Synopses & Reviews
"If the idea appeals to you, of going back in time to the extraordinary period of the Renaissance in Italy with the patrons and the artists . . . to understand the incentives and the constraints, the opportunities and the missteps, then you must give this book a try. For me reading the book felt similar to visiting a great art museum in the company of a knowledgeable, insightful, and engaging curator: a thoroughly rewarding experience."--from the foreword by Michael Spence, 2001 Nobel laureate in economics
"Nelson and Zeckhauser have written a pathbreaking study on the role of artistic and architectural commissions in Renaissance Florence which, by its new and sophisticated methodology, employing game theory used in modern economics and political science, presents a model for similar studies of patronage in every era. Their analysis of the commissioning game is a must read for anyone interested in the hows and whys of artistic patronage during an era particularly sensitive to the possibilities presented by conspicuous consumption."--James Cuno, president and director, Art Institute of Chicago
"This genial and imaginative collaboration of art history and economic theory offers a genuinely original perspective on the commissioning game, and employs the economics of information to evaluate the patron's payoff."--Dale Kent, University of California, Riverside
"The Patron's Payoff is an innovative study of the messages artworks in Renaissance Italy tacitly communicated about the men and women who commissioned them. Nelson and Zeckhauser make a compelling case that the currency of the payoff for patrons embraced such critical social values as honor, status, family alliance, and friendship. Building their analysis upon recent economic theories, the authors offer a suggestive model for research in Renaissance studies and beyond."--Louis A. Waldman, Villa I Tatti--The Harvard Center for Italian Renaissance Studies
"A stimulating and challenging work, The Patron's Payoff offers a plausible new approach to artistic creation that has the benefit of a known set of economic tools and results. An interesting marriage between art historical and economics perspectives."--William N. Goetzmann, Yale University
"In applying a distinctive economic theory to the area of Renaissance patronage, this book fosters an interdisciplinary approach to the study of early modern European art."--Adrian Randolph, Dartmouth College
Review
"In
The Patron's Payoff, art historian Jonathan K. Nelson and economist Richard J. Zeckhauser have harnessed their separate disciplines into a new analytical key for understanding the linked motivations of patron and artist or architect in conspicuous commissions. . . . No less than the American financier who donates a museum wing on condition it bears his name, or the merchandiser who endows a university institute named for him, the results of Renaissance patronage had to be, first of all, highly visible."
--Judith Harris, California Literary Review
Review
"Nelson and Zeckhauser offer historians of art and culture a powerful method for appraising the driving force behind works of art commissioned in the Renaissance. . . .
The Patron's Payoff offers and innovative and potent tool for probing how works of art functioned in Renaissance social life."
--Michelle O'Malley, Renaissance Quarterly
Review
If the idea appeals to you, of going back in time to the extraordinary period of the Renaissance in Italy with the patrons and the artists . . . to understand the incentives and the constraints, the opportunities and the missteps, then you must give this book a try. For me reading the book felt similar to visiting a great art museum in the company of a knowledgeable, insightful, and engaging curator: a thoroughly rewarding experience.
