In the time of the Renaissance, the difficult creation of the free artist began: when the patron (state, ruler, church) was replaced by the collector; when, towards the end of the eighteenth century, Goethe focused the emphasis on the significance of the amateur (‘dilettante’) to the future of the arts, given his propensity to accept free artistic decisions.

After the first half of the twentieth century, art began once again to fall under the power of the state and public funding, as well as under increased speculative economic pressure. Now, following the end of ideological systems and among the allegedly liberal civilisational model, instead of the state’s pressure weakening, it becomes diffused, and the institutionalisation of the artist is ubiquitous. A freelance artist becomes a rarity. Creativity drops sharply. The public has long sunk into apathy and uncritical acceptance.

The collector is not institutionally bound; he is not a tradesperson; he does not necessarily have to be a professional in the field of arts; he remains a free amateur. Thus, through his pure, impartial interest, through trial and error, he tends to reintroduce art into the free relation of supply and demand, not as economic but as aesthetic categories.

The collector’s view is private. He does not claim to be representative; he does not monopolise; he does not generalise; he does not attribute to himself criteria and functions that he does not possess. From being an observer, along with the artist, he becomes a participant in the daily life of art.
Using his own resources—bearing the risk—the collector is personally responsible, beyond the anonymity of public funds and their collective responsibility.