Measuring Masters and Masterpieces: French Rankings of French Painters and Paintings from Realism to Surrealism / Martin Bruegel, David W. Galenson.

By:

Bruegel, Martin

Contributor(s):

Material type: Text

TextSeries: Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) ; no. w8266.Publication details: Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2001.Description: 1 online resource: illustrations (black and white)Online resources:

Available additional physical forms:

Hardcopy version available to institutional subscribers

Abstract: For 35 leading painters who worked in France during the first century of modern art, this paper uses illustrations in French textbooks as the basis for measuring the importance of both painters and individual paintings. The rankings closely resemble those obtained earlier from a similar analysis of American textbooks. They also pose a puzzle: why do some of the greatest artists not produce famous paintings, while some relatively minor artists produce famous individual works? The answer appears to lie in a difference in approach between experimental artists, who innovate incrementally, and conceptual innovators, who produce individual breakthrough works. This paper further demonstrates the value of quantifying artistic success, for doing so can improve our understanding of the sources of human creativity.

Tags from this library: No tags from this library for this title. Log in to add tags.

Average rating: 0.0 (0 votes)

Holdings
Item type	Home library	Collection	Call number	Status	Date due	Barcode	Item holds
Working Paper	Biblioteca Digital	Colección NBER	nber w8266 (Browse shelf(Opens below))	Not For Loan

Total holds: 0

May 2001.

For 35 leading painters who worked in France during the first century of modern art, this paper uses illustrations in French textbooks as the basis for measuring the importance of both painters and individual paintings. The rankings closely resemble those obtained earlier from a similar analysis of American textbooks. They also pose a puzzle: why do some of the greatest artists not produce famous paintings, while some relatively minor artists produce famous individual works? The answer appears to lie in a difference in approach between experimental artists, who innovate incrementally, and conceptual innovators, who produce individual breakthrough works. This paper further demonstrates the value of quantifying artistic success, for doing so can improve our understanding of the sources of human creativity.