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The Extraordinary Art Critic Roger de Piles (1635-1709): An Empirical Analysis of his Rankings and Sale Prices

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  • Kathryn Graddy

    (Department of Economics, Brandeis University)

Abstract

: Roger de Piles (1635-1709) was a French art critic who decomposed the style and ability of each artist into areas of composition, drawing, color and expression, rating each on a 20 point scale. Based on evidence from two datasets that together span from 1740 to the present, this paper shows that de Piles’ four characteristics are each both currently and historically correlated with prices achieved at auction. The effect of de Piles’ drawing characteristic on price has steadily decreased over the period 1736-1960 while the effect of de Piles’ color characteristic appears to have increased over the same period. De Piles’ overall ratings have also withstood the test of a very long period of time, with estimates indicating that the works of his higher-rated artists achieved a greater return than his lower rated artists. The annual returns of all artists that he rated achieved comparable returns to other art indices.

Suggested Citation

  • Kathryn Graddy, 2012. "The Extraordinary Art Critic Roger de Piles (1635-1709): An Empirical Analysis of his Rankings and Sale Prices," ACEI Working Paper Series AWP-04-2012, Association for Cultural Economics International, revised May 2012.
    • Handle: RePEc:cue:wpaper:awp-04-2012
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Victor Ginsburgh & Sheila Weyers, 2002. "De Piles, drawing and color: an essay in quantitative art history," ULB Institutional Repository 2013/1685, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    2. Orley Ashenfelter & Kathryn Graddy, 2003. "Auctions and the Price of Art," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 41(3), pages 763-787, September.
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    JEL classification:

    • Z10 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - General

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