The Art Public

Bätschmann’s enriching commentary on art, culture, and who it “belongs” to is bolstered by lucid historical detail and analysis. It’s a boon to artists and museumgoers. * Publishers Weekly *
The abundance of different types of sources in this book, from the antique to the present, produces an astonishing history of the public. We read about artworks, as well as remarks by artists, art theorists, connoisseurs and critics on the history of exhibitions, auctions and collections and much more. There is no other book so far with such a richness of sources and aspects concerning the public sphere. It should produce a new area of research. * Werner Busch, Professor of Art History, Freie Universität Berlin *
TheArt Public offers a wide-ranging, deeply erudite and highly entertaining inquiry into a central notion of the art world. In analysing a stupendous array of historical references, texts and images, Bätschmann traces the emergence of competing interests and repeating tropes that have governed the changing conceptions of the public. Visions notoriously differ as to who is included and who is excluded, who is recognised and who is mocked, but after reading this beautifully illustrated book we are left in no doubt: the art public as such may be an empty signifier, but it is nonetheless vital for art and culture. * Charlotte Klonk, Professor of Art History, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and author of Spaces of Experience: Art Gallery Interiors from 1800 to 2000 *
Bätschmann wears his great learning lightly. Illustrated by a sequence of evocative images, this study is a wonderfully wide-ranging and cogent analysis of the reception of art across the ages. * Stephen Bann, Emeritus Professor of History of Art, University of Bristol *