A world of deception and deceit? Jacob Campo Weyerman and the eighteenth-century art market* Koenraad Jonckheere and Filip Vermeylen
The last decade has seen an intensi- character of this essay is underscored by the fact that the fied interest in the nature of and changes in the eight- Vertoogh explicitly scrutinizes the role of intermediaries eenth-century art market, with a focus on the increasing in the art market of the Low Countries. Not count- occurrence of specialized art auctions. Much attention ing the remarks Johan van Gool made on the topic in has been devoted to the growing importance of art deal- his Nieuwe schouburg der Nederlantsche kunstschilders en ers in an emerging and booming secondhand market schilderessen in and his quarrel with the younger for paintings and other goods of fancy such as books, Gerard Hoet, the Brussels manuscript may be the only furniture or antiques. An unpublished manuscript by true literary account of that market in the Age of En- Jacob Campo Weyerman (–) preserved in the lightenment. For that reason alone, it deserves more Brussels Royal Library provides a fascinating account attention than it has so far received. In addition, Weyer- of the inner workings of this rapidly developing market. man’s preoccupation with dealers makes it a completely It is entitled Vertoogh over de apocrijfe schilders (Remon- different type of historical source from the ones used for strance about apocryphal painters) and is dated . art market studies up until now (mainly probate inven- The title is misleading, since Weyerman’s manuscript tories and sales catalogues). is primarily an anthology of anecdotes combined with a Weyerman certainly writes at a most interesting time series of character sketches of a selection of art dealers and place. The market for the visual arts in the Low active in the Low Countries at the time. In this sense Countries of the late seventeenth and early eighteenth it differs greatly from the more typical early modern centuries was at a turning point. The Dutch Golden compilations of painters’ biographies. In fact, the unique Age had come to a close and old master paintings were
* The authors are grateful to Payal Arora, Veerle de Laet, Dries exhib. cat. Thuis in de Gouden Eeuw: kleine meesterwerken uit de Lyna and Ineke Steevens for their help in preparing this article. Sør Rusche collectie, Rotterdam (Kunsthal) , pp. –. We also benefited greatly from the insightful comments made by J.C. Weyerman, Vertoogh over de apocrijfe schilders enz., the editors of Simiolus. Anno can be consulted in Brussels, Royal Library, Depart- See, for instance, K. Jonckheere, The auction of King Wil- ment of Manuscripts, inv. nr. -. On this manuscript see P. liam’s paintings (): elite international art trade at the end of Altena, “‘Doldriftiger monster verscheen ons noit aan de Maze’: the Dutch Golden Age, Amsterdam & Philadelphia ; E. Kort- Jacob Campo Weyerman en Rotterdam,” Mededelingen van de hals Altes, De verovering van de internationale kunstmarkt door de Stichting Jacob Campo Weyerman (), nr. , pp. –; zeventiende-eeuwse schilderkunst, Leiden ; D. Lyna and F. T. Broos, Tussen zwart en ultramarijn: de levens van schilders Vermeylen (eds.), Art auctions and dealers: the dissemination of beschreven door Jacob Campo Weyerman (–), Amster- Netherlandish art during the Ancien Régime, Turnhout ; D. dam , pp. –; K. Jonckheere, “‘Een zedig uijterljik, en Lyna, The cultural construction of value: art auctions in Antwerp een fijn mans ijthangbordt, is het merk van een modern vroom and Brussels (–), diss., University of Antwerp ; konstkoper’: Jacob Campo Weyerman over de kunsthandel,” in N. de Marchi and H. van Miegroet (eds.), Mapping markets for H. Pauwels et al. (eds.), Liber memorialis Eric Duverger, Wetteren paintings in Europe. –, Turnhout ; M.J. Bok, “New , pp. –. perspectives on eighteenth-century Dutch art production and L. de Vries, “De kunsthandel is zoo edel als eenigen, ver- collecting,” in M. North (ed.), Kunstsammeln und Geschmack im mits ‘er geen bedrog in is’: de pamflettenstrijd tussen Gerard . Jahrhundert, Berlin , pp. –.; M.J. Bok, “‘Schilderien Hoet en Johan van Gool,” Leids Kunsthistorisch Jaarboek te coop’: nieuwe marketingtechnieken op de Nederlandse kunst- (), pp. –; Korthals Altes, op. cit. (note ), p. . markt van de Gouden Eeuw,” in M.J. Bok and M. Gosselink, Jonckheere, op. cit. (note ), pp. –. increasingly recycled through the retail system. New marketing techniques were applied to stimulate the demand for art, and efforts were made to increase ex- ports. The printed auction catalogue and advertisements in newspapers announcing upcoming art sales in many ways revolutionized the market. Furthermore, it is as- sumed that foreign dealers frequently traveled to Dutch and Flemish cities to buy up local art, hoping to resell these prized goods for a profit in Paris, London or at the German courts. Seen from this perspective, it can be argued that this time period witnessed the beginnings of a more integrated European art market. The Low Countries were at the heart of these developments, and their art centers played a pioneering role in introducing innovations in the marketing of art, such as specialized art auctions. We therefore intend to explore Weyer- man’s writings in search of meaningful and previously unrecognized observations concerning the state of the art market. For this purpose, we will use the Brussels manuscript and a few related sources to elucidate and Jacob Campo Weyerman, Vase of flowers. Cambridge, contextualize the expanding role of intermediaries and Fitzwilliam Museum the impact they may have had on the dissemination and validation of Dutch and Flemish art, and on the growing art. Among art historians today, he is renowned not for importance of connoisseurship. his painting or his commerce but for his authorship of the four-volume De levens-beschryvingen der Nederland- - sche konst-schilders en konst-schilderessen of . While Jacob Campo Weyerman was born in it draws heavily on Houbraken’s Groote schouburgh, it and died after a long and eventful life as a convict in remains a significant contribution to the rich tradition of The Hague in . Primarily a painter in the early artists’ biographies in the Low Countries. Literary his- stages of his career, he traveled through northern Europe torians are mostly appreciative of his well-written and in search of fame and fortune by painting flower pieces idiosyncratic novels and plays, and he is further remem- for wealthy collectors. Not much of his art has survived, bered as a penny-a-line author of countless pamphlets. but a flower still life in the Fitzwilliam Museum appears A recently discovered miniature portrait dating to be a signature piece (fig. ). However, he was unable from shows a jolly Weyerman, seemingly full of to make a living from painting, and attempted to sup- life (fig. ). The miniature painted by Cornelis Troost plement his income by occasionally dealing in works of (–) projects the public image of the bon vivant,
Ibid., passim. On Houbraken see H.J. Horn, The Golden Age revisited: For a biography of Weyerman see Broos, op. cit. (note Arnold Houbraken’s great theatre of Netherlandish painters and ), pp. –. See also E. Groenenboom-Draai, De Rotterdamse paintresses, vols., Doornspijk ; B. Cornelis, “Arnold Hou- woelreus: De Rotterdamse Hermes (–) van Jacob Campo braken’s Groote schouburgh and the canon of seventeenth-century Weyerman, Amsterdam . Dutch painting,” Simiolus (), pp. –. On Weyerman Jacob Campo Weyerman, A vase of flowers, canvas, . × and the tradition of artists’ biographies see especially Broos, op. . cm. Cambridge, The Fitzwilliam Museum, inv. nr. .– cit. (note ), pp. –. . E. Mai, S. Paarlberg and G.J.M. Weber (eds.), exhib. cat. For instance, Weyerman owned and dealt in works by Vom Adel der Malerei: Holland um , Cologne (Wallraf-Rich- David Teniers (–), Gonzales Coques (c. –) and artz-Museum and Fondation Corboud), Dordrecht (Dordrechts Cornelis van Poelenburch (–) among others; see Broos, Museum) & Kassel (Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister) , pp. op. cit. (note ), pp. –. –, nr. .
