![]() ![]() Upon what basis did people make such distinctions? The author concludes Part I by raising the question of how people determined the relative skill of a painter and quality of a painting. Instead, they cared about the skill of the artist. In other words, clients no longer cared so much about the value of the materials. Later in the century, the emphasis shifted from the quality of materials to the quality of the painting itself. They especially valued shiny gold and silver, and a blue color known as ultramarine, which came in several grades of varying cost. Early in the century, clients were most interested in the quality of the painter's materials. ![]() He notes that as the fifteenth century progressed a change unfolded. Baxandall quotes extensively from intriguing letters that reveal this relationship. In fifteenth-century Italy, a painting was the result of a contractual relationship between an artist and his wealthy client. Consequently, art is among other things a business. In Part I, "Conditions of Trade," Baxandall identifies a fundamental point of departure: "Money is very important in the history of art" (1). ![]()
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