The Eighteenth-Century Art Market and the Northern and Southern Netherlandish Schools of Painting

Abstract

To what extent did the international art market contribute to the shaping of the concept of schools of painting, in particular the northern and southern Netherlandish schools? By studying the structure of auction catalogues, collection catalogues, art literature, and several other sources, this essay considers the important changes that took place around 1740–1760. During this period, both Dutch and French art dealers tried to expand the canon of Netherlandish art in France. The subdivision of the ‘École flamande’ into the ‘Écoles flamande et hollandoise’ was probably part of a strategy to sell paintings by northern Netherlandish masters who were still relatively unknown in France at the time.