Comparative analysis of art history and accounting disciplines

Art and economics are often believed to reside in totally different dimensions, different realities. On the one side is the creative artist, who distances himself or herself from monetary needs. The Vincent van Goghs of the world spend their lives in abject poverty because their spiritual desire to create transcend their worldly needs. Artists are, in a sense, viewed as spiritual leaders. They are ascetics just as they are aesthetically inclined.

On the other side of the equation are the financiers. We the economists and accountants are the money behind the art. Unseen forces driving art, we are the people who historically have commissioned painting and other artistic expressions ranging from the ancient artists of Greece, Rome, China, and Egypt throughout the Holy Roman Empire and the Renaissance. In the ancient era through until the late nineteenth century, art was created on demand by the wealthy. The wealthy -- whether rich from power or from mercantilism -- could hire an artist for portraits or simple decor. Similarly, the Church and other religious bodies would commission artists to convey religious themes and motifs. This can be seen not just in European Christian art but also in the arts of Eastern religions.

Only until the modern era has art become something that anyone -- literally anyone -- can pursue. Prior to the modern era, art was itself dependent on the wealthy commission and therefore certain individuals would devote their lives to the art trade. Working class and poor people would starve to death if they devoted their lives to art as a hobby. Moreover, art was undervalued. Art was not viewed as creative expression at all. Before the Age of Enlightenment, individual self-expression was barely conceived of as a step in the evolution of ideas. Therefore, the human being was not expected to express emotion and especially not political points-of-view on the canvas. It would have been as ridiculous for a working class man or woman to make art as it would have for that same person to become an accountant. Still, artists throughout time have snuck in their personal values in their paintings. Hieronymous Bosch is one of the artists I believe to have inserted personal values into Church-commissioned art.

Even in the modern era, art is still entwined with money. The artist needs to live, sure. But that is not the only connection between art and money. Art galleries exist because art has become big money. Art symbolizes wealth. No ordinary person can afford "real" art. Ordinary people purchase prints and reproductions, not original pieces by known or up-and-coming artists.