Although the idea of a collective audience for art - an 'art public' - is highly significant in the art world, this is the first book to enquire into the actual history of the art public. The book explores both written and pictorial evidence of its behaviour, and disentangles the connections between art production, the expectations of the audience and a work's reception. Two aspects shape the narrative: first, the transformation of the audience from passive recipient to active agent; and second, the mockery of the audience by satirists such as George Cruikshank, Thomas Rowlandson, Honore Daumier and many others. This sweeping account moves from the Greek artist Apelles to Leon Battista Alberti and Leonardo da Vinci, and from Oscar Wilde to film stars, art tourists and leading art museums and galleries worldwide.

'Btschmann's enriching commentary on art, culture, and who it "belongs" to is bolstered by lucid historical detail and analysis. It's a boon to artists and museum goers.' Publishers Weekly

'The abundance of different types of sources from the antique to the present produces an astonishing history of the public. We read about artworks, as well as remarks by artists, art theorists, connoisseurs and critics, of the history of exhibitions, auctions and collections and much more. There is no other book so far with such a richness of sources and aspects concerning the public sphere. It should produce a new area of research.' Werner Busch, Freie Universitt Berlin

'Btschmann wears his great learning lightly. Illustrated by a sequence of evocative images, this study is a wonderfully wide-ranging and cogent analysis of the reception of art across the ages.' - Stephen Bann,University of Bristol