&gt; ...the making of art was far too serious to be left to sentimental clients who might mistakenly desire a narrative painting with a clear moral message, or a facsimile of a villa they had admired in Tuscany.<p>&gt; “We are making it out of ourselves” is a fair summary of the revolution in patronage the modern movement had brought about, in which the artist himself had now been transformed into his own patron.<p>So at some point, artists stopped working for a living. And who doesn&#x27;t want to do that? But work has a curious way of keeping things grounded and relevant.