This essay focuses on the international Art Market in Rome, exploring the complex relationships between dealers, collectors and connoisseurs around 1900. Drawing from unpublished material dating from the 1880s to 1914, this essay presents...
moreThis essay focuses on the international Art Market in Rome, exploring the complex relationships between dealers, collectors and connoisseurs around 1900. Drawing from unpublished material dating from the 1880s to 1914, this essay presents a picture of the global art business in the newly elected capital of Italy, showing how this art market was as important as Florence and Berlin. The central role of the Eternal City in the emerging global art market is outlined through an analysis of Wilhelm von Bode and Stefano Bardini's networks in Rome. The revival of their relationships with characters like artist-dealer Attilio Simonetti and archeologist Ludwig Pollak provides an engaging view of this unique time. This examination shows how the role of the dealer, the agent and the connoisseur were highly interconnected even when acting in different capacities.