The nineteenth-century press and the development of the artist-celebrity

The intent of this project is to explore how the developments in publishing and print technology during the early decades of the nineteenth-century affected the public perception and social role of the European artist. In regard to the latter, an investigation into the noticeable shift from artisan to celebrity is of particular importance. In order to present as concise a study as possible specific incidents in the careers of Charles Dickens, Richard Wagner and Emile Zola are looked at in detail and placed in their technological and cultural context. The results of the project illuminate artists' attempts to come to terms with growing and diverse audiences by using new modes of communication and promotional techniques. More broadly, the project shows how the interaction between, artist audience and media during this period substantively altered views on both the nature of fame and the artist as a public personality.