Das Kunstpublikum

In art history, reception is the third important field of research next to production and distribution. Although the idea of a collective art audience-an "art public"-is of great importance in the art world, this is the first book to deal with its actual history. Oskar Bätschman examines both written and pictorial evidence of the art publics behavior and unravels the connections between art production, the expectations of the audience, and the reception of a work. He shows that the art public is not only a passive and silent recipient, but often an active agent-albeit it one that tends to be mocked by satirists such as Thomas Rowlandson or Honoré Daumier.

OSKAR BÄTSCHMANN (*1943) is one of the most important art historians today. After holding positions at the Albert Ludwig University and the Getty Center for the History of Art and the Humanities, he taught at the University of Bern until 2009. Bätschmann is an expert on modern and modernist art, and his books, such as Einführung in die kunstgeschichtliche Hermeneutik and Ausstellungskünstler, are considered classics in the field.