Cornelis Troost, Jacob r and r, Weyerman embarks on a lengthy excursion Campo Weyerman, . on some minor Dutch painters. This section of the Private collection manuscript is of no importance for our examination of intermediaries in the art market. It is not clear why this text was never published. We do know that Weyerman had run into financial difficul- ties in the late s, and that his fortunes and credibil- ity had started to wane to the extent that he had to leave Amsterdam and take refuge in Vianen. Publishers were in all likelihood shying away from an author who was increasingly being labeled as subversive. The fact that the manuscript explicitly mentions the names of crook- and the perception may have matched reality, since ed dealers and incompetent collectors (as perceived by Weyerman was indeed a public figure who professed Weyerman) probably added insult to injury, leaving any to enjoy life. He traveled widely within and outside the publisher open to charges of libel. Weyerman’s reputa- Low Countries, but if there was any town he could have tion as a publicist had come under serious scrutiny, and called home it was Breda. He grew up in this frontier clearly no publisher wanted to take a chance with such town, and his mother continued to live there after Jacob a loose cannon. embarked on his peregrinations. At set times, he would Nevertheless, the existence of this important docu- return to his adopted home town. Breda is interesting ment did not go entirely unnoticed. Ton Broos was because it is situated precisely at the crossroads of the the first and so far the only author to quote extensively Dutch Republic and the Spanish Netherlands, the coun- from it. He used the Vertoogh over de apocrijfe schil- tries where Weyerman spent most of his time. It is no ders primarily to complement his study on De levens- surprise, then, that his perspective and outlook were not beschryvingen der Nederlandsche konst-schilders en konst- confined to the Dutch Republic; he discusses artists and schilderessen, but he also devoted a chapter to Weyer- dealers from both sides of the frontier. The overwhelm- man’s views on the marketing of art, primarily by ing majority of the art dealers mentioned in his manu- relating telling anecdotes. He did not, however, draw script lived in Brussels, Antwerp, Ghent, Rotterdam, conclusions as to the nature and functioning of the art Amsterdam or The Hague. His Greater Netherlands market in general, which is our goal. perspective also emanates from the list of painters whose works are mentioned in the Vertoogh (see the Appendix). : - The Brussels manuscript is preserved in the manu- It is a commonplace to point out scripts department of the Royal Library in Brussels. It that Weyerman’s literary style is satirical — even cyni- numbers folios and is in relatively good condition. cal — and that the factual evidence he provides needs to None of the pages have faded, which allows for clear be treated with caution. His wry sense of humor not- and easy reading. Weyerman made economical use of withstanding, he was in many respects ideally positioned every space, and his swift handwriting reveals the ease to describe the nature and functioning of the art market of a prolific author. The handwriting is confident and in the early eighteenth century. When he discusses the steady, and shows no hesitation in confiding the author’s names of the artists whose works are in demand on the thoughts to the pages (fig. ). The greater part of the contemporary market, it is striking that with the ex- text is exclusively about art dealers but, between fols. ception of the elder Gerard Hoet, who died in ,
Broos, op. cit. (note ), pp. –. schryvingen was not printed during his lifetime. It was eventually Weyerman, op. cit. (note ), fols. v-r. The minor published posthumously in ; see Broos, op. cit. (note ), painters mentioned in this section are Tens, Baardstro, Baldi, pp. –. Micharius, van der Locht, and Kuningham. Ibid., pp. –. This is probably why the final volume of his Levens-be- Ibid., passim. A world of deception and deceit? Jacob Campo Weyerman and the eighteenth-century art market
Sample page from Weyerman’s Vertoogh. Brussels, Royal Library it involves dead painters from the Flemish and Dutch pointed out that the art market held Golden Age artists golden ages. For instance, when Weyerman refers to the in much higher esteem. “most famous artists” (“alderberugtste konstenaers”) he In his essay, Weyerman pointed to the rise of art lists no living artists at all. This, of course, underscores auctions and the further internationalization of the mar- the assumption that the market for paintings in Weyer- ket. In fact, he himself attended several public sales man’s day was primarily a secondhand one. This marked and reported on them. For instance, he was present at a departure from the seventeenth century, when living the auction of the splendid collection of Adriaan Paets painters were in high demand. Weyerman’s manuscript in in Rotterdam, which included valuable Italian thus anticipates Johan van Gool’s views on the contem- works and six cabinet pieces by Adriaen van der Werff porary art market in the s and his frustrations about (–). As a very perceptive witness, Weyerman the high prices paid for old masters at a time when living clearly understood the significance of printed invento- artists could barely make ends meet. While van Gool ries of art collections, auction catalogues and advertise- may have exaggerated the lamentable state of the artists’ ments for upcoming sales in newspapers, and how these labor market in the mid-eighteenth century, he correctly innovations revolutionized the marketing of art in early
De Vries, op. cit. (note ), pp. –. man scholars have plausibly identified the anonymous dealer and Broos, op. cit. (note ), p. . Van der Werff’s paintings collector mentioned in De Waarheit as Jacques Meyers, another fetched particularly high prices. His ‘Lot’s bloedschande’ (Lot’s Rotterdam merchant who was quite familiar to Weyerman. On incest) sold for , guilders, and was bought by Griffier Fagel the Paets auction, Jacques Meyers and art dealing and collecting of The Hague. Another major sale that Weyerman attended in in Rotterdam see J.G. van Gelder, “Het kabinet van de Heer Rotterdam was that of the collection of Jacques Meyers. Weyer- Jaques Meyers,” Rotterdams Jaarboekje , pp. –. modern times. Even though catalogues and the ac- be mere lists with little information on painters or paint- companying advertisements had only been introduced ings, they do give interesting indications about quality in Weyerman’s lifetime, both were used to excess by the and authenticity. art dealers discussed in the Vertoogh. “The newspaper Research on extant auction