Pean na cześć rynku i wolnej konkurencji

In an essay “The Price of Art” Herbert examines the revenue and expenditure of Dutch artists of the seventeenth century, when paintings proliferated despite an almost complete absence of patrons. After a detailed examination of the financial condition of the painters – craftsmen Herbert concludes: “from the banal and not very striking point of view of the balance sheet… is better and more honest than the pathos and sentimental sighs favored by the authors of vies romancees written for tender heats”. Herbert – as the painters during the “Golden Age” of Dutch painting – is not a rebel against the art market. A contrary. He admires the free market and capital- ism, also in the field of art. Despite the risks and sometimes financial disaster, Herbert envy artists seventeenth century: “their role in society and place on earth were not questioned… The question why art exists did not occur to anyone because a world without paintings was simply inconceivable”. Essayist also supports the current trends towards financialisation of art.