Making Art Modern: How the Impressionists Started a Permanent Revolution

Art historians have long recognized that a radical change occurred in the appearance of fine art during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but they have failed to explain why this happened when it did. The answer lies in a change in the structure of the market for art, initiated by Claude Monet and a small group of his friends. The Impressionist group exhibitions of 1874-86 effectively ended the official Salon’s monopoly of the ability to certify artists as qualified professionals, and began a new regime in which small independent group exhibitions competed for attention. The result was a new era of artistic freedom, as painters no longer had to satisfy the conservative Salon jury, and new styles challenged for leadership of the art world. The heightened demand for originality favored conceptual artists, who could innovate conspicuously and decisively. So ironically, Monet and his fellow experimental Impressionists came under attack from the supporters of Seurat, van Gogh, Gauguin, and other young conceptual artists. The growing independence of private galleries, which further contributed to fostering competition, would allow Matisse, Picasso, and their peers to consolidate this conceptual revolution early in the next century. Art historians have described the transformation of modern art in great detail, but have failed to recognize the causal role of economic forces: Trotsky’s dream of permanent revolution proved impractical in politics, but fundamental changes in market structure made it a reality for advanced art.