catalogues and commer- advertisement is his daily bread, and thus he can enjoy cial documents indicates that the branding of artists had a good midday meal with the reading of a catalogue of a been a common practice since the late seventeenth cen- sale of paintings, just like a poor student who dines on tury, with sellers hoping to capitalize on the name of an the philosophy of Aristotle.” artist. The frequent occurrence of brand names such as The dissemination of printed catalogues stimulated “Brouwerkens,” “Tenierskens” and so forth in commer- further internationalization of the art market, a point cial documents indicates that branding was employed as which has been emphasized in the recent literature. a marketing strategy, well before Weyerman commented What we learn from Weyerman is how catalogues fea- on it. He was not alone in his views on abuses that turing upcoming sales were distributed in inns to travel- went hand in hand with branding practices and false at- ers coming from various cities in the British Isles, and tributions. For instance, the columnist Justus van Effen to passenger ships arriving in the port of Rotterdam. (–) wrote the following barely four years after Printed catalogues were thus efficiently used for lo- the Vertoogh: “If one wishes to go by the names, a Gras- calized advertising in order to boost event awareness beek, a Spreeuw stand for Brouwer or Dou. Van Harp, and broaden the market. Not surprisingly, Weyerman although a creditable artist, is christened Teniers be- stresses the negative aspects of these newly developed cause people have rarely seen anything of his here. And marketing tools, but through his disgust we can catch so they toy with them like Jack Pudding with his hat, a glimpse of the impact these printed sources had on which he manages to turn into a crown one minute and collecting and dealing in the early eighteenth century. a miter the next.” Individuals not accustomed to art were told what auc- This brings us to Weyerman’s second criticism of tions might have in store for them, enticing them to take printed catalogues, namely that people implicitly started up collecting. to consider them as carrying a ‘quality label.’ For in- Weyerman did not oppose this new phenomenon stance, in his account of a trick played by the English art as such. What he lamented was that instead of looking dealer Wats, Weyerman relates that this man’s printed at the paintings themselves, art dealers and collectors catalogues were distributed in harbors and inns, especial- trusted the names and attributions mentioned in these ly in places where tourists arrived or stayed. Prompted sales catalogues. For dealers this was certainly shameful, by the lure of a seemingly fabulous collection, these ig- according to Weyerman. They regarded the catalogues norant curiosi would then visit Wats’s collection. When as if they were distinguished treatises by themselves in- they were subsequently told about all the other noblemen stead of looking at the works of art. Indeed, although who had come and visited the merchant’s collection, the catalogues in early eighteenth-century Holland seem to naive youngsters trustfully bought some of the “rubbish”
On the importance of the introduction of printed auction heere and A. Tummers (eds.), Art market and connoisseurship: a catalogues see Jonckheere, op. cit. (note ), esp. pp. –; D. closer look at paintings by Rembrandt, Rubens and their contempo- Lyna and F. Vermeylen, “Rubens for sale: art auctions in Ant- raries, Amsterdam , pp. –. werp during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries,” in Lyna Ibid. et al. op. cit. (note ), pp. –. As quoted in A.W. Stellwagen, J. van Effen en de Hol- Weyerman, op. cit. (note ), fol. v: “De advertissement landse spectactor: eene bloemlezing van een en tachtig vertoogen, Courant is zijn Dagelijks Broodt, en hij kan alzoo wel een goed Groningen , pp. –: “Wil men zig naar de namen rich- middagmael houden op de Leesing eener catalogus van een ten, een Graasbeek, een Spreeuw staan voor Brouwer of Douw verkoping van Schilderijen, als een arm student die avondmaelt geboekt. Van Harp, schoon een verdienstig kunstenaar, wordt, op de wijs-begeerte van Aristoteles;” Lyna, op. cit. (note ), pp. omdat men hier Zelden iets van hem gezien heeft, Teniers ge- –. doopt. En dus speelen ze’er mee als jan potage met zyn muts, Ibid., fol. r. daar hy nu een kroon en dan een myter weet toe te stellen.” See K. Jonckheere, “Supply and demand: some notes on the also Lyna, op. cit. (note ), p. . economy of seventeenth-century connoisseurship,” in K. Jonck- Weyerman, op. cit. (note ), fols. r-r. A world of deception and deceit? Jacob Campo Weyerman and the eighteenth-century art market he had to offer. Young and inexperienced noblemen, lovers of art at a sale of paintings as a comet or tail-star in particular, were among Wats’s victims. Weyerman is recognizable in the firmament of the heavens from blames him for creating a sort of aura around his stock among the other pentagonal sky-lamps, for his pale, fur- by presenting it as a collection with a printed inventory, rowed and tormented brow usually looks like an inter- and augmenting the value of his art by boasting of all est-rate table calculated at fifty percent.” The tone is the honorable art lovers he had received over the years. set and Weyerman never fails throughout the text to He derived social capital from a printed catalogue and point to the incompetence of would-be art dealers. He an (imaginary) list of viewers, and subsequently used it blames them not just for their inability to distinguish as a means to increase the artistic and financial standing between an original and a copy or for their name fetish- of his collection of art and curiosities; truly a vicious ism, but above all for their fraudulent nature. They were scheme in Weyerman’s eyes. The interest of wealthy “Judas to betray all those painters with imitation copies” connoisseurs could enhance the value of a collection, (“Judas, alle die schilders te verraeden, door nagebood- as has been argued elsewhere. At a time when printed ste Kopijen”). sales and collection catalogues were still relatively rare, Inundated by all this name calling and offensiveness, it seems that such publications were themselves enhanc- one almost misses the few paragraphs in which Wey- ing the alleged value of a collection. No wonder that in erman mentions the rare instances where he has come the eighteenth-century Netherlands and France, printed across trustworthy and honorable art dealers. The Rot- catalogues became a crucial instrument in the marketing terdammer Jacob van Dam, for instance, who ran a fash- of art, and that, up until the present day, art dealers and ionable inn in