Thesis title: La presenza femminile nel mercato artistico parigino del secondo Ottocento
This research, by reconstructing the relationship between female artists and the art market in Paris in the second half of the nineteenth century, analyzes the different ways in which female painters and sculptors positioned themselves within the commercial dynamics of the period, between state recognition and financial support on one hand, and public and private sales on the other.
After investigating the educational opportunities available to female artists—who were excluded from the École des Beaux-Arts until 1897—the research analyzes their participation in the Paris Salon, an important forum for artistic recognition in the French capital and a space where state prizes and commissions could be obtained.
From the review of Salon catalogues for the period between 1850 and 1900, data relating to the recognition received by female artists were obtained.
One chapter of the research focuses on the relationship between the French state and women artists in terms of purchases and commissions of artworks, studied through original documents held at the Archives Nationales de France.
The presence of women in public and private sales in Paris from 1850 to 1900 was examined through the review of a volume published by Hyppolite Mireur in 1901 (first volume) and 1911 (second volume), the Dictionnaire des ventes d’art faites en France et à l’étranger pendant les 18ème et 19ème siècles, as well as all the sales catalogues of Goupil & Cie / Boussod, Valadon & Cie.
All the data from the Salon catalogues, from Mireur’s Dictionnaire des ventes, and from the sales catalogues of Goupil & Cie / Boussod, Valadon & Cie have been entered into Excel tables and presented in the research appendices.
The information obtained from commercial, critical, exhibition, and archival sources was also compared with contemporary auction sales, revealing interesting insights that contribute to a more detailed delineation of the production of under-researched female artists.