24

While the professional artist defines himself more and more subjectively throughout the second half of the nineteenth century, the same is true for his antagonist, the amateur. In this context, the Société artistique des amateurs, founded in 1896, provides a rare sample of self-declared amateurs that can be analysed both qualitatively and quantitatively. In addition to qualifying themselves as amