With a history reaching back over four centuries, the Princely Collections are part of a long tradition of collecting that spans many generations. Essential to this at all times has been a policy of active collecting. In the past as in the present, new acquisitions shaped the appearance of the galleries. The art collection has thus been formed not only by the personal tastes of the various princes but also by the art market with its changing sales strategies, trend-setting individuals, and economic factors.

Against this background, the upcoming temporary exhibition mounted by the Princely Collections is to be devoted to the fascinating history of the European art market. Spotlights will be shone on structures, centres of innovation, influential personalities and marketing methods from antiquity to the nineteenth century, revealing that many of these methods have changed very little up to the present day. Auctions were held in ancient imperial Rome. In Antwerp, art trade fairs were already attracting an international clientele in the sixteenth century, and the first catalogues raisonnés of Old Masters were compiled by art dealers in the eighteenth century.

Jan de Cock (1480-1527), The Hermit Saints Anthony and Paul in the Wilderness, 1520/22

The exhibition shows major works from the Princely Collections appearing alongside various loans. The extensive catalogue will boast essays by leading experts in the field of art market scholarship, bringing interdisciplinary approaches to bear in a volume that will provide a comprehensive overview of the subject.

Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn (1606–1669), Cupid with the Soap Bubble, 1634

The exhibition was curated by:

• Stephan Koja, Director of the Princely Collections of Liechtenstein
• Christian Huemer, Head of the Belvedere Research Center
• Yvonne Wagner, Chief Curator of the Princely Collections of Liechtenstein