does the world today spend as much money on original art as in centuries past?

Question

How does the patronage of the arts differ from today's world and the Renaissance?

Answer 1

I would think that people are spending more now than ever. We have more billionares and millionares than ever before. Rare paintings can sell at NY auction houses for 50 million plus for one piece. Certain painters such as Picasso are hard to find these days, so when they do come up for auction they sell big.

Now as far as the sheer amount that people buy, again I would think more as I think the standard of living has gotten better for a greater amount of people. And lastly, I think art has probably become more realistic for people to own. I don't percieve that the average person back then could afford art, it was more rare. Wheras today, there is such a borad range of prices and types of art, it allows more people to get in on the action.

Answer 2

We spend much more today on visual art per capita than during the Renaissance. During the Renaissance, investment in original art was limited to patrons who were very wealthy, highly educated and lived in major economic centers like Rome or Paris and had access to seeing the art in person or could send envoys to represent them in dealing with the artists.

Today artists and collectors can live anywhere and belong to any socioeconomic group.

Experts at My.Art.Net estimate that the global art market is worth more than $250 billion. Not only is there a great deal of interest in acquiring these treasures, but more and more people are becoming ‘art educated’, thereby increasing the market for fine art at an almost exponential rate. These factors, along with the proliferation of art-related websites and other publications, combine to paint a very bright future for art investors worldwide.

Eric Smulders of The Masters Painting Collection, Hong Kong, notes, “Prices of art are increasing. The generally buoyant global economy has sparked consistent demand, driving values up. As museums, private collectors and art trusts continue to acquire works, (many of which will not ever be put on the market again), supply becomes scarce”.

The reality is: good art has always been a sound investment. Perhaps that is why so many major world leaders throughout history have always been interested in acquiring as much fine art as possible. The future outlook is at least as bright as ever.

Answer 3

For starters,the artists themselves are more independent now when they sell their art,than they were back then,because during the Renaissance many of them were mainly commissioned by th e Church or by powerful,influencial families,like the Medici.Of course the economics were a bit different as well.

Answer 4

I think that yes. And it's more artists too and galleries on the market . The medium class today have access to the art that was something unthinkable before WWII