ABSTRACT
Vasari’s rather valedictory words on the masterpieces of the Renaissance, taken from the preface to his Vite, still seem peculiarly relevant. It is after all the truism most commonly observed of the Old Master picture market that it is a finite field coming to the end of its fruitfulness. Observers have repeatedly remarked on the decline in numbers of great masterpieces coming to the marketplace, just two examples from newspaper reports of the summer 2003 auction season reading: ‘With supplies drying up fast, [Old Masters] remains the only major area of Western art in which newly discovered works are seen in every important sale’ (Melikian, 2003) and ‘a field where supply is ever dwindling and freshness to the market counts for everything’ (Moncrieff, 2000). Given this apparent fact, one might reasonably expect from the laws of supply and demand that Old Masters would represent one of the most sought-after fields of the art world, characterized by dramatic headlines and startling prices.