Review
[T]his volume is a model of how cross-disciplinary interaction can enrich the understanding of practitioners in two participating disciplines. -- Neil De Marchi, Journal of Economic Literature
Review
[E]nlightening. -- Times Literary Supplement In The Patron's Payoff, art historian Jonathan K. Nelson and economist Richard J. Zeckhauser have harnessed their separate disciplines into a new analytical key for understanding the linked motivations of patron and artist or architect in conspicuous commissions. . . . No less than the American financier who donates a museum wing on condition it bears his name, or the merchandiser who endows a university institute named for him, the results of Renaissance patronage had to be, first of all, highly visible. -- Judith Harris, California Literary Review Nelson and Zeckhauser offer historians of art and culture a powerful method for appraising the driving force behind works of art commissioned in the Renaissance. . . . The Patron's Payoff offers and innovative and potent tool for probing how works of art functioned in Renaissance social life. -- Michelle O'Malley, Renaissance Quarterly The book's interdisciplinary approach provides a blueprint for others who might test these concepts with patrons and periods necessarily omitted from this study. Common language and readable prose illuminate the theory and animate the relationships between works of art, patrons, artists, and audience. This book will be useful to art historians, cultural historians, economists, and others interested in the significance of the production and consumption of elite culture. -- D.N. Dow, Choice These are all well-written, interesting, well-researched essays, varying in chronological range and in geographical focus. -- Bernadine Barnes, EH.net [T]his volume is a model of how cross-disciplinary interaction can enrich the understanding of practitioners in two participating disciplines. -- Neil De Marchi, Journal of Economic Literature The Patron's Payoff is impressive not only for its innovative interdisciplinary approach and the compilation of an extensive source material, but also in the chapters written by the editors of a special didactics. Unlike in most cultural and historical research, the comparison is to the present constantly sought explicitly and thereby revealed also some strategy for 'signposting' in today's scientific enterprise. This makes the reading very entertaining, and clearly points to that even high-profile science can be attractive and intelligible. -- Mila Horky, Sehepunkte
Review
"[E]nlightening."
--Times Literary Supplement
Review
"But the basic point of this book--that a careful study of economic and related social needs can help us further understand the genesis of many works of visual culture--is undeniable, and the editors' and authors' cogent presentation of the possibilities inherent in their approach is masterful. Recognizing the motivations of elites expands our understanding of the roles that visual works could play during the period we now identify as the Italian Renaissance. As a reviewer I congratulate Nelson and Zeckhauser, while continuing to lament art history's inability--in the Renaissance at least--to gain access to a broader understanding of the diverse society and complex and subtle culture that supported the production of these works."
--David G. Wilkins, CAA Reviews
Review
"The book's interdisciplinary approach provides a blueprint for others who might test these concepts with patrons and periods necessarily omitted from this study. Common language and readable prose illuminate the theory and animate the relationships between works of art, patrons, artists, and audience. This book will be useful to art historians, cultural historians, economists, and others interested in the significance of the production and consumption of elite culture."
--D.N. Dow, Choice
Review
These are all well-written, interesting, well-researched essays, varying in chronological range and in geographical focus. D.N. Dow - Choice
Review
The Patron's Payoff is impressive not only for its innovative interdisciplinary approach and the compilation of an extensive source material . . . the reading [is] very entertaining, and clearly shows that even high-profile science can be attractive and intelligible. Neil De Marchi - Journal of Economic Literature
Review
[This] book [is] an innovative examination of art, economics, and communication that should be required reading for all who admire Italy's grand masterpieces as well as those who have made the study of Renaissance art and architecture a profession. Mila Horky - Sehepunkte
Review
[E]nlightening. Times Literary Supplement
Review
[T]his volume is a model of how cross-disciplinary interaction can enrich the understanding of practitioners in two participating disciplines. Bernadine Barnes - EH.net
Review
One hopes that information economists will gain as much as art historians can from this book. Fredrika Jacobs - European Legacy
Review
[E]nlightening. Times Literary Supplement
Review
But the basic point of this book--that a careful study of economic and related social needs can help us further understand the genesis of many works of visual culture--is undeniable, and the editors' and authors' cogent presentation of the possibilities inherent in their approach is masterful. Recognizing the motivations of elites expands our understanding of the roles that visual works could play during the period we now identify as the Italian Renaissance. As a reviewer I congratulate Nelson and Zeckhauser, while continuing to lament art history's inability--in the Renaissance at least--to gain access to a broader understanding of the diverse society and complex and subtle culture that supported the production of these works. David G. Wilkins
Review
In The Patron's Payoff, art historian Jonathan K. Nelson and economist Richard J. Zeckhauser have harnessed their separate disciplines into a new analytical key for understanding the linked motivations of patron and artist or architect in conspicuous commissions. . . . No less than the American financier who donates a museum wing on condition it bears his name, or the merchandiser who endows a university institute named for him, the results of Renaissance patronage had to be, first of all, highly visible. CAA Reviews
Review
Nelson and Zeckhauser offer historians of art and culture a powerful method for appraising the driving force behind works of art commissioned in the Renaissance. . . . The Patron's Payoff offers and innovative and potent tool for probing how works of art functioned in Renaissance social life. Judith Harris - California Literary Review
Review
The book's interdisciplinary approach provides a blueprint for others who might test these concepts with patrons and periods necessarily omitted from this study. Common language and readable prose illuminate the theory and animate the relationships between works of art, patrons, artists, and audience. This book will be useful to art historians, cultural historians, economists, and others interested in the significance of the production and consumption of elite culture. Michelle O'Malley - Renaissance Quarterly
Review
These are all well-written, interesting, well-researched essays, varying in chronological range and in geographical focus. D.N. Dow - Choice
Review
One of Choice?s Outstanding Academic Titles for 2009
Review
One of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for 2009
Synopsis
In The Patron's Payoff, Jonathan Nelson and Richard Zeckhauser apply the innovative methods of information economics to the study of art. Their findings, written in highly accessible prose, are surprising and important. Building on three economic concepts--signaling, signposting, and stretching--the book develops the first systematic methodology for assessing the meaning of art patronage and provides a broad and useful framework for understanding how works of art functioned in Renaissance Italy.
