Elite and Popular Connoisseurship at the Louvre c.1848–1870

Stammers, T.

Abstract

This chapter asks: how far can we better understand the function and meaning of museums by a history of what they did not acquire? It explores the extraordinarily rich accession records for the Louvre, working through the often eccentric postbag of letters that the museum staff received during the Second Empire. This was a decisive period for relationships between the museum and private collectors, who were courted by the administration headed by Émilien de Nieuwerkerke as collaborators for exhibitions and as potential donors. In this intermingling of professional standards with the knowledge of the amateur, the Louvre invited art-lovers across France to write in with information about artworks that had been unexpectedly scattered across France and might add further luster to the museum galleries. Tracing some of these letters and their consequences reveals how deeply the museum was dependent on a network of dealers, entrepreneurs, and private enthusiasts.

Citation

Stammers, T. (2023). Elite and Popular Connoisseurship at the Louvre c.1848–1870. In P. Stewart, & C. M. Anderson (Eds.), Connoisseurship. Oxford: Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190923587.003.0005

• Acceptance Date: Mar 13, 2023
• Online Publication Date: Aug 24, 2023
• Publication Date: 2023
• Deposit Date: Sep 12, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Aug 25, 2025
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Book Title: Connoisseurship
• Chapter Number: 5
• ISBN: 9780190923587
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190923587.003.0005
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1735792