Hoogstraat, also sold works of art to the auction houses invest a great deal in them. “many honorable merchants, distinguished gentlemen and decent citizens” who frequented his establishment. : - He was a novice art lover but Weyerman praises the way Jacob Campo he ventured to become a connoisseur and trustworthy Weyerman starts his exposé with a derogatory and in- dealer. He is the proverbial exception to the rule. “He tensely vicious description of the character of those who listened so attentively to the discourses on painting and call themselves “konstkopers” (literally buyers of art, studied paintings so intently that he began to gain some here used in the sense of art dealers). His description understanding of them, and finally arrived at the point of the “character of an art buyer” is a three-page tirade where he could see the good essences shine through the of which the following paragraphs are merely the high- bad and went straight to them, and within a short while lights. “An art buyer is a fellow who is far too wise to he had become quite a good connoisseur.” undergo martyrdom for religion, but who on the other Who, then, is qualified to deal in works of art, ac- hand sacrifices his life and salvation in the defense of a cording to Weyerman? Is the author of the same mind deceptive artistic copy.... The face or countenance of as van Gool in that it must be left to the artists them- an art buyer is as recognizable among the uninterested selves? This is often implied in Weyerman’s words, but
Jonckheere, op. cit. (note ), passim. Ibid., fol. r: “...veele brave Koopluyde deftige Heeren, See Broos, op. cit. (note ), pp. –; Jonckheere, op. en Fatzoenlijke Borgers.” cit. (note ), pp. –. Ibid., fol. v: “...hij Luijsterde zoo vlijtiglyk na de Dis- Weyerman, op. cit. (note ), fols. v-r: “Een Konstkoper koersen over de schilderkonst, en Bestudeerde schilderijen zoo is een karel die al te wijs is om ooit het Marteldom te ondergaen naerstiglijk, dat hij ’er eenig begrip voor begon te krijgen, en voor den godsdienst, doch die aen den andere kant zijn Leeven, eijndelijk zoo ver geraakte, dat hij het goede uijt het kwade effen- en zaligheijt opoffert aen de verdedegingh van een Bedriegelijke ties kon zien Doorstralen, en daar op ging hij Recht toe regt aen Konstkopeij.... Het gezicht of de Tronie van een Konstkoper is en hij wierdt binnen een korte Tijt een Tamelijk goed Konstken- zoo kenbaer op een verkoping van Schilderijen uijt de ongein- ner.” Weyerman added that there was no one to be found who teresseerde Konstliefhebbers, als een komeet, of staartstar, aen could accuse van Dam of even the slightest wrongdoing in his het uijtspansel des Hemels kenbaer is uijt de andere vijfhoekige activities as a dealer. Luchtlampen, want zijn bleek gerimpelt en beplaegt voorhooft, E. Duverger, “Réflexions sur le commerce d’art au e ziet er doorgaens uijt, als een Tafel van Intrest, opgereekent siècle,” in G. Kauffman (ed.), Stil und Uberlieferung in der Kunst tegens vijftig per cent.” des abendlandes, vols., Berlin , vol. , p. . The discussion not articulated explicitly. What does emanate from the by buying a piece from time to time. Those gentlemen, Brussels manuscript is that he makes a clear distinction not yet having eyes they could trust, then made use of between the “verstandige konstkenners” (knowledgeable the spectacles of our Bart (whom we shall only call thus connoisseurs) and the crooks, the art dealers whom he until his name comes to mind) and kindly requested him characterized so viciously. To fully understand the role to come to their house or place of residence because they of intermediaries in the late seventeenth and early eight- had to consult him about some pictures, and so forth.” eenth-century art market it is therefore important to This harsh opening paragraph is followed by several delve deeper into this division made by Weyerman, for pages describing Bart’s pernicious activities. Weyer- here he explains how the bulk of the art dealers gained a man’s eloquence in lambasting him and other dealers at reputation for being untrustworthy. times defies all description. Another target is the “churl- Weyerman counted many renowned art dealers of the ish, ruthless art buyer” (“lompe genaedeloze konst- early eighteenth century among the villains. Some tell- koper”) Vervoort from Brussels, whom he had already ing examples will suffice to illustrate the wrath of his discussed in his magnum opus, the Levens-beschryvingen. pen. The first to have his reputation shattered was Jacob “A certain art buyer called Vervoort, who being a coach- Bart, a dealer in The Hague who dealt in paintings and man had all the painters dancing on the long whip of engravings, in addition to delftware and flowers. “That poverty. Hanging in the house of this Vervoort we have crab from Zeeland had a threefold livelihood: art, por- seen very beautiful Floras, Pomonas and other nymphs celain buyer and florist, yet whereas he had once heard and woodland priestesses of the wine god, furnished that an uneven number was pleasing to God and aimed with flowers, fruit and herbs by N. van der Burgt, and for a lower position he added the punishable profes- with merry landscape scenes.... That strangler had suc- sion of falsifier of art or counterfeiter of paintings, doing ceeded in extorting those works of art from the needy nothing more than begetting bastard copies on genuine painter for next to nothing.” pictures which he fobbed off on the art-loving world as Given his predilection for collecting and dealing in so many genuine works by the Chevalier van der Werff, mythological scenes, this character can conceivably be Gerard Lairesse, Dou, Mieris, J. Steen, Hoet, Mignon, identified with Gerard Vervoort, who bought a Venus Albani and others, which he managed to dispose of in and Adonis attributed to Rubens from Gillis van der the following way. He sent an accomplice with those Vennen in . Weyerman relates that he visited Ver- copies to this or the other art-loving gentleman who voort’s collection in Brussels, which he describes as “the was just starting to put together a cabinet of paintings smallest part being some that are quite good and the about the most capable connoisseur had already been going on ons invalt) en lieten hem vriendelijk verzoeken, om eens aen hun for a century in the Netherlands. See A. Tummers, The finger- huijs, of woonplaats te willen komen, dewijl zij noodzakelijk met print of an old master: on connoisseurship of seventeenth-century hem over eenige KonstTafereelen moesten Raedplegen, en zoo Dutch and Flemish paintings, diss. University of Amsterdam . voortz.” Weyerman, op. cit. (note ), fol. : “Die Zeeuwsche Van Gool was critical about Bart as well. See Korthals Krab, had een Drievoudige