The authors discuss how patrons used conspicuous commissions to establish and signal their wealth and status, and the book explores the impact that individual works had on society. The ways in which artists met their patrons' needs for self-promotion dramatically affected the nature and appearance of paintings, sculptures, and buildings. The Patron's Payoff presents a new conceptual structure that allows readers to explore the relationships among the main players in the commissioning game--patrons, artists, and audiences--and to understand how commissioned art transmits information. This book facilitates comparisons of art from different periods and shows the interplay of artists and patrons working to produce mutual benefits subject to an array of limiting factors. The authors engage several art historians to look at what economic models reveal about the material culture of Italy, ca. 1300?1600, and beyond. Their case studies address such topics as private chapels and their decorations, donor portraits, and private palaces.
In addition to the authors, the contributors are Molly Bourne, Kelley Helmstutler Di Dio, Thomas J. Loughman, and Larry Silver.
Synopsis
In The Patron's Payoff, Jonathan Nelson and Richard Zeckhauser apply the innovative methods of information economics to the study of art. Their findings, written in highly accessible prose, are surprising and important. Building on three economic concepts--signaling, signposting, and stretching--the book develops the first systematic methodology for assessing the meaning of art patronage and provides a broad and useful framework for understanding how works of art functioned in Renaissance Italy.
The authors discuss how patrons used conspicuous commissions to establish and signal their wealth and status, and the book explores the impact that individual works had on society. The ways in which artists met their patrons' needs for self-promotion dramatically affected the nature and appearance of paintings, sculptures, and buildings. The Patron's Payoff presents a new conceptual structure that allows readers to explore the relationships among the main players in the commissioning game--patrons, artists, and audiences--and to understand how commissioned art transmits information. This book facilitates comparisons of art from different periods and shows the interplay of artists and patrons working to produce mutual benefits subject to an array of limiting factors. The authors engage several art historians to look at what economic models reveal about the material culture of Italy, ca. 1300?1600, and beyond. Their case studies address such topics as private chapels and their decorations, donor portraits, and private palaces.
In addition to the authors, the contributors are Molly Bourne, Kelley Helmstutler Di Dio, Thomas J. Loughman, and Larry Silver.
