The Seventeenth-Century Dutch Art Market: The Influence of Economics on Artistic Production

Thomas M. Bayer

During the seventeenth century, Holland enjoyed paintings. This discussion seeks to resolve the curious numerous benefits of an unprecedented economical discrepancy between the importance and familiarity of growth. This newly-found wealth affected almost all levels markets for the Dutch populace and the infrequence of of society, including artistic production. During the the pictorial representation of this subject. "Golden AgC:' as it became later known, the notaries in An examination of the two main sources of recorded charge of listing inventories of Dutch households and inventories, Bredius' Kunst/er lnventare and Montias' businesses became noticeably more conscious of record­ Artists and Artisans in De/fl," shows an almost complete ing artists' names and the specific subject matter of paint­ absence of market scene paintings. For the most part, the ing! This meticulous record keeping affords us with the subject of the recorded works were specified in a manner means of investigating and analyzing the distribution of which would preclude an intentional omission. Never­ particular artists' works and subjects among the art buy­ theless, allowing for the possibility that market scene ing public as well as providing the tools to examine their paintings may have been described under a different sub­ tastes' and collecting habits.' ject heading, I examined a five year span of auction sales This study will attempt to examine the specific role of Dutch seventeenth-century paintings held worldwide of subject, that of paintings of market scenes in relation between 1984 and 1989. Assuming that loss and destruc• to the Dutch art market. tion of seventeenth-century Dutch art works occurred in The depiction of markets in painting reflects a slice similar proportion among all different subject matters, of Dutch life and an essential aspec.t of the national auctions would reflect, to some degree, the popularity of character. The basis for wealth of the Dutch economy was certain subjects in the seventeenth century through the fre­ a sophisticated network of national and international quency of their appearance at recent auctions!' The survey markets, ranging from the typical rural farmers' market results corroborated the data obtained from the inven­ to the complex financial market at the Amsterdam Beurse. tories examined. Even with the inclusion of paintings The new republic had become a truly capitalist nation with depicting a single figure involved in or alluding to the sell• a marked, very mercantile national identity.• Linda Ferrier, ing of merchandise, the number of market scene paintings in her discussion of Gabriel Metsu's Vege1able Markel at amounts to fewer than thirty out of a 101al of over three Amsterdam observes: "whether literary or visual, the thousand works offered for sale. One cannot help but get description of markets, in the city histories of Amsterdam the impression that Dr. Ferrier's general observations acknowledges the impartance and prominence of that regarding the appearance of an "unprecedented" number colorful aspect of street commerce!" An anonymous quote of market scene paintings disregarded contemporary in­ of 1662/ 63 states that "the markets extend to a support ventories. The recognition of the significant scarcity of of people and quays. This is the gold mine of an honorable fully developed market scene paintinjs" in seventeenth­ tradesman!" The significant role played by the market century Dutch art poses the obvious question as to the system in the success of seventeenth-century Dutch reasons for this curious phenomenon. The answer for capitalism one assumes to be translated into a widespread this may lie within the very structure of the highly popularity of paintings of market scenes. Ferrier mentions sophisticated Dutch art market. I will therefore examine the appearance of an unprecedented number of paintings the scope or size of the art market in seventeenth-century of vegetable markets by Dutch artists. According to her Holland, its dynamics and inner workings, the roles played these paintings convey pride in local markets and often by art dealers as well as artists, the popularity and value relay scientifically accurate information.' She lists nine­ of specific subjects and methods of valuation and pric­ teen examples of market scenes in the Rijksbureau voor ing of paintings. I will conclude my discussion by look• Kunsthistorische Documentatie in The Hague and provides ing at several typical market scene paintings in relation a list of artists generally known for the depictions of to the aforementioned considerations. market scenes.• The discovery of only nineteen market The Size of the Art Market in Seventeenth-Century scenes, painted at a time when the average middle-class Holland. The frequently used observation of John Evelyn, Amsterdam household contained, according to Bredius, the English diarist and art patron, regarding the annual between one hundred and two hundred paintings,• seems markets in Rotterdam is worth repeating here. Evelyn com­ infinitely small and in clear contradiction to her statement ments on the amount and low price of the paintings of­ regarding an "unprecedented number" of market scene fered for sale and gives as a reason the lack of available