Kostwinning, Konst, Porcelijn koper Altes, op. cit. (note ), p. . en Bloemist, doch dewijl hij eens had gehoort, dat het oneven J.C. Weyerman, De levens-beschryvingen der Nederland- getal gode aengenaem was, en hij op een lager plaets Doelde, sche konst-schilders en konst-schilderessen, vols., The Hague & voegde hij er het Strafbaer beroep bij van Konstvervalscher of Dordrecht –, vol. , p. : “... een zeker konstkoper ge- valsche munter in Schilderijen, dewijl hij nergens anders op toe- naamt Vervoort, die een koetsiersjongen zynde, alle de schilders leij, als om de Echte KonstTaferelen te beswangeren door onegte op het muziek van de lange zweep der armoede deed danssen. Kopijen, dewelke hij dan de Konstlievende wereldt aensmeerde, Wy hebben ten huize van dien Vervoort, zeer schone Floras, als soo veele Echte Tafereelen van den Ridder vander werff, Pomonas en andere Nimphen en Bospapinnen des Wyngods gerard lairis, Dou, Miris, J. Steen, Hoedt, Mignon, Albana, en zien hangen, gestoffeert met bloemen, vruchten en kruiden by meer andere, dewelke hij op de volgende wijze wist te debit- N. Vander Burgt, en met vrolyke Landschaps-gezigten.... Die teeren. Hij vaardigde een vertrouwden met die Kopijen af, na konststukken had dien keelbeul den behoeftigen konstschilder deze of geene Konstlievende Heeren, die eerst begonnen een weten af te knypen voor een appel of ey.” Kabinet van Schilderijen op te regten of te hooij, en te gras een E. Duverger, Documents concernant le commerce d’art de stukie te kopen. Die Heeren die noch geene oogen hadden, waar Francisco-Jacomo Van Den Berghe et Gillis Van Der Vennen de op zij konde betrouwen, bediende zich dan van de Brilglazen van Gand avec la Hollande et la France pendant les premières décades du onsen Bart (die wij slegts zoo zullen noemen, tot dat zijn naem XVIIIe siècle, Wetteren , pp. , –, . A world of deception and deceit? Jacob Campo Weyerman and the eighteenth-century art market greatest part rubbish.” He was appalled by the large high-end market, where paintings went for at least number of poor copies, and allegedly burst out laugh- guilders. Only du Buesson remains a kind of mystery, ing when Vervoort presented him with a Diana bathing since he could not be identified. which he said was by Rubens. The dealer showed him If they were indeed important art dealers, what had an engraving of the composition to support the authen- they done to earn Weyerman’s scorn, and is there any ticity of the painting, which left Weyerman even more basis to his allegations? Why did he — without excep- exasperated and infuriated. tion — include them in the almost endless list of des- Weyerman goes on to discuss another Brussels art picable art dealers? Jacob Bart, Balthasar Pahmann and dealer called Karel Verbeij who, according to him, was van Haeften, among others, all appear to have been re- the biggest scoundrel ever. Although nothing is known nowned dealers or agents. Bart was trusted by Adriaen about him, he seems to have been an interesting fig- Bout, one of The Hague’s foremost gentleman-dealers in ure, for he used a network of “art mongers” (“kleijne the early eighteenth century. Pahmann and van Haeften onderkonstkopers”) or agents who scoured the market were successful agents for the dukes of Mecklenburg. on his behalf. Weyerman is suggesting here that Verbeij Furthermore, van der Vennen and van den Berghe were engaged in some form of outsourcing, a phenomenon probably two of the most important international dealers in the eighteenth-century art market of which scarcely in the eighteenth century. None of the evidence sug- anything is known. Sadly, Weyerman does not continue gests that they had paintings copied to be sold as origi- his description of Verbeij’s working methods either. nals, nor did they trick ignorant art lovers into buying After a short intermezzo on mediocre painters, more junk. So what triggered Weyerman’s strong aversion to untruthful dealers are made to run the gauntlet. Among these dealers in particular? them a certain Lambert, whom he nicknamed Pain et His reasoning is quite complex and varies with the Vin, and a fellow called Maes. Lambert “Pain et Vin” malicious anecdotes he tells, but the recurring complaint was probably Lambert van der Truyn, the former assis- seems to be that these intermediaries were fundamen- tant of the wine merchants and agents Jacob and Walter tally untrustworthy. Either they deceived the untrained Senserf, and indeed an art dealer in his own right. The buyer’s eyes, or they swindled them by providing false well-known Gillis van der Vennen, Quirijn van Biesum provenances. Jacob Bart, for instance, was dishonest for and Philips van Dyck and the princely agents Balthasar misleading gentlemen collectors whose judgment was Pahmann, van Haeften, du Buesson, and Jacob Carpi not yet good enough to discern true from false (“gen- are mentioned as well. Several of these individuals at- tlemen not yet having eyes they could trust”). Of a tract our attention since we can rely on other archival similar nature was the trick played by Lambert “Pain et evidence to learn more about their activities. Many of Vin” van der Truyn. He made sure that the paintings them were highly regarded and trustworthy art deal- he wanted to sell were packed. He never opened the ers, in sharp contrast to Weyerman’s nasty comments. crates and told the eager art lovers that they were about With the exception of Carpi, they were all active on the to be sent to wealthy collectors in Paris or elsewhere.
Weyerman, op. cit. (note ), fol. : “...het kleijnste deel Pahmann’s as yet unpublished correspondence with the wat goeds, en het grootste deel prullen.” dukes of Mecklenburg is preserved in Schwerin, Staatsarchiv, Ibid. Hofstaatsachen, Kunstsammlungen, Angebote und Erwer- Ibid., fol. v; A man called Verbeijst bought several bungen , correspondence Balthasar Pahmann, –; paintings at the Quirijn van Biesum sale in Rotterdam in . Schwerin, Staatsarchiv, Hofstaatsachen, Kunstsammlungen, See Jonckheere, op. cit. (note ), p. . Angebote und Erwerbungen , correspondence Van Hafften — Information about these individuals can be found in Philips van Dijk, –. Jonckheere, op. cit. (note ), pp. , , , –, ; Duverger, op. cit. (note ), passim; Jonckheere, op. cit. Kort hals Altes, op. cit. (note ), passim; Duverger, op. cit. (note (note ), pp. –. ), passim. Weyerman, op. cit. (note ), fol. v. For the average prices they paid see Jonckheere, op. cit. Van der Truyn was also important for the dispersal of (note ), pp. –. paintings by Adriaen van der Werff to England and France. See He might be the itinerant artist Jean Baptiste Gayot B. Gaehtgens, Adriaen van der Werff. –, Munich . Dubuisson (Paris –Warsaw /). Jonckheere, op. cit. (note ), passim.
