Gezicht op het Oudezijds Herenlogement te Amsterdam en een schilderijenverkoop, 1773 1774

Simon Fokke created this print in 1773 to show the Old Men’s Almshouse in Amsterdam and a painting sale taking place outside. Here, the sale of paintings is staged in public, taking place in the courtyard of a charitable institution. Note the range of people attending; from those leaning out of the windows, to the brokers at the front, and the children playing at the edges. This print captures a moment in the development of the modern art market and shows the relationship between the commercial art world and a paternalistic form of charity. Prints such as this one give art historians invaluable insight into the social function of art in the 18th century. Auction catalogues, newspaper announcements, and charity records can further illuminate the networks of artists, dealers, patrons, and institutions that shaped the art world of the Dutch Golden Age. The sale of art, in this context, becomes more than a commercial transaction: it’s a social drama.