21 land as a place to invest surplus money. He further reports soon the general merchant, who in addition 10 selling that it is an "ordinary thing to find a common farmer other goods, also offered paintings at fairs and markets, lay out two-or-three thousand pounds in this oommodity and the traveling artist, who sold his works and perhaps [paintings]. Their houses are full of them, and they vend some paintings by others during the same occasion, found them at their fairs to very great gains'.'" If we take Evelyn's competition from professional art dealers. The appearance observation at face value, his report tells us three impor­ of this new profession and its in-built demands and re­ tant things: paintings were available in large numbers; quirements paved the way to an art market in which paintings were inexpensive; and paintings were used for anonymous consumer demand, observed and manipulated investment and speculation. by the professional middleman-the art dealer- dictated The growth of the Dutch art market was directly to a large degree the artistic production. The role of related to the economic expansion the Netherlands ex­ the dealer was to recognize, respond LO, or create this de­ perienced after 1609 and the truce with Spain. The pros­ mand and find the mos1 effective, efficient, and profitable perity of the middle class played a major role in ac­ way to satisfy it. The widespread popularity of paintings celerating private patronage!' Even the lower-middle class and the profit potential of art dealing also a1trac1ed other exercised influence on art taken as merchandise (i.e. art professions 10 the business. Paintings were sold, for ex­ not specifically commissioned but acquired through a ample, by book dealers, in pubs, often because painters middleman)!' Although public patronage had declined, gave them to the inn-keeper in lieu of payment for food the growth of the market for individual consumption more and drink, by dealers in religious objects, second-hand than picked up the slack!' Besides Bredius' observation merchandise dealers, jewelers, flower dealers and frame concerning the existence of large numbers of paintings makers." The trade in Dutch art in the seventeenth cen­ in an average apartment (see n. 9), Montias provides ad­ tury did not just touch almost every facet of the consum­ ditional data regarding the widespread purchase of paint­ ing public in Holland proper, but also encompassed an ings in the city of Delft: two thirds of the population, active export trade with France, Italy (although to a lesser estimated at twenty eight to thirty thousand people, lived degree), Spain, Germany, and England.'' in households possessing paintings which amounted to From 1he aforementioned, one can 1hus conclude that as many as forty to fifty thousand paintings in the city's the market for paintings was extensive; the emergence of more than four thousand houses, or an average of eleven the middle class as patrons significantly broadened and paintings per household!' Although much work still has solidified the demand, while the supply-the artist paint­ 10 be done analyzing inventories in other Dutch towns, ing for an increasingly anonymous market-,vas to a large Montias suggests that his findii;igs in Delft are not extent regulated by professional merchants, members of atypical, particularly as far as proliferation of artworks an advanced capitalist society. Artistic production and among the broad population is concerned. private patronage were thus affected by considerations The art market, or more precisely, the offering of such as saleability of product, cost and supply of inven­ paintings as a finished product in the form of merchan­ tOry, overhead, profit and loss, risk factor, loans and in­ dise to an anonymous buyer is not an invention of the terest rates and speed of turnover. seventeenth century. Although it reached a hitherto Dynamics and Structure of the Arr Market. Having unknown level of sophistication during that age, art deal­ briefly discussed the size of the Dutch art market, we now ing activity is mentioned as early as 1457 in Brugge!' turn to its structure and dynamics. During the seventeenth Numerous regulations governing the business with paint­ century, paintings were accepted by the majority of the ings in mid-sixteenth century Utrecht attest further to the population as a liquid, tangible value. This conclusion can importance of the art market. The lucrative and enjoyable be derived from the variety of financial functions pictures character of markets in general attracted art dealing, and fulfilled in Dutch society." Contemporary records show artists traveled from market to market selling their works. that artists, and sometimes also art dealers, had 10 resort Sometimes traveling salesmen sold, along with other mer­ on occasion 10 seuling their deb1s with paintings as pay­ chandise, inexpensive paintings for two to ten guilders at ment." These debts could consist of anything-rent these markets:• thus satisfying the growing demand for payments, house purchases, clothing costs, wine and food cheap paintings often in the form of copies manufactured bills, pub tabs (which caused many pub owners to double by the dozen." Just because these works were sold for as art dealers), even interest payments on loans.'' Due to low prices, they were not necessarily secon'd rate. Isaac the relatively high liquidity of paintings coupled with the van Ostade, for instance, once painted a group of thirteen surplus weallh among the burgeoning middle class, art paintings for the an dealer Leendert Hendricksz for a total works took on the characteristics of an investment suitable of twenty-seven guilders, or slightly above two guilders for speculation. Those who benefitted from the per work." 'Iypic;dly, those pictures were simple, economical growth that the young country enjoyed needed popularly-appealing subjects intended for sale to the art places to invest their money-land was scarce and prop­ hungry lower middle class and rural population. Eloquent erty in limited supply. The rarity of such traditional in­ sales techniques enhanced the works desirability and vestments also significantly helped (for example, the speculative attraction." As the an market grew in com­ popularity of the Amsterdam Beurse, in these days the plexity towards the mid-century, specialization occurred: most advanced investment vehicle) as well as affected the

