Paying the piper : causes and consequenses of art patronage

Met lit. opg. - Met reg. Examination of various case studies of art partronage, analyzing their causes and the consequences, intended and unintended, for the patrons themselves. Questions treated are what degree of control have patrons presumed, and how much have they been able to exercise? How have the usually mixed motives among rival patrons (love of art and/or political or economic consideration) been exploited by artists to advance their own purposes? What problems of patronage have remained the same, for private individuals in Beethoven's Vienna or New York's East Village or for public institutions such as the National endowment for the arts and the European community?