I have more than just a title or author to go on, especially since traditional art isn't guaranteed to be online or easily researchable.

I like seeing that information for the context, especially when a piece feels modern but is from a period I would not have expected.

That said, I'm in favor of lowering the barrier of entry to adding content to communities on lemmy rather than raising it. I wouldn't want someone to not share art on here because they don't know that info.

I agree it's good information to have and I do include it in my posts to this community when I have the information. The problem is that it's not always possible to put a date to a work.

I wouldn't make it a requirement as its inclusion enriches but its absence doesn't retracts, hinders or reduce the enjoyment.

But it is indeed nice to know. Mandatory? Why? This is not a museum.

I agree with @glitter_infection's take:

I'm in favor of lowering the barrier of entry to adding content to communities on lemmy rather than raising it. I wouldn't want someone to not share art on here because they don't know that info.

99% of the posts in this 3500+ sub community are made by just 2-3 consistent posters. Any strict requirement you'd want to impose here via adherence to format guidelines would be adding friction to people posting content they want to post, and I really don't think anyone wanting to post an artwork should be subject to researching them prior to posting. Hell half the content i post is just stuff i stumbled onto on twitter.

Imposing a handful of strict posting guidelines is a better strategy for subreddits like r/art which have hundreds of posters a week, thereby affording them the luxury of being able to filter down their activity level to maintain a standard of quality.

Traditional_art or just Lemmy in general does not have that luxury. we suffer from a serious shortage of content. We need as many people to supply that content and the best way to do that is to reduce the friction between posters and the ease with which they can post.

We are just groping at the cusp of expanding so for the time being it's better to act as a place where people can simply share artworks they find interesting without having to have nerd-like knowledge on its every detail. Just having the name of the artist on the title is good enough imo and allows any interested party to reverse search and know more if they're interested.

And one day we'll be able to achieve a level of activity high enough that one person ceasing to post won't bring down the entire community, and then we'll talk about tightening the rules. Until that point, everybody should just feel free to share as much as they want. If you're a fellow lurker reading this and you're out there and you've got paintings you want to share, I don't care if you don't know if it's acrylic or oil, 18th or 21st century, or even if you're unaware of the title, just post the goddamn suckers here!

If a requirement is not the best way, how about a polite urge, accompanied by delicate, but persistent social pressure? Such pressure could be exerted with tastefully passive aggressive comments like "year", or just "y", where it's missing.