To mark
the publication of “Go Figure”, a
collection of The Economist’s explainers and daily charts,
the editors of this blog solicited ideas on Facebook and Twitter. This week we
publish five explainers suggested by our readers, who will each receive a copy
of the book.
THE first
artists emerged in the Ice Age, when humans moved out of the eastern
Mediterranean and into the rich central European plain with its plentiful
supply of food. Initially they painted what they saw around them—people,
animals, hunting—as scenes depicted in ochre and mud on the walls of caves. Then
40,000 years ago a skilled artisan in south-west Germany carved a standing
figure from his imagination. Thirty centimetres high and known as Der Löwenmensch, it has human legs and an arm but the
head of a lion.
This was the first known true work of art. In due course,
artworks became precious, desired and traded. The earliest illustration of the
art market that we know of is on a Greek cup, painted by Phintias and dating to
500BC, that shows a young man buying a vase. But what makes a work of art
valuable?
The art
market as we know it today emerged in the 18th century. Before that works of
art were commissioned directly from artists, chiefly by wealthy and powerful
patrons such as the Medicis and the Catholic Church, rather than traded. Other
collectors began to emerge with the industrial revolution and the rise of the
middle class in Europe. Christie’s, an auction house, was founded in 1766.
Wealthy dealers, who brought buyer and seller together, emerged in the 19th
century. In the 21st century the market is enormous. Art sales in 2015 totalled
$64bn, according to a report by Clare McAndrew, an art economist, making it
bigger than the economy of Kenya or Costa Rica. Fashion drives the contemporary
art market, as does scarcity (but not too much). “Validation” is important too:
association with a great collector (such as David Bowie), participation in a
much-lauded exhibition or being recognised as part of the story of art history.
About half of
the market is accounted for by sales through dealers, either directly from the
artist’s studio (the “primary market”) or by reselling a work that has already
been bought once (the “secondary market”) and which is now being sold on, often
with several commissions being paid to intermediaries along the way. The other
half of the art market is made up of sales by auction, a system that claims to
be open and competitive, with both artwork and potential bidders being visible
to all. In reality, it can be as secretive as the dealing world, with complex
financial arrangements and discounted commissions being not uncommon. The most
expensive work of art sold at auction was Pablo Picasso’s “The Women of Algiers
(Version ‘O’)”, which was consigned, in 2015, by a Saudi collector, who had
kept the picture hidden away in his London home for nearly 20 years. It was
bought, after frenzied bidding, by Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber al-Thani, a
former Qatari prime minister, for $179.4m. The imposing naked women it depicts
(see picture, above) means it will probably never be exhibited in the Middle
East, but it remains a trophy nonetheless, if only because of the record
price.
What of the
non-financial value of art? This is perhaps the hardest question of all. Yet it
is essential. To stand in front Matisse’s circle of dancing maidens or Rembrandt’s
portrait of his mother is to recognise that they are masterpieces.
As a viewer
you are transfixed, lifted out of yourself, you feel your consciousness being
stretched by a story that is both timeless and unending.
That is the truest
value of art.
Today’s
explainer was suggested by Joshua Chiang.
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