This gets very tricky very fast though and not so simple. Those historical 'whales' you're referring to frequently would finance art for reasons bigger than ju

This gets very tricky very fast though and not so simple. Those historical 'whales' you're referring to frequently would finance art for reasons bigger than just their own fancy or pleasure, for political reasons, for diplomacy, for communication, for power grabs. And then artists would have their own way with exerting their own power over the process as well.