Published online by Cambridge University Press: 26 July 2017
« La fameuse et magnifique ville d'Anvers », écrivait Carel van Mander en 1604, « prospère dans son commerce, a attiré les artistes les plus excellents de chaque pays. L'art est venu à Anvers parce que l'art fraie volontiers avec l'argent »
This paper explores various channels through which artists marketed their wares in the Netherlands in the 15th and 16th centuries. Of these the principal were for the artist to work directly on order for the customer or to produce wares for some as yet unknown customer “on spec”. The different economie factors that would incline transactions in works of art toward either of these channels are explored in detail, including the cost advantages of mechanical reproduction for works destined to be placed on an anonymous market. A number of hybrid forms (works that are brought to market partially completed and then finished on customer's orders) are also considered. The role of fairs in marketing sculpted retables, mainly for an anonymous clientèle, is analyzed in terms of these choices.