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

Simon Kelly's book explores the relationship between Théodore Rousseau, the avant-garde Barbizon landscape painter, and the modern art market, challenging traditional narratives and highlighting the pioneering role of Rousseau, his patrons, and his public in the origins of the market. It offers fresh insight into the role of the modern artist as a professional and rediscovering the original radical charge that surrounded Rousseau's work, leading to tensions with the market place.

Format: Hardback
Length: 272 pages
Publication date: 03 June 2021
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

The nineteenth century in France was a pivotal period in the development of the modern art market, and Théodore Rousseau (1812-1867) played a significant role in shaping its structure. This book explores the relationship between Rousseau, his patrons, and the art market, examining the constellation of individuals who surrounded the artist. Simon Kelly argues that Rousseau, his patrons, and his public were pioneers in the origins of the modern art market, shifting attention away from the more traditional focus on the Impressionists and their supporters. Drawing on extensive archival research, the book offers fresh insight into the role of the modern artist as a professional, providing a new understanding of the complex iconographical and formal choices within Rousseau's oeuvre. It also rediscoveries the original radical charge that once surrounded the artist's work and led to extensive and peculiarly modern tensions with the market place.

Weight: 762g
Dimension: 161 x 240 x 27 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781501343797