However, if they were willing to seize the moment, he people were often completely dependent on the little in- would leave some of the “precious” pictures with them. formation they had about the provenance or the current Verbeij, the other Brussels dealer was even more au- attribution of the painting. A painting with a solid prov- dacious. He solicited several “common folk” whom he enance and an unchallenged attribution was often the persuaded to hang his bad paintings in the darkest parts foundation on which to build other attributions. With- of their houses. When foreigners visited him at home holding information or lying about art was the ultimate and asked for work by the best masters, he took them to sin, because it made the foundations of connoisseurship these houses and told them that the owners were old no- unreliable. The Duke of Chandos described this phe- bility who had fallen on hard times, adding that they still nomenon in the catchy and often quoted phrase: “The owned a few good but slightly dirty paintings by some picture ought to be as tenderly handled as a lady and the of the best old masters: Rubens, Bruegel, van Dyck, and least question upon it casts a stain upon its reputation, Rembrandt. Naive as they were, in Weyerman’s view, which is hardly ever washed off.” Throughout the sev- most art lovers trusted Verbeij and believed that they enteenth and eighteenth centuries, there are examples were being given a unique opportunity to pick up a mas- of people who lost their credibility in the art market, terpiece. Here again, information relative to provenance and subsequently their clientele by cheating, the case of was misused and manipulated by the deceitful dealer. Gerrit van Uylenburgh being one of the most famous. One is reminded of the above-mentioned Brussels dealer Throughout his manuscript, Weyerman for all intents Vervoort, who produced an engraving in a fraudulent and purposes blames dishonest art dealers for spreading attempt to demonstrate the authenticity of a Rubens misleading information about the paintings they sold. painting. In search of easy profits, they damaged the one thing The odd thing about Weyerman’s anecdotes is that that was crucial in dealing in art in the seventeenth and he never seems to blame the buyers — mostly wealthy eighteenth centuries: trust and accurate information. If merchants, noblemen and princes — who were misled one could not rely on accurate information, one simply by the dealers he so vividly describes. Here he touched could not become a good judge of art. Having at one’s upon one of the most crucial aspects of art dealing in the disposal original paintings with credible provenances early modern era: the sharing of information between painted by genuine artists was essential for the training dealers and buyers, especially on provenance. As has of a connoisseur. That is why Weyerman never blames been argued elsewhere, the art market and connoisseur- collectors for being naive. “Knowledgeable connois- ship in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, with seurs” were always dependent on information provided their significant information asymmetries, were hugely by the selling party. In other words, false attributions, dependent on the trustworthiness of the dealers and bogus information, and especially copies (when sold as agents involved. In the eighteenth century, there were originals) undermined the very foundations of the art no museums where people could go and study art, nor market. For attributions based on fallacies will in turn were there full-color prints or books. If art lovers want- cause new problematic attributions. Hence, “good faith” ed to acquire the skills to distinguish among eminent, or trust is crucial, as Weyerman posits in the opening deceased masters, they were obliged to visit cabinets of sentences of his manuscript. It was not without reason, fellow art lovers or they had to make use of black-and- then, that he likened malevolent art dealers to Judas and white prints or drawings. Under such circumstances, it other hypocrites. was hardly possible to learn how to discern the hand of When reading through the Brussels manuscript one different old masters, certainly if his or her paintings gets a sense that Weyerman mainly mistrusted the social were rare in the Low Countries at the time. As a result, ambitions of art dealers. Art dealing, in his mind, had
Weyerman, op. cit. (note ), fols. v-v. nr. , vol. , letter from James Brydges to Henry Daver- F. Vermeylen, “The art of the dealer: marketing paint- nant, September , p. . ings in early modern Antwerp,” in M. Keblusek (ed.), ‘Your F. Lammertse and J. van der Veen, exhib. cat. Uylen- humble servant’: agents in early modern Europe, –, Lei- burgh & zoon: kunst en commercie van Rembrandt tot De Lairesse den , pp. –; Jonckheere, op. cit. (note ), pp. –. –, Amsterdam (Museum het Rembrandthuis) , pp. San Marino, Huntington Library, Brydges Papers, inv. –. A world of deception and deceit? Jacob Campo Weyerman and the eighteenth-century art market become a profession for parvenus or worse, would-be differed from traditional art dealers. They speculated nouveaux riches. They abused the noble profession of at auctions and sold works of art as if they were plain art to make a quick profit, climb the social ladder and commodities. They discussed prices rather than artistic join the bourgeoisie and aristocracy. Weyerman mocks qualities, and used painters’ names as if they were mere their emulation of eighteenth-century elitist behavior, brands. They were not art lovers but speculators who which he associates (among other things) with the pas- would never be part of the “elect of St Luke’s common- time of visiting coffee-houses. “If he lives in a mercan- wealth” (“verkoren volk van St Lukas gemeene best”). tile city the art scoundrel runs off daily to the bourse Dealing in the art of such “favorites at St Luke’s court” and on Fridays to the auction house or the coffee-house as Rubens, van Dyck, Rembrandt or Dou had become a at a pacing gallop, although he has as much to do there common profession instead of a noble pastime. Wey- as with his counterparts, apart from satisfying his cu- erman resented it, but he was fighting a losing battle. riosity about such matters, of which he understands as Holland’s wealthiest collectors and most foreign princes little as a Great Dane understands Arabic.” did not refrain from making use of the services of these Moreover, Weyerman goes out of his way to stress challengers of the traditional supply chain. the humble background of the various dealers: Bart was a florist, van Biesum a baker, van Grondesteijn a turf- : One of Weyer- carrier and later on gatekeeper, Verbeij a soldier, Ver- man’s chief observations is that the contemporary mar- voort a coachman, and so on. Despite his misgivings, ket for paintings had been flooded with copies which, he Weyerman was very perceptive in commenting on a new contends, had a pernicious effect on the value of works trend in the art market. Sixteenth and seventeenth-cen- of art in general. He mainly blames the fraudulent deal- tury art dealers had mainly been painters or successful ers for stimulating copying practices, but makes some merchants, while at the time of Weyerman’s writing in- very relevant and insightful comments on the dynamics dividuals from a more diverse and modest milieu entered of the eighteenth-century art market and the attitudes the market. Although they seemed to have no artistic towards copying practices as well. Certain dealers ap- background whatsoever, either as artists or as collectors, parently went from door to door in search of prized they obviously felt that they could partake in a booming originals, only to have them copied. “Other art-buying market. The social barriers were being breached and the rogues do nothing but nose about with a lantern within neophytes were thriving. Weyerman was one of the first the confines of Antwerp, Brussels etc.... in search of to observe this, but certainly not the last. Some years altarpieces painted by Rubens or A. van Dyck, as well as later, in his Antwoordt op den zoo genaemden Brief aen een cabinet pieces by Velvet Brueghel, Dou, Mieris, Rem- Vrient, Johan van Gool expressed the same grievances. brandt and other such pictures by the most famous art- Even more outspoken than Weyerman, he complained ists, having some of them copied and sending the copies about the many unreliable and ignorant people from to the art lovers instead of the bought originals.” ‘lower’ professions who had entered the art market and Seemingly an innocent anecdote, this telling para- spoiled it for all decent dealers. graph reveals more than anything that eighteenth-cen- Weyerman’s criticism reveals how the new players tury dealers were well aware of the economic practice
