ABSTRACT
While few artists probably longed for the old days of steady employment by the Roman Catholic Church and political rulers, with their restrictive thematic and stylistic parameters, emancipation from age-old patronage systems posed enormous challenges to nineteenth-century artists. There were three aspects to this liberation: economic, social, and ideological. Civic art associations, galleries, and exhibiting cooperatives arose in response to increased demand for art by the middle classes and facilitated contact between artists and new patrons. Although essential, new financial opportunities did not address the need for peer contact and camaraderie lost by artists operating outside the academic system. This social and ideological deficiency was reconstituted by artists in various ways—from artists’ collectives like the Nazarenes, to informal, yet regular, meetings at cafés and each others’ studios. Contact with other artists was important for psychological, creative, and economic reasons. First of all, most people have an inherent need to communicate with others who understand what it is they do. Second, the exchange of ideas stimulates the creative process. Exposure to new influences and dialogue with colleagues unleashes a chain of thought processes, akin to introducing a new substance that generates a chemical reaction. And third, it was through personal contacts that artists usually made the connections necessary to show their work in galleries and exhibitions. The solitary artist was often the failed artist in the new world of commerce.
