Théodore Rousseau and the Rise of the Modern Art Market: An Avant-Garde Landscape Painter in Nineteenth-Century France

Description

The 19th century in France witnessed the emergence of the structures of the modern art market that remain until this day. This book examines the relationship between the avant-garde Barbizon landscape painter, Théodore Rousseau (1812–1867), and this market, exploring the constellation of patrons, art dealers and critics who surrounded the artist. It argues for the pioneering role of Rousseau, his patrons and his public in the origins of the modern art market, and, in so doing, shifts attention away from the more traditional focus on the novel careers of the Impressionists and their supporters. Drawing on extensive archival research, the book provides new insight into the role of the modern artist as professional. It provides a new understanding of the complex iconographical and formal choices within Rousseau’s work, rediscovering the original radical charge that once surrounded the artist’s work and led to extensive and peculiarly modern tensions with the market place. Cover Contents List of Plates List of Figures Series Editor’s Introduction Acknowledgments List of Abbreviations Introduction 1 “The Outlaw”: Rousseau at the Salon 2 Alternative Spaces: Artists’ Societies to the Cercle de L’Union Artistique 3 “A Small Number of the Privileged”: The Patrons 4 The Art Dealers: Adolphe Beugniet to Paul Durand-Ruel 5 “This Dangerous Game”: The Auction Sale 6 The Reproduction Industry: From Etching to Photography Rousseau’s Legacy Appendix 1 Appendix 2 Appendix 3 Select Bibliography Index