What is collecting? What is its influence on the art market?
The art critic, Claudio Strinati, answered to these questions during the meeting “Art is always modern”, at Italian Cultural Institute.
Claudio Strinati is a manager of the Ministry of Heritage and Cultural Activities of Italy and he talked about the importance of the collectors’ role in the history of art.
The collector has a role both in production and sale of works of art. Public opinion is driven by collectors who choose paintings for their private collections. Strinati stated that: “Collecting makes the artworks always modern”.
Artists produced paintings for two reasons, Claudio Strinati explained: “To express their feelings but to sell their works too”.
The collector buys painting to affirm his identity: he considers not only the quality of paintings but also the quantity of work of art that he can own. An art collection is a symbol of economic and cultural power. The collector becomes a reference point for the community and who has many paintings in his collection, has a strong return on his image.
The collector interprets the public taste and controls the art market.
So, artists follow the taste of collectors, because they are the first buyers. The paintings become a status symbol but also an investment.
Art and culture aim to educate social classes and to elevate the quality of life through aesthetic values. But in order to do it, they have to be part of political project and economic investment.
“The artist is subordinated to the collector – says Claudio Strinati – A Caravaggio’s piece will be appreciated in over time and even nowadays it can be considered a modern artwork not just for its symbolic value, for the painting itself, but because of the influence it had and still have on the art market”.