Synopsis
"If the idea appeals to you, of going back in time to the extraordinary period of the Renaissance in Italy with the patrons and the artists . . . to understand the incentives and the constraints, the opportunities and the missteps, then you must give this book a try. For me reading the book felt similar to visiting a great art museum in the company of a knowledgeable, insightful, and engaging curator: a thoroughly rewarding experience."--from the foreword by Michael Spence, 2001 Nobel laureate in economics
"Nelson and Zeckhauser have written a pathbreaking study on the role of artistic and architectural commissions in Renaissance Florence which, by its new and sophisticated methodology, employing game theory used in modern economics and political science, presents a model for similar studies of patronage in every era. Their analysis of the commissioning game is a must read for anyone interested in the hows and whys of artistic patronage during an era particularly sensitive to the possibilities presented by conspicuous consumption."--James Cuno, president and director, Art Institute of Chicago
"This genial and imaginative collaboration of art history and economic theory offers a genuinely original perspective on the commissioning game, and employs the economics of information to evaluate the patron's payoff."--Dale Kent, University of California, Riverside
"The Patron's Payoff is an innovative study of the messages artworks in Renaissance Italy tacitly communicated about the men and women who commissioned them. Nelson and Zeckhauser make a compelling case that the currency of the payoff for patrons embraced such critical social values as honor, status, family alliance, and friendship. Building their analysis upon recent economic theories, the authors offer a suggestive model for research in Renaissance studies and beyond."--Louis A. Waldman, Villa I Tatti--The Harvard Center for Italian Renaissance Studies
"A stimulating and challenging work, The Patron's Payoff offers a plausible new approach to artistic creation that has the benefit of a known set of economic tools and results. An interesting marriage between art historical and economics perspectives."--William N. Goetzmann, Yale University
"In applying a distinctive economic theory to the area of Renaissance patronage, this book fosters an interdisciplinary approach to the study of early modern European art."--Adrian Randolph, Dartmouth College
Synopsis
In
The Patron's Payoff, Jonathan Nelson and Richard Zeckhauser apply the innovative methods of information economics to the study of art. Their findings, written in highly accessible prose, are surprising and important. Building on three economic concepts--signaling, signposting, and stretching--the book develops the first systematic methodology for assessing the meaning of art patronage and provides a broad and useful framework for understanding how works of art functioned in Renaissance Italy.
The authors discuss how patrons used conspicuous commissions to establish and signal their wealth and status, and the book explores the impact that individual works had on society. The ways in which artists met their patrons' needs for self-promotion dramatically affected the nature and appearance of paintings, sculptures, and buildings. The Patron's Payoff presents a new conceptual structure that allows readers to explore the relationships among the main players in the commissioning game--patrons, artists, and audiences--and to understand how commissioned art transmits information. This book facilitates comparisons of art from different periods and shows the interplay of artists and patrons working to produce mutual benefits subject to an array of limiting factors. The authors engage several art historians to look at what economic models reveal about the material culture of Italy, ca. 1300?1600, and beyond. Their case studies address such topics as private chapels and their decorations, donor portraits, and private palaces.
In addition to the authors, the contributors are Molly Bourne, Kelley Helmstutler Di Dio, Thomas J. Loughman, and Larry Silver.
About the Author
Jonathan K. Nelson is coordinator of art history at Syracuse University in Florence. He has written extensively on Michelangelo, Leonardo, Botticelli, and Filippino Lippi. Richard J. Zeckhauser is the Frank P. Ramsey Professor of Political Economy at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. His most recent book is "Targeting in Social Programs".
Table of Contents
Illustrations ix
Foreword xiii
Preface xvii
Introduction 1
Part I: THE COMMISSIONING GAME 15
Chapter One: Main Players: Patrons, Artists, and Audiences 17
Chapter Two: Analytic Framework: Benefits, Costs, and Constraints 37
Chapter Three: Theories of Distinction: Magnificence and Signaling 67
Chapter Four: Selecting and Magnifying Information: Signposting and Stretching 85
Part II: THE PATRON'S PAYOFF 111
Chapter Five: Private Chapels in Florence: A Paradise for Signalers by Jonathan K. Nelson and Richard J. Zeckhauser 113
Chapter Six: Commissioning Familial Remembrance in Fourteenth-Century Florence: Signaling Alberti Patronage at the Church of Santa Croce by Thomas J. Loughman 133
Chapter Seven: Signs of Success: Leone Leoni's Signposting in Sixteenth-Century Milan by Kelley Helmstutler Di Dio 149
Chapter Eight: Mantegna's Madonna della Vittoria and the Rewriting of Gonzaga History by Molly Bourne 166
Chapter Nine: Image Is Everything: Visual Art as Self-Advertising (Europe and America) by Larry Silver 185
Contributors 225
Index 227