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The overwhelming force of the economic crisis has also significantly affected the art market, and the public minces no words proclaiming with a certain satisfaction that a hedonistic and extravagant era has breathed its last. For years, the high prices that have been reached in the upper echeleon of the art market have been viewed with suspicion – and not just the prices for already established modern classics, but also the works of contemporary young artists, who in less than ten years have taken millions home, and been heralded for being genuine rock stars of the art world.

Many critics – including Australian art critic Robert Hughes – have shaken their heads at this new turn in contemporary art, a turn in which the prices of the paintings and the number of celebrities rubbing shoulders in the openings suddenly became more important than artistic achievement.

The art world is changing, and museums are faced with responding to a new current whose direction has yet to be seen. For years, museums have depended on governement subsidies for funding, which allowed them acquire work and focus on their role as cultural institutions. However, more and more institutions have had their government subsidies cut. Now they have to attract a mass audience in order to cope with the budget cuts, which means they cannot risk unprofitable exhibitions.

In recent years a tren has taken hold: to curate one “Blockbuster” exhibition after another, showing the modern classics, preferably figurative, of artists that already enjoy universal recognition and animate a large crowd of visitors to pay a handsome sum at the ticket office without regrets. As it was, they only came to buy a bit of a clean conscience, so they can say they did more than shop while on holiday.

In this line, the Museo del Corso in Rome last February opened an exhibition dedicated to Edward Hopper, one of the most significant – and canonical-American artists of the twentieth century. In your holidays you are encouraged to visit this interesting exhibition which runs until June 13, and don´t forget, there might be more to see! There are still young galleries with noble intentions, who dare to show risky, interesting and above all, fresh artistic proposals. To relax after a cultural tour of the city, rent apartments in Rome.