Weyerman, op. cit. (note ), fol. : “Zoo hij in een koop- Netherlands,” Simiolus (), pp. –. stadt woond, stapt den Konstplu[gger] Dagelijks na de Beurs, De Vries, op. cit. (note ), pp. –, esp. pp. –. vrijdags Boelhuijs of Coffijhuijs op een Telgang-galop, alhoe- Weyerman, op. cit. (note ), fol. v: “...gunstelingen van wel hij daer zoo véél te doen heeft als bij de tegenvoeters uijt- St Lukas hofhouding.” gesondert in het voldoen zijner Nieuwsgierigheijt in soodanige Ibid., fol. r: “Andere Konstkopende guijten doen niet saken, die hij zoo min begrijpt, als een Deensche Hond, de Ara- als binnen den omtrek van Antwerpen, Brussel enz. met Landta- bische Tael verstaet.” rens te lopen snuffelen,... om altaar Stukke door Rubbens, of A. Ibid., fols. r, v, , v and r. The information on van Dijck geschildert op te soeken, benevens Cabinet stukies van these dealers’ backgrounds appears to be correct. See Jonck- den Fluweelen Breugel, Dou, Miris, Rembrand en meer andere heere, op. cit. (note ), passim, and Duverger, op. cit. (note ), Konst Tafereelen der alderberugtste Konstenaers Eenige daar passim. van te laten Copieeren En den KonstLiefhebbers in plaets van J.M. Montias, “Art dealers in the seventeenth-century de gekogte origineele de copien ’er van toe te zenden!.” of discounting, whereby the future earnings of a valu- market that values authenticity, an abundance of cop- able work of art were taken into account. An easy prof- ies can have a negative effect on price. Buyers become it could be made if they held on to the original — the increasingly uneasy about the quality or the originality princi pael — and supplied the collectors with copies in- of the work of art, which causes a reluctance to pay stead. It goes without saying that this provided strong high prices. In standard economics, this phenomenon is incentives toward copying. Neil de Marchi and Hans known as Akerlof’s model whereby the “bad drives out van Miegroet have demonstrated that this practice was the good.” The (suspected) presence of inferior copies not new. A similar strategy was already common prac- lowers the expectations for all paintings, as well as the tice in Antwerp in the seventeenth century to fuel the price. overwhelming demand for Flemish paintings in Catho- lic Europe and the New World. Weyerman, like van : Reading Gool, singles out the Friday market in Antwerp, where between the lines of his tirade against fraud and de- many a studio was geared toward the serial reproduc- ceit, one comes across some interesting insights on early tion of known compositions by old masters. He does not eighteenth-century connoisseurship and conservation mince his words when he describes the painters at work practices. This is particularly relevant, since connois- there. “A tribe that knows precisely how to multiply seurship became ever more prevalent in the seventeenth paintings like a brood of piglets, which counterfeit bas- century, and few sources provide us with clues as to how tard scenes are fobbed off on Polish and German gentle- paintings were actually examined by art lovers. “And men as so many original pieces by Peter Paul Rubens.” then an extremely fine wine was produced, as well as a There is another occasion when Weyerman displays pair of well-rinsed rummers or goblets, and after drink- an extraordinary understanding of the economic pricing ing to welcome Bart and to the health of the master of mechanism on the art market, and how copies can have the house that piece, or those pieces, were brought into an adverse impact on the going rate for an established the room and placed upon chairs in order to be adopted artist like Jacob Jordaens. “To which multiplication we or rejected by our Japanese hypocrite. After Bart had had to attribute the fall in value a few years ago, for rar- thrice dusted off his British spectacles with the end of ity raises the price of all the pieces and abundance makes his long cravat, and after he had thrice tried them on his the market decline.” nose and then placed them there so that they would not Weyerman precociously understood and articulated fall off in the first storm of exclamation, he bent his stiff the notion of scarcity in the market. The higher the marrowbones and fell to his knees before those dung- quantity of a product offered, the more the price will gods, whoresons (formed by his deception), in order to decline in a ceteris paribus situation. Especially in a examine them closely.”
It is worth pointing out that this practice may have trig- val van derzelver waarde, eenige jaaren geleden, moeten toe- gered the ever-growing interest in authenticity in the seven- schryven, want de Zeldzaamheyt verhoogt den prys aller zaaken, teenth century. See J. van der Veen, “By his own hand: the en de meenigvuldigheyt doet de markt daalen.” valuation of autograph paintings in the seventeenth century,” in In a seminal article, George Akerlof used the market for E. van de Wetering (ed.), A corpus of Rembrandt paintings, in pro- used cars to illustrate the problems involved with quality uncer- gress, –, vol. , Dordrecht , pp. –, and Tummers, tainty and asymmetric information; see G. Akerlof, “The market op. cit. (note ), pp. –. for ‘lemons’: quality uncertainty and the market mechanism,” N. de Marchi and H.J. van Miegroet, “Pricing inven- Quarterly Journal of Economics () pp. –. tion: ‘originals,’ ‘copies’ and their relative value in seventeenth- Weyerman, op. cit. (note ), fol. v: “Daer op kwam century Netherlandish art markets,” in V. Ginsburgh and P.M. er een Fles Superfijne wijn voor den Dag, benevens een Paer Menger (eds.), Economics of the arts: selected essays, Amsterdam welgespoelde Roomers, of kelken, en na het Drinken van de , pp. –. wellekomst van Barts, en van mijn-Heers gesondheijt, wiert Quoted in Broos, op. cit. (note ), p. : “...een Geslacht dat Stukie, of wierden die Stukken, in de Kamer gebraght, en dat het een konstje fix heeft om de Schilderyen te vermenig- op stoelen geplaetst, om geadopteert, of verworpen te worden, vuldigen, gelijk als een gebroed van jonge Biggen, welke on- bij onzen Japanschen Schijnheijligh. Nadat Bart driewerff de echte Bastaarttafereelen dan aan de Heeren Polen en Germaanen Britsche Brilglazen met het Eijnde van zijn Lange Das had af- worden aangesmeert, als zo veele oorspronkelycke stukken van geveegt, en na dat hij die ook driewerff op zijn Neus had be- Peter Paul Rubens.” proeft, en toen vastgezet, om niet af te vallen in den eersten Ibid., p. : “Aan welcke meenigvuldigheyt wy het ver- storm van Exclamatie, Boog hij zijn stramme mergpijpen, en A world of deception and deceit? Jacob Campo Weyerman and the eighteenth-century art market
Adriaan de Lelie, The art gallery of Jan Gildemeester Jansz, -. Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum
Such descriptions, which are extremely rare in other However, this is not Weyerman’s main focus. Every printed or archival sources, shed some light on how anecdote he tells in one way or another reflects his con- people behaved in front of paintings. They demonstrate cerns with authenticity and the ways to determine it, that cabinet paintings on the subject seem to have been and reveals a growing sensitivity to connoisseurship in taken from life (fig. ). Paintings were placed on chairs general in the eighteenth-century art scene. He believes or easels and discussed intensely. Art lovers did indeed that the touch of the master is vital, and learning to try to determine the authorship on the basis of mere discern ingenious brushstrokes from “coarse paintings” visual evidence. How paintings were viewed was recent- is what connoisseurship is all about. In doing so, he ly examined by Anna Tummers, but how they actually merely seems to be following in the footsteps of famous handled these objects remains something of a mystery. predecessors like Samuel van Hoogstraten, who called Furthermore, Weyerman was aware of the importance ignorant collectors “name buyers” (“naamkopers”), and of light while examining panels and canvases. In his who taught his readers the basics of connoisseurship. description of Karel Verbeij’s scams, Weyerman re- But unlike van Hoogstraten and other art theoreticians, peatedly stresses the importance of good lighting when Weyerman did not distinguish between different criteria examining paintings. He argues that