22 art market." With a passion almost equal to that of the from artists as well as collectors who preferred the more famous tulip mania (1623-1637), the Dutch population col­ traditional avenues of buying and selling.•• lected, invested, bought and sold paintings." Because the In addition to marketing vehicles such as lotteries and pictures were still intended for homes, a system of secon­ auctions, another important factor innuenced the dary markets had to be developed to facilitate the busy dynamics of the art market: the collector, whose taste trading activity. Of course, private patrons still visited demands and pocketbook extended the power of studios of artists they admired to purchase their work. patronage. As the market for paintings grew and Not infrequently, painters also kept works by fe llow ar­ specialization of artists developed further, the needs and tistS in their possession to copy and to sell to any interested habits of the patron exerted an increasing influence over buyer." Besides the master's original compositions the the artistic production." This control exercised by the de­ choice of paintings available in the studio could typically mand side of the market went as far as having clearly consist of: works by Italian artistS used for copies and detailed contracts between patrons and artists specifying eventual sale; and paintings by contemporaries for the time frame, price, size, subject, and quality of the painter's same purpose, as well as copies executed by either master production." Painting "to sell" was not only acceptable or apprentice. Due to the low price of copies and but necessary for an artist to attain commercial success, workshop pictures, they were popular sellers, in other and one must be conscious of the dialectic of the words, "pot boilers" or "bread and butter" pictures. In painter/patron relationship and its significant impact on addition to direct buyer-to-seller contact, the market also the artistic and cultural character of the age. offered lotteries to art.ists, dealers, and collectors. The In summary, the sophisticated Dutch art market of Dutch enjoyment of betting and gambling enhanced the the seventeenth century was highly active, competitive and popularity of these lotteries and provided one of the liquid. Middle class collectors, speculators and the emerg­ outlets for speculation." Art lotteries appeared as early ing specialized art dealer added to the overall volume and as 1445 in Brugge and gained widely in popularity in the exercised both financial and aesthetic innuence. seventeenth century. Sometimes the paintings raffled off The Role of the Dealer. Although direct contact be­ were the work of one artist only as was the case at a lot­ tween artists and collectors persisted throughout the seven­ tery of thirty paintings by the landscape painter Jan teenth century, the age gave birth 10 the professional art Willemsz Decker held in The Hal(ue in 1614. At other dealer, which, in job description was very similar to his times the offering could have been more varied, as for or her twentieth-century counterpart. As middleman, he example at a Utrecht auction held in 1649: 2182 tickets or she stepped between consumer and producer of art were sold for 158 objects, mostly paintings by contem­ works, and, since his or her income was derived from the porary local artists and some copies." Other marketplaces frequency of turnover, the art dealers' activities were for paintings were weekly-held auctions. The busy governed by the desire to enhance this aspect of the schedule of sales further enhanced the potential for business. Increasing one's turnover required a knowledge speculation. Strict regulations governed this aspect of and awareness of current popular trends as well as the the business and attempts 10 violate these were not un­ ability to actively promote styles and artworks suitable common." These auctions, sometimes called for a trendy and widespread market. One must, therefore, "Fridaymarkets:• were the ideal place for the speculator, consider the art dealer in a passive as well as active rela­ and also for the professional art dealer, as an important tionship to the market. Not only did the business require and convenient source for inventory." Towards mid­ the ability to satisfy existing demands but also 10 create century the auction system was so much in demand that new ones. As in any business dealing with merchandise, it presented a danger of proliferation of the market." The inventory was essential. Sensibly the cost- and therefore accessibility 10 the public, the open, competitive spirit, the risk- of this stock of paintings was kept as low as and the seemingly unlimited supply of goods, made the possible for each individual item in order 10 present the auctions an inexpensive buyer's market," as well as pro­ largest selection for the least capital output. Frequently, viding instant liquidity for tangible art assets of both col­ the inventory was bought at auctions or kirmesses, and lectors and dealers. It is worth noting that Montias, in purchases often consisted of fine originals which were then his extensive analysis, found no evidence of artists using copied by the doz.en by young artists employed for meager these weekly auctions to sell their own works." One can wages." Occasionally, these young painters were assign­ only speculate on the reasons; perhaps the unpredictability ed 10 do independent work, such as Van Dyck who at age of the eventual selling price made this way of selling too sixteen was ordered to execute thirteen paintings- Christ risky for the artist. Nevertheless, the records of these auc­ and the twelve apostles- for the Antwerp dealer Willem tions are considered one of the most important sources Vergaagen." The auctions were also an excellent source of knowledge about the prices of paintings in Holland." for inexpensive paintings, sometimes even unfinished, Besides these weekly auctions, estate auctions were held which were purchased with the intention of having them as needed, by the order of creditors or heirs which could, completed by the dealer's own stable of artists.•• It was of course, also serve as a supply source for art dealers' also common practice for dealers 10 commission painters inventories.,, Art exhibitions, as "'e know them today, were to execute specific works in large quantities, again for very still in their infancy and had difficulty finding support little money." A wide selection of cheap but popular

