Dealing in Splendour. A History of the European Art Market

This comprehensive scholarly study brings together contributions by leading international experts to examine the development of the European art market over two millennia. Moving beyond the traditional history of individual artists and masterpieces, the volume explores the commercial networks, collecting practices, and economic forces that shaped the production, circulation, and appreciation of art from antiquity to the nineteenth century.

Through essays by leading international scholars, the volume examines the evolution of art collecting, patronage, auctions, art fairs, dealer networks, and the commercial strategies that transformed European artistic culture. From the production of replicas in ancient Rome to the flourishing art trade of Renaissance Italy and the Netherlands, it traces the origins of practices that continue to influence today’s global art market.

Particular attention is devoted to the rise of Antwerp as an international art-trading center, the expansion of the Dutch Golden Age market, and the growing importance of professional dealers, connoisseurs, and auction houses in eighteenth-century Paris and London. The catalog also explores the emergence of catalogues raisonnés, questions of attribution and provenance, and the influence of art historians on artistic reputations and market values.

The nineteenth century receives special consideration through the development of international art dealerships, large-scale reproduction, advertising, and increasingly sophisticated exhibition strategies. Figures such as Edme-François Gersaint, Goupil & Cie, and Charles Sedelmeyer illustrate how art dealing evolved into a modern commercial enterprise.

Richly illustrated with works associated with Titian, Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Rembrandt, Anthony van Dyck, Canaletto, Claude Monet, and Gustav Klimt, the publication brings together art historical research and t
he economic history of collecting. Contributions from specialists in art market studies offer a valuable perspective on the relationship between artistic production, commerce, and cultural prestige.
Published by De Gruyter in 2026, this substantial hardcover volume is an important reference for art historians, collectors, dealers, museum professionals, and readers interested in the history of art collecting, Old Master paintings, provenance research, and the European art trade.