How Industry and Commerce Killed High Art. The Institutional Background Behind the Revolution of Modern Art
- Art d'Histoire
- Jan 28
- 4 min read
In the 19th century, a silent war was waged not on the battlefield, but within the exhibition halls of Paris. It was a conflict between the ancient ideals of the nobility and the rising tide of modern capitalism. For two centuries, art had been a sacred, intellectual pursuit; by the end of the century, it had become a product to be weighed, measured, and sold in a "bazaar", — much to the dismay of conservative critics.
The Original Sin of Craft
To understand this decline, one must look back to 1648. Before this date, painters and sculptors were trapped in a guild system that treated them as mere manual labourers, subject to the same rules as shoemakers or glaziers. They were "vile craftsmen" without elevation. The creation of the Académie Royale was a social revolution intended to break these chains.
The Academy’s goal was to elevate painting to the rank of a Liberal Art. By asserting that art was a product of the mind ("invenit") rather than the hand ("fecit"), they sought to ennoble the profession. They declared that a painting was not a commodity; its value could not be negotiated like a common product. For over a century, the distinction between the "noble arts" and the "mechanical arts" was the fortress that protected the artist’s status.
The Whistling of Machines
This fortress came under siege with the rise of the Industrial Revolution. The distinction between art and industry began to blur. At the Great Exhibition of 1851 in London, sculpture was admitted only because it involved carving and casting—mechanical processes—while painting was initially excluded. By 1855, the French government, lacking funds, forced art to cohabit with industrial products.
The humiliation peaked at the Universal Exhibition of 1867. Art was placed in the centre of a concentric building, accessible only by passing through a "joyful bazaar" of raw materials and machines. Critics lamented that the tranquillity required for artistic contemplation was destroyed by the whistling of machines. Art had become a mere decorative accessory to the triumph of industry, with masterpieces displayed alongside wheelbarrows and bedpans.
The Salon as a Department Store
The infection spread to the Salon itself, the sanctuary of high art. Originally a place for the state to patronise national glory, it gradually transformed into a marketplace, according to the most conservative. By the 1830s, critics were already describing the Salon as a bazaar where "mediocrity and impudence" were on display for shoppers.
The commodification became absolute in the 1880s. The installation of electric lighting turned the Salon into an amusement space, competing with music halls like the Folies-Bergère. The administration even organised paintings by subject matter—landscape, portrait, genre—catalogue-style, much like merchandise in a department store. The unavowed goal was no longer to educate or elevate, but to do business with artworks.
The Trivialisation of History
Under these market pressures, the "Grand Genre"—history painting—collapsed. The public, living in smaller apartments and bored by "Greek and Roman clichés", demanded smaller, more entertaining works. As early as the first quarter of the 19th century,, this gave rise to historical genre painting, a hybrid form that reduced heroic history to anecdote.
Painters like Paul Delaroche and Jean-Léon Gérôme achieved immense success by treating history as a melodrama or a vaudeville. They were accused of painting "portable masterpieces" and focusing on the "frivolous luxury of accessories"—buttons, shoe buckles, and armour—rather than the moral grandeur of the action. History painting had descended from the heights of the ideal to the familiarity of a "bric-à-brac" shop.
The Death of the Ideal
The final nail in the coffin was political. The Second Empire, seeking to rally all social factions, adopted a policy of "eclecticism". It rewarded all genres equally, effectively abolishing the hierarchy that placed history painting at the top. When the "Prince of Painters", Horace Vernet, was favoured over Ingres for a grand medal, Ingres was furious to be placed on the same level as the "apostle of ugliness".
This event marked a milestone in art history. It marked the end of history painting's reign as the most revered genre, paving the way for modern art to flourish, free from the constraints of traditional rules and norms.
With the death of Ingres in 1867, the last link to the "highest traditions of history" was broken. The Academy, once the guardian of the liberal arts, had been overrun by the forces of the market. Art was no longer a divine pursuit; it was a profession like any other, ruled by the "diktats of the public" and the lure of the sale.
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