without daylight of quality. In his eyes, there were good paintings and it is hard to see if a painting was artificially aged. So- bad paintings, knowledgeable connoisseurs and ignorant phisticated fraud apparently already existed in the late art dealers. There is no room for nuance in his rea- seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries! soning. His outspoken opinions reveal much about his viel voor die Drekgoden, onegtelingen (gevormt door zijn Be- Here Weyerman pinpoints something that might be cru- drog) neer op zijn Knien, om dezelve naeuwkeuriglijk te exami- cial in contemporary examinations of seventeenth-century paint- neeren.” “Japanese” is probably a reference to the fact that Bart ings. If paintings were already being forged and artificially aged lived in a house called The Three Japanese. back then, one can only conclude that this kind of fraud was as Tummers, op. cit. (note ). sophisticated in the eighteenth century as it is now. Weyerman, op. cit. (note ), fol. v. Tummers, op. cit. (note ), pp. –. own character, but in all likelihood they again point to reader that this new class of art dealer consisted mostly the growing uncertainty about quality and authenticity of crooks. discussed in the previous section. The mere fact that Indeed, in the Brussels manuscript, rife with its per- Weyerman felt the need to pick up his pen and write an sonal anecdotes and endless tirades, Weyerman presents essay on unworthy art dealers indicates that trustworthy himself as a soul with a fabulous talent to insult people. connoisseurship in the market for old master paintings In this respect, the Vertoogh is in line with many of his had become problematic in the early eighteenth century. other publications which are rampant with personal at- Moreover, van Gool and Hoet fought a similar battle on tacks on Dutch regents and fellow painters. Nearly all connoisseurship only a few decades later. As an issue the people he mentions are dragged through the mud. which had remained academic throughout the seven- The knowledgeable connoisseurs to whom he refers in teenth century, connoisseurship became paramount in the opening paragraphs of his manuscript are conspicu- the rapidly developing market of the eighteenth cen- ously absent in the remainder of his text. That said, tury and enticed commentators to express their views. Weyerman was a keen observer who certainly did not fail Whereas painters, their pupils or their relatives could to notice that the art market was changing in a structural often be consulted in the seventeenth century to de- way. The fast-growing market for secondhand paintings termine authenticity in the case of a dispute, the early fueled the rise of art auctions and further stimulated the eighteenth century needed trustworthy connoisseurs need for intermediaries at a time when the value of old and intermediaries to make the final call. The paintings master paintings had become uncertain. New dealers, themselves were the only remainders of the Golden Age many with unusual social backgrounds, arrived on the of Dutch painting, and they ought to be handled with scene to fill the gap. Experts were in demand to ascer- care by competent experts. This forms the crux of Wey- tain both the monetary and artistic value of the countless erman’s manuscript. paintings and drawings that started circulating. In this new convoluted art market featuring increasing num- ’ bers of recycled items from times past, information is- Jacob Campo Weyerman lived through a turbulent pe- sues became a predominant concern for collectors and riod in the history of the Low Countries. The Nine dealers alike. Judging quality in art proved as difficult Years’ War (–) and the War of the Spanish Suc- then as it had in the past. The name and reputation of cession (–) created political and socioeconomic an artist went a long way in the market, as it became a unrest, but also afforded great opportunities for art deal- measure of quality and recognition in addition to the ers. Many foreign princes and noblemen frequented the provenance of the artworks themselves. The ranting and Low Countries to lead their troops into battle or to en- raving against “bad copies” reveals a growing sensitivity gage in diplomatic missions. The Hague was at the cent- towards authenticity in the art market and the impact it er of international diplomacy. While they were in the has on the perceived value of a work of art. Weyerman Netherlands settling alliances, many aristocrats made argues that knowing the provenance can be a most ef- use of the occasion to buy old master paintings in one fective way to establish the originality and authorship of of the many Dutch art collections or at public auctions. the work in question. Inspired by elite Dutch and other European collectors The expansion and increasing complexity of the and brokers, many smaller entrepreneurs rose to the oc- art market highlighted the need for intermediaries, an casion and started to deal in art as well. It is precisely evolution of which Weyerman was acutely aware and these dealers who are discussed and ridiculed in Weyer- found particularly unsettling. His views were tainted man’s manuscript. His ambitions are clear: “to display by a profound mistrust of those intermediaries who did the bare metal of truth undisguised by the chemistry of not share his artistic background or his ethics, and in fakery.” In other words, he wants to impress upon the that respect his views are blurred by his own prejudic-
De Vries, op. cit. (note ), pp. –. Waerheijt aentoonen, niet vermomt door de stofscheijdingh der Cf. van der Veen, op. cit. (note ), pp. –. geveijnstheijt.” Weyerman, op. cit. (note ), fol. v: “...bloot metael der A world of deception and deceit? Jacob Campo Weyerman and the eighteenth-century art market
es. However, many of his observations on the working Appendix methods and strategies of dealers appear accurate and to Artists mentioned in Weyerman’s Vertoogh the point. The emphasis on trust is as much an integral part of the art market today as it was in the eighteenth Name Dates Mainly active in century. Moreover, Weyerman’s views on authenticity, Achtschellink, Lucas (–) Spanish Netherlands rogue dealers and pricing mechanisms are surprisingly Arthois, Jacques d’ (–) Spanish Netherlands modern. In particular, his remarks about copying prac- Bosch, Hieronymus (c. –) Spanish Netherlands tices reveal an understanding of the economics of the art Breughel, Abraham (–) Spanish Netherlands market. The observation that the prices for Jordaens’s Brueghel, Jan I (–) Spanish Netherlands paintings would suffer from more and more copies cir- Caree, Hendrick I (–) Dutch Republic culating on the market demonstrates an almost innate Colyns, Ferdinand (th century) Spanish Netherlands understanding of microeconomic price theory. Dou, Gerard (–) Dutch Republic In the end, Jacob Campo Weyerman left us with a Dujardin, Karel (–) Dutch Republic unique literary account of an art market in transition. As Dyck, Anthony van (–) Spanish Netherlands a knowledgeable participant and keen observer, he pro- Heem, Cornelis de (–) Dutch Republic vides a unique insight into the functioning and nature Heem, Jan Davidsz de (–/) Dutch Republic of the market for paintings in the Low Countries during Hoet, Gerard I (–) Dutch Republic the eighteenth century. His background as an unsuc- Jordaens, Jacob (–) Spanish Netherlands cessful artist and bankrupt art dealer may have clouded Kneller, Godfried (–) England his judgment in some respects, but his observations re- Lairesse, Gerard de (–) Dutch Republic main timely and topical nonetheless. Reading his Leur, Nicolaes van de (–) Dutch Republic essay allows us to get a sense of an art market in flux, Locht, van der (?–?) Italy one on the brink of modernity while underscoring the Mieris, Frans I van (–) Dutch Republic time-honored value of trust and at the same time reveal- Mignon, Abraham (–) Dutch Republic ing the struggle with quality in the arts and the complex Netscher, Caspar (/–) Dutch Republic role of experts — not coincidentally the most disquieting Poelenburch, Cornelis van (/–) Dutch Republic issues the art world faces today as well. Poussin, Nicolas (–) Italy and France Rijn, Rembrandt van (–) Dutch Republic , Rubens, Peter Paul (–) Spanish Netherlands Schoor, Nicolaes van (–) Dutch Republic Steen, Jan (–) Dutch Republic and Tens, Willem (?-) Italy Terwesten, Augustinus (–) Dutch Republic , - Werff, Adriaen van der (–) Dutch Republic Werff, Pieter van der (–) Dutch Republic Wouwerman, Philips (–) Dutch Republic