The history of art in the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance has generally been written as a story of elites: bankers, noblemen, kings, cardinals, and popes and their artistic interests and commissions. Recent decades have seen attempts to recast the story in terms of material culture, but the focus seems to remain on the upper strata of society. In his inclusive analysis of art from 1300 to 1600, Rembrandt Duits rectifies this. Bringing together thought-provoking ideas from art historians, historians, anthropologists and museum curators, The Art of the Poor examines the role of art in the lower social classes of Europe and explores how this influences our understanding of medieval and early modern society. Introducing new themes and raising innovative research questions through a series of thematically grouped short case studies, this book gives impetus to a new field on the cusp of art history, social history, urban archaeology, and historical anthropology. In doing so, this important study helps us re-assess the very concept of 'art' and its function in society.

An unconventional socio-economic analysis of the economic position of the arts and artists

Documents the author's observations of circumstances reflected in a maximum-security prison and subsequent launch of a humanities college course for dropouts, immigrants and former inmates who eventually became high-achieving contributors to society.

Everything you always wanted to know about the art market but were afraid to ask. A pioneering collector explains how to use passion and intuition to acquire key pieces or build a collection--even on a limited budget.

Le livre d'artiste "Collection for the poor" est inspiré du livre d'Eugène Schwartz "Confessions of a poor collector". Il peut être vu comme une réponse à la demande de devenir un collectionneur d'art contemporain malgré un quasi-zéro du compte bancaire. Il rassemble 21 artistes entreprenant le travail d'exploration des stratégies économiques et de distribution en dehors du marché de l'art. Le livre qui en résulte est une oeuvre d'art en soi à un prix très raisonnable qui est en même temps un manuel qui aide à trouver des oeuvres d'art abordables qui conviennent à la fois aux capacités financières et au bon goût.

In this engaging memoir, Elissa Altman, author of the popular Poor Man's Feast blog, chronicles her lifelong relationship with all things culinary, and the transformation she experiences -- from culinary trend-aholic to a champion of simplicity -- when she finally finds love. Short chapters sprinkled with recipes show that living and eating well are much simpler than we might think --

This volume lays out the underlying logic of contemporary poverty governance in the United States. The authors argue that poverty governance has been transformed in the United States by two significant developments.