The spectacle of the auction

The "Stock Exchange of Art" or "Casino" - this is how 19th-century art critics referred to the auction house Hôtel Drouot. Starting in 1852, Parisian auctioneers gathered their sales at this location, significantly transforming the French art market. Lukas Fuchsgruber takes us behind the scenes of the auction spectacle and reveals the importance of auctions for the Parisian art world of that time. The work examines the economic and legal peculiarities of the auction system in France on one hand, and its interrelations with French art history on the other, shedding light on the relationship between Hôtel Drouot, artists, and art dealers of its era, as well as its reception in art criticism. Archival sources, historical literature, and numerous illustrations guide us through the rooms of the auction house and illuminate a key period in the development of the French art market. By focusing on the auction house as one of the central places of art, the study opens new perspectives on 19th-century art history.