"I can't make myself outraged about rich people throwing money at each other. If there was no art, they'd find another excuse." Yep. Art was always a plaything

"I can't make myself outraged about rich people throwing money at each other. If there was no art, they'd find another excuse." Yep. Art was always a plaything for the rich. The Romanovs bought thousands and thousands of paintings to show how cultured they were. Every succesful Dutch merchant had to have a portrait done by Hals or Rembrandt. Italian bankers spent their entire fortunes on statues. Chinese emperors had enough porcelain made to host Beijing for a tea party.