23 paintings reduced the dealers' risk and facilitated quick time and money to the execution of major-and thus and easy selling to satisfy the growing demand among the expensive- works which could only be afforded by a middle class who represented the bulk of the buying wealthy and, therefore, much smaller group of patrons." public. Selling works on consignment was also practiced The high prices these artists had to charge for their works to further reduce capital investment in stock." More ex­ also put them in competition with older, pre-seventeenth pensive works were only found in very small numbers in century art, which added further to the inherent risk and dealers' inventories, generally there to be copied or their reluctance to execute expensive paintings. The posi­ occasionally sold to a wealthy client." tion of the dealer created the very anonymity of the con­ The popularity of art collection, and the potential sumer for which the artist painted. Rules of business more profit to be made from dealing in paintings, attracted a than aesthetic considerations of the artist exercised in­ variety of individuals to the business. In his essay on art fluence over artistic production, and the dealer dealers in the seventeenth-century Netherlands," Montias manipulated artist and patron alike to satisfy the demands differentiates between three different types of dealers. The of his or her business. first category was the exclusive dealers who were oriented The Role of the Ar1is1. The next aspect to be con­ more or less emirely to meeting the demand of a high class sidered in this survey of the Dutch art market is the role cliemele for quality paintings, offering their customers dif­ played by artists in their relationship to dealers and the ferent national styles (i.e., Dutch, Italian, Flemish) and buying public. Many of the painters came from the mid­ periods. They almost certainly did not have a stable of dle or upper classes of society who could afford the artists working for them on a regular basis. Second, and relatively high cost of the required six-year training period on the other end of the spectrum, were those dealers who or were themselves the children of painters." This fact also made their living by selling works for which they paid very accounts for the very few instances of illiteracy among little by obscure artists." And finally, the middle ground painters." Initially, in the latter part of the sixteenth cen­ was occupied by dealers who catered to a clientele tury, these artists owned small workshops with only a few somewhat superior to that of the aforementioned though helpers and worked primarily for the church and far below the exclusive category of wealthy art collectors private patrons. As the middle class grew in wealth the of the first group. Besides the full-time professional dealer, artists adapted to the new environment. Artistic expres­ there existed also a wide variety of enterprising individuals sion was direc.ted by the perception and understanding of seeking to enhance their livelihood by trading in paintings the anonymous customer's taste and painters were forced (page 23),and it comes as no surprise that the business to create large inventories to be able to have a broad selec­ in paintings enjoyed a somewhat dubious reputation. tion of works available for sale." This necessity demanded Dealers quite regularly changed the attribution of pain­ that the artists work in genres which could be inexpen­ tings to follow market trends by removing authentic sively mass produced, such as still lifes, landscapes, sim­ signatures and replacing them with more currently­ ple interiors, etc." To market the produc,tion of their popular painters." Practices such as these and other studios, it was frequently necessary for the artists to ac­ devices earned the trader in art the reputation of doing tively seek buyers. Once their names were firmly estab­ anything for a sale, dishonest or not. This liberal attitude lished, it became possible to sell directly to the consumer towards authorship is also among the chief reasons for by engaging in personal contacl with the patrons. Special the ongoing difficulties in correctly identifying many arrangements with collectors, such as the right of first works of this period. refusal, did exist." However, the artists, already occupied The role of the an dealer as described above leads with a busy studio, preferred to work through dealers to certain conclusions regarding the effects of this pro­ whose very roles gave them a beuer understanding of con­ fession on the art scene in seventeenth-century Holland. sumer taste and could give suggestions or outright com­ As money flowed into art, the growth of the market gave missions to the painters as well as providing working birth to the specialized art dealer. The momentum in­ capital." herent in this further fed the demand for paintings and The activities of a painter were very demanding, and resulted in increasing pressure on the suppliers effecting the organization of a studio taught most Dutch artists to a need for inexpensive, quickly executed, often mass­ work hard and produce easily at a young age. .. Their lives produced paintings. The subsequent flooding of the were regulated by the rules of the Powerful guild, member­ market exercised a further downward pressure on the ship of which was almost essential to the artists' economic average price of paintings. Dealers in art took on the role survival. The art market was very competitive, and it was of financiers while collectors became speculators. The by no means easy for painters to make a decent living. volatility of an active and overloaded market in contem­ Many died in poverty," and it was not uncommon for porary paintings made art of the past a more attractive artists to have more than just one source of livelihood. and safer investment." This leads to the further conclu­ A further demand the market placed on the artists was sion that the majority of pictures produced by living the need for specialization regarding subject matter of painters for dealers were necessarily of the inexpensive their work. Montias records, for example, the specializa­ kind, while only artists with an already-established reputa­ tion of thirty-four guild members in Delft in 1613." This tion and direct contact to collectors were inclined to devote growth of specialties provides an accurate mirror of trends

