| Abstract: |
Roger de Piles (1635-1709) was a French art critic who decomposed the style
and ability of each artist into areas of composition, drawing, color and
expression, rating each on a 20 point scale. Based on evidence from two
datasets that together span from the mid-eighteenth century to the present,
this paper shows that de Piles’ four characteristics are each both currently
and historically correlated with prices achieved at auction. The effect of de
Piles’ drawing characteristic on price has steadily decreased over the period
1736-1960 while the effect of de Piles’ color characteristic appears to have
increased over the same period. De Piles’ overall ratings have also withstood
the test of a very long period of time, with estimates indicating that the
works of his higher-rated artists achieved a greater return than his lower
rated artists. The annual returns of all artists that he rated achieved
comparable returns to other art indices. |