Lucie Česká
Rights to an Image: Reproduction as a Business on the Part of Private Gallerists
In the 19th century, successful private gallerists established their businesses primarily with the profits they made on works by artists that interested the public. In addition to original artworks, reproductions of these works provided gallerists with an important commodity for meeting the demands of a wide range of customers. For this purpose, they signed contracts with artists giving them reproduction rights to individual works, allowing them to include these works in their business dealings. Mikoláš Lehmann is one of the Czech entrepreneurs who dealt largely in the sale of reproductions during the 1870s, linking his art shop in Prague with other commercial activities, in particular the operation of a permanent exhibition and organization of European tours with selected paintings. As someone who dealt in reproduction rights, Lehmann faced various lawsuits in the 1870s and 1880s concerning the illegal copying of artworks and dissemination of illegal reproductions.
Keywords: Mikoláš Lehmann - sensational paintings - travelling exhibitions - Gabriel Max - reproductions - reproduction rights - lawsuits
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