24 in consumer taste throughout 1he century." Mass produc- One of the most interesting consequences of 1his over­ 1ion of certain subjects and 1he resulting downward supply was the effect of the market on style. What is often pressure on prices gave way to a form of exploitation of thought of as a change of aesthetic considerations was artisls known as lhe "galley" sys1em," whereby dealers actually the result of certain cost-lowering innovations and heads of studios would employ professional anists which painters were forced to adopt for reasons of com­ for poverty wages to produce large amounts ofspecial sub­ petition. One of the devices was the shift from a linear­ jec1s of particular current interesl to be sold inexpensively mannerist to a painterly baroque style. Originating in to 1he public. Harlem, from the 1620s on, the supply of works in the Whal can be concluded from all this? The change "new" style increased by leaps and bounds as prices from direct contac1 with the patron to painting largely for declined simultaneously. The typical cost of a landscape the anonymous market reached through 1he professional in the new style was around 15 to 20 guilders as compared dealer, and the resulting mass production, forced the value with 60 or more guilders for the old." Such outright of an to go down. This price tendency again increased prostitution by market forces may be shocking to modern mass production, fur1her depressing prices." II became critics, but one must not forget that the majority of ar­ 1herefore economically imprudent for painters to execute tists treated their craft as a way of making a living rather major, i.e. expensive, works unless they were intended for than a sacred calling. Numerous instances are known of a specifically identified buyer. well-esiablished artists who ceased to paint when they Value and Valuation of Puintings. The popular use of made rich marriages or found a more lucrative paintings as a financial instrument, the position of ar- occupation.1 > 1ists as members of a professional guild coupled with the Production time was closely linked with subjec1 already described dynamics of the art marke1, necessitated matter. A broadly executed landscape by van Goyen, for a structured sys1em of valuation for artistic production. example, took considerably less time to paint than an The prime fac1or determining a given anwork's cost was architectural interior by de Witte. Consequently, the in­ 1he artisl's labor influenced to a degree by the forces of ventories of the period recorded not only prices but also supply and demand." As far as demand was concerned, subject mauer." On the average, history paintings and one must take into consideration the change of 1he architectural pictures were the highest priced throughout painter's role from craftsman to artist. Through skillful the century while landscapes were the cheapest and en­ promo1ion, ccnain individuals succeed in breaking out joyed the widest distribution among the middle class of the confinements of a valuation based strictly on labor collections; again, no market scenes are mentioned in the and incorporated more ambiguous and flexible considera- records of these inventories." This confirms the notion 1ions in the pricing of their works." Leaving lhese excep- that the very forces of the market played a significant and 1ions aside, painterly skill, subject matter, and produc- dominating influence on the artistic production of 1ion 1ime remained 1he determining factors for valuation. seventeenth-century Holland. On the high side were painters like Vermeer, Gerard Dou, Examples of Market Scene Puintings. An analysis of and Frans van Mieris- the Fijnschilder- who received several representative examples of seventeenth-century anywhere from 1,000 10 2,500 guilders per work." These Dutch market scenes allows for a judgement of their posi­ artists worked slowly, executing highly-detailed, tion in relation to their place in the market." meticulously-finished paintings which took six months The first painting to be addressed is a work by or more to complete. For these artists it was difficult, if Hendrick Sorgh depicting a Vegetable Market, signed and not ou1right impossible, 10 paint works "on spec'.' The dated 1662 (oil on panel, 20 x 28~ Rijksmuseum, long production time and the resulting high prices of their Amsterdam)." (Figure I) The painting'incorporates three paintings significantly reduced the number of potential distinct elements: architectural painting, still life, and buyers-works by van Mieris and Dou cost the equivalent genre. All aspects of the composition are executed with of an average house- and 1hey would have needed a great meticulous attention to detail. This, as well as the highly­ deal of capital to keep an inventory on hand." A small finished surface quality of the picture which shows almost group of wealthy patrons, who bought their works on a no visible evidence of individual brushstrokes, puts this fairly regular basis, functioned as the main source of work clearly in the category of "Fijnschilder''-by itself livelihood for these artists (e.g., Vermeer). It comes, the most expensive method of execution. In order to depict therefore, as no surprise that paimings, which by their very the various elements of townscape, figures, and market method of execution were very expensive, were also ex­ goods on this relatively small panel, highly detailed ex­ ceedingly ra.re. On the low side of the market, were the ecution was necessary and months of labor went into this unauributed, often mass-produced paintings for the broad painting. Toking quality and production time into con­ public. An analysis of dealers' inventories shows without sideration, as well as the mixture of three different pic­ exception that unattributed works comprised well over torial elements, the cost of this particular, and typical, 600/o of their stock with prices rarely exceeding 50 guilders example of a market scene must have been extremely high. per painting." Even attributed paintings by well-known If the artist was actually paid a large price for this panel anists were subject to the value reducing effects of a or if he had to seule for a lesser amount is, unfortunately, flooded market." not known, nor can we identify itS first purchaser and

25 the method of acquisition. It is unlikely that Sorgh put There exists a slightly larger number of pictures depic­ so much time and money at risk and executed the panel ting individual market stalls or single figures offering pro­ to be sold on the open market. It is far more likely that ducts for sale. Less elaborate in composition and execu­ he had a specific buyer in mind or was actually commis­ tion, they were much cheaper to produce and, conse­ sioned to do this work. Tbe portrait-like quality of the quently, enjoyed a broader base of potential buyers, seated female figure on the left could possibly provide a perhaps the members of the very trades they depicted." clue. A dealer would also not be inclined to purchase this Even so, their numbers, as recorded in the inventories, are work for resale and tie up a large amount of capital with still very small in comparison with other categories. only one single very expensive piece which, due 10 price, (Figure 4) appealed to a very wealthy and small group of buyers who Examining market scene paintings with respect to preferred to commit large sums of money to the purchase their cost or potential selling price and its related conse­ of established Old Masters. Thus, market appeal, inven­ quences will almost always produce the same conclusions. tory cost considerations, and production time would ex­ The technical challenges and the time needed to suc­ plain why paintings executed in the described manner were cessfully execute a typical example of good quality puts not likely to exist in large numbers. these paintings into an exclusive category. Because they Another quite similar example is the Fish Market were time consuming and difficult for the artist, expen­ painted by the same artist in 1654 (oil on panel, Staatliche sive and risky for the dealer, affordable only to the very Kunstsammlung, Kassel)." (Figure 2) The same aspects wealthy, therefore of relatively low liquidity and unsuitable apply. Architectural elements, figurative painting, and still for speculation to the investment-hungry middle class, the life elements, even seascape, are combined in a painstak­ very nature of the art market dictated a very limited pro­ ingly executed, time-consuming, and, therefore, costly pic­ duction of this category of paintings. ture. Although Sorgh was noted for his market scenes and Regrettably, in my investigation I was unable to locate to a degree even specialized in them, by far the larger part any records which could identify the first purchasers and of his oeuvre consisted of much less elaborate works original prices of well-known market scene paintings. which could be sold much more easily on the open market Such information would provide further insight into this to the average middle-class collector. issue. Ultimately, more studies of the complex interrela­ Another market scene painted by Gabriel Metsu, tion between patron- market-and artist are needed to Vegetable Market at Amsterdam ( oil on canvas, 97 x 84-1/2 fully gage the extent to which economic forces affected cm, Louvre, Paris)'' incorporate~ fewer still life elements, the visual heritage of the first fully developed capitalist but places emphasis on the figurative pans of the com­ economy of Western Europe. position. (Figure 3) Also, highly finished, the painting again falls under the category of the expensive Tulane University "Fijnschilder.'

Note: Tht All Bulletin of Seplember 1990 (Volume LXXIJ. number 3, not strktJy a rcOcaion of aesthetic concerns but subject to manipula• pp. 358-373) published an es.say "Socio-Economic Aspects of Nethcr­ tion from the side of art dealers and also directly affected by price. landish Art from the Fifteenth to the SC\'Cnteenth Century: A Survc>•'' by J.M. Montias. I rccd\'Cd the article after the completion of this paper. 3 See Montias 227 and also Alben Bredius, Kuntsler-fm,entare, and, while it endorses my argument for the economical basis of the Urkunden 'l)Jr Geschichte der Holloendischen Kunst des XV/ltn, relative scarehy of cx,rtain subject mauers among the works of XY/Iten und XVIII Johrh1mder1s (Martinus Nijhoff, Oen Haag, se,,enteenth-century Dutch pa.inters. the author addresses several sources 1921). 11 should be pointed out lhal ii was generally customary to l relied up0n. Montias criticiics the often quoled diary entry of John record inventories of the middle and upper dass hou~holds only, Evelyn regarding the widespread popularily and spec:ulali\'t use of paint• yet it can be assumed th.at the lower classes imitated to a large degree ings by lhe Dutch rural population as weU as the diarist's conjecture the c-oUecting habits of their wealthier counterparts. th.at the rea.«>n for the abundance and cheapness of pictures in Holland was to be sought in lhe lack of land in which to invest money . .EQuaUy, 4 Eric Larsen and Jane Davidson, Oilvinist F.conomy and 17th Century Montias disputes Bredius' claim that •

26 9 Albert Brcdius, Meister.,,.-erke des Rijksmu.seums (Amsterdam, 1903) 36 Montias 203. 62. For accuracy of this Slateme.m see my note al the end o f this essay. 37 Mon1ias 203.

10 Brcdius 62; Mont.ias 227. 38 Montias 202.

II Christie's. Sotheby's. Ho tel Orouot. 39 Floerke 37.

12 By fully developed, I mean market scene paimings s.imilar in elabora­ 40 Floerke 58-67. Floerke is o r lhe opinion that the idea of exhibjtions tion 10 their sixtccnth-«ntury prcdcceS50rs by AtrtSt.n and seemed to ha\'e been contradictory 10 the intercsl and habits o f artists Beuckelaer. However, one must recognize the difference in their mean­ and collectors.. ing as well as the difference of the patronal structure in the sixteenth ,-ersu.s the se\'t.nteen1h century. 41 Alan Ch ong, "The Market for Landscape Paintings in Seventeemh Centur)' Holland:' Masters oft he Srventttnth Century Durch land­ 13 John Evelyn, Di(Jr)' & Correspor,denre ofJo lt11 £,•ely11, Frs. ed. W, scope Pointin& ed. Peter Sutton (Boston: Museum of Fine Aris, 1987) Bray (London) 15, as cited by Larsen 40, and H . Floerke. Studien 113. z.,,r Niedtrlaendischt11 Kunst-und Kultu,gesc.hkhte, Georg Muller, Munchen und Leipzig, (1905), ed. Oa.vaco Publishers, SoeSI Holland, 42 Floerke 168. (1972) 20. Sec also ffl)' nocc at the end of 1his essay. 43 Floerke 96, JOS. 14 John Michael Montias, "On Art and Economic Reasoning;· Art in Amerko July 1988: 27. 44 Floerke 95; for an additional example see 19.

IS Larsen 17. 45 Floerke 95.

16 Montias 48. 46 flocrkc 'J7. for example. the art dealer Peter Coenrarts commissioned Tobias van Haeehl 10 paint 18 works for a unit prict o f 30 guildc-rs. 17 Momias 220. The djfference between Bred.ius' number and Momias' Floerke lists numerous $imilar cases; John Michael Montias, "Ari is probabl>• due to the ract that most of the inventories of the poor Deale.rs in the 171h Cenwry Nethe.rlands:· Simiolus, 18, no. 4, 24S; and lower dass people in Delfi artworks are summarily described. Larsen 44. Montias caveats that his sampling docs no t provide u nbiased d ata but reoords mostl)' the upper end o f wealth distribution-about one 47 Montias 209. in\'tntory to every 10-15 households (222,224). 48 Floerke 105. 18 Floerke 6. 49 Montias, '½rt Dealers in the 17th Century Netherlands;• 2S2. 19 Floerke II, 14, 17, 18. SO Monti.ls 202, 204. The dealers o f 1his category were often women 20 Floerke 158. These paintings were often called " Brabanter from lower class back.grounds. Sec also F1 ocrke 116. Ou1zc-ndware'' af1c-r the city in which they were frequently produocd, Brabant and their mass productfon "by the dozen:• 51 Floerke 99.

21 Floerke 22. 52 Floerke 120.

22 Floerke 28, 29, 100. 53 lar$en 43.

23 Floerke 74. 54 Montias 133.

24 Floerke 74-83. 55 Montias 114.

25 Montias 25. 56 Mon1 ias 195.

26 Montias 19S; Floerke 30ff. 51 Larsen 195.

21 Floerke 30ff. 58 Larsen 195.

28 Larsen 48. S9 Montias. "Art Dealers in the 17th Ce.mury Netherlands. 246.

29 Larsen 37, 38, 48; Montias 197; Floerke 164. 60 Floerke 131.

30 More on 1he role of the artist in the art market will be discussed 61 Montias 130, in a subsequent pan of this paper. Doubling as an dealers was a common source o f supplementary income and a natural extension 62 Montias 141; Floerke 87, SS. of 1he studio activity. ($« for example Vermeer. who. for mosl of his career as a paintc-r also maintained, 1oge1her with his wife, an 63 Mon1ias 146; Floerke 81, 88. active 1rade in pictures by o ther anists.) 64 Floerke 246. 31 Montias 197. 6S Larsen 48. 32 Floerke ll-51. 66 John Michael Mon1ias, "On Art and f.conomie Reasoning;' Art in JJ Floerke 42. A medeo J uly 1988: 25; Floerke $4, ll. 118.

34 Floerke 31.

35 Floer'ke 46.

27 67 Svet1ana Al~ Rembrandt's Enterprise: The Studio a.nd the Markel paintings we:re classified in various categories: monks, hermits, con­ (Chicago: Univt1'$ity of Chicago Press, 1988). Alpers suggests that fessions, sea.scapes, ri\U landscapes.. barn scenes, dogs. cats. Li ve birds. Re.mbrandt's style. quite opp0site to Lha1 of the "Fijnschilder" 01her small domestic animals. family p0rtraits, royal p0rtraits, Old method, was designed to save production time as well as remove his Thstament, New Testament, other religious subjects. m>·tholog.ies.. work out of the traditK>naJ e-.-aluation system. This argument stands landscapes, gen~ still lifes, chjldrcn, naked persons, and candlelight largely unsupported but Rembrandt. like all other paimers. had 10 scenes. deal with a saturated market and the resulting low prices. Merely reducing production time by adopting a more painterly style would 75 Chong 112. 116. have depressed the prices of his work. Therefore, consciously chang• ing 1he expressive quality of h.is work to step outside the value system 76 I am purposely omitting any discussion regarding the emblematic generally applied seems a plausible solution to maintain his high ,•trsus descripth•e conttnt or these paintings, sinct tht aspect I am prices. addressing in this paper does not concern itself with 1his issue.

68 Chong 115: Montias.. "On Art and Economic Reasoning;• 25. 77 Peter C. Sutton, ed. Masters of Seventttnlh Century Dutch Gtnrt Painting (Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1984, University of 69 Montias, "On Arc and Economic Reasoning!' 25. Pennsylvania P ress. 1984) 305, plate 95.

70 Chong 116. 78 Sunon, fig. 87. LI.

71 Floerke 52. 109: uirsen 46. 79 Christopher Brown, Images ofa Goldtn Past (N.Y.: Abbeville Press Publishers, 1984) 114. 72 Montias, "On Art and Economic Reasoning;· 27. 80 Sunon, 138, plate 119. The Baker by Job lkn:kheyde, (o/e. 73 Montias, "On An and Economic Reasoni11.g;• 25. monogrammed, 25 x 20-3/ 8"),

74 Mon1ias 231, 238. Jn 1,224 im·entories between 1610-1679 the sub• jc<:t was specified in a little over half of the pictures listed. 9,623

Figure I. Hendrick Sorgh, Vegetable Market, 1662, oil on panel, 20" x 28~ Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.

Figure 4. Job Berckheyde, The Baker, c. 1681, oil on canvas, 25 • x 20 7/ 8 ~ Worcester Art Museum, Worcester, Massachusens.

Figure 2. Hendrick Sorgh, Fish Market, 1654, oil on panel, 20• x 24 ~ Staatliche Kunstsammlung, Kassel. 28 Figure 3. Gabriel Metsu, Vegetable Market at Amsterdam, mid 1650s, oil on canvas, 97 x 84 ½cm, Louvre, Paris.

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