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Specialization and the firm in Renaissance Italian art

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  • Ennio E. Piano

    (Middle Tennessee State University)

Abstract

Renaissance Italian painters are among the most innovative and consequential artists in human history. They were also successful managers and business owners, always in search of commissions for their workshops. Indeed, their ability as managers and entrepreneurs was just as important as their talent for painting. This paper develops a framework to understand the organization of the production of paintings—frescoes and altarpieces—during the Italian Renaissance. We argue that Renaissance artists faced a trade-off between costly delegation and the sacrifice of gains from specialization in the performance of those tasks necessary for executing a painting. Applied to the historical record, our framework accounts for several features of the organization of this industry: why Renaissance artists dabbled as entrepreneurs; why they performed several duties that did not require any artistic talent; and why they set up firms to aid them in the execution of some tasks while delegating other tasks to independent contractors.

Suggested Citation

  • Ennio E. Piano, 2022. "Specialization and the firm in Renaissance Italian art," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 46(4), pages 659-697, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jculte:v:46:y:2022:i:4:d:10.1007_s10824-021-09434-3
    DOI: 10.1007/s10824-021-09434-3
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    Cited by:

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    2. Ennio E. Piano, 2023. "Risky business? A review of Jonathan Nelson & Richard Zeckhauser’s Risk in Renaissance Art: Production, Purchase and Reception," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 47(3), pages 547-554, September.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Firm boundaries; Renaissance art; Specialization;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D23 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Organizational Behavior; Transaction Costs; Property Rights
    • N64 - Economic History - - Manufacturing and Construction - - - Europe: 1913-
    • Z11 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economics of the Arts and Literature

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