Art Auctions and Dealers: The Dissemination of Netherlandish Art During the Ancien Régime

This collection of essays presents a status quaestionis concerning the dissemination of Flemish and Dutch art during the period 1400-1800, and highlights the role art auctions and dealers have played in this process. Auctions emerged as the primary channel for art sales at the end of the seventeenth century in the Low Countries and during the eighteenth century, countless local art collections were broken up and put up for auction. Especially (old master) paintings exchanged hands in great numbers at these public sales, and the finest pieces frequently ended up in foreign holdings. The activities of the professional art dealer form the focus of several essays. These intermediaries played an instrumental role in the commercialization and expansion of the art trade in early modern Europe. They had a profound impact on the history of collecting as they mediated and even influenced taste. Naturally, the role of art dealers changed over time. Therefore, the historians, art historians and economists who contributed to this volume have approached this phenomenon in an interdisciplinary fashion in order to properly understand how art markets functioned. In doing so, these essays explore the various ways in which art dealers helped shape markets for art, and how they facilitated the increasing volume of exports of Netherlandish art from the sixteenth century onwards. Hans Vlieghe is professor emeritus at the University of Leuven. He has published extensively on Flemish art of the 17th century, especially on Rubens and his circle. Filip Vermeylen is assistant professor of Cultural Economics at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam. His current research focuses on the history of art markets. Dries Lyna works at the Center for Urban History (University of Antwerp), where he is currently preparing a Ph.D. thesis on art auctions in eighteenth-century Antwerp and Brussels. This collection of essays presents a status quaestionis concerning the dissemination of Flemish and Dutch art during the period 1500-1800, and highlights the role art auctions and dealers have played in this process. Auctions emerged as the primary channel for art sales at the end of the seventeenth century in the Low Countries and started a trent whereby countless local art collections were broken up and sold to the highest bidder. Especially (old master) paintings exchanged hands in great numbers at these public sales, and the finest pieces frequently ended up in foreign holdings. The activities of the professional art dealer form the focus of several essays. These intermediaries played an instrumental role in the commercialization and expansion of the art trade in early modern Europe. They had a profound impact on the history of collecting as they mediated and even influenced taste. Naturally, the role of art dealers changed over time. Therefore, the historians, art historians and economists who contributed to this volume have approached this phenomenon in an interdisciplinary fashion in order to properly understand how art markets functioned. In doing so, these essays explore the various ways in which art dealers helped shape markets for art, and how they facilitated the increasing volume of exports of Netherlandish art from the sixteenth century onwards. Hans Vlieghe is professor emeritus at the University of Leuven. He has published extensively on Flemish art of the 17 th century, especially on Rubens and his circle. Filip Vermeylen is assistant professor of Cultural Economics at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam. His current research focuses on the history of art markets. Dries Lyna works at the Center for Urban History (University of Antwerp), where he is currently preparing a Ph. D. thesis on art auctions in eighteenth-century Antwerp and Brussels Introduction / Dries Lyna, Filip Vermeylen And Hans Vlieghe -- Art On Drawing : Lotteries Of Works In The Sixteenth-century Southern Netherlands / Sophie Raux -- All In The Family : Abraham Janssen (1571/75-1632) And His Relations In The Antwerp Art Trade / Joost Van Der Auwera -- Antwerp Dealers' Invasions Of The Seventeenth-century Lille Market / Neil De Marchi And Hans J. Van Miegroet -- Ik Offre Mij In Alle Dienst : The Art Dealership Of Merchant And Diplomat Jan Van Beuningen, 1667-1720 / Koenraad Jonckheere -- Wie Durft Daerop Bieden? : Tapestry Cartoons, Prepatory Sketches And Tapestries At Auction, 1650-1750 / Koen Brosens -- The Amsterdam Art Market As A Source And Point Of Dispersal For German And Russian Collections At The End Of The Eighteenth Century / Burton Fredericksen -- Acquiring Paintings For The Polish Court : King Stanislaw August (1764-1795) And His Dealers / Ewa Manikowska -- French Collectors And The Taste For Flemish Painting During The Eighteenth-century / Patrick Michel -- Rubens For Sale : Art Auctions In Antwerp During The Seventeenth And Eighteenth Centuries / Dries Lyna And Filip Vermeylen -- La Fraîcheur Qu'offre La Nature : Some Remarks On The Auction Price Evolution Of Flower Still Lifes In The Eighteenth Century / Peter Carpreau. Edited By Dries Lyna, Filip Vermeylen, & Hans Vlieghe. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. FM.pdf Introduction.pdf Chapter 01.pdf Chapter 02.pdf Chapter 03.pdf Chapter 04.pdf Chapter 05.pdf Chapter 06.pdf Chapter 07.pdf Chapter 08.pdf Chapter 09.pdf Chapter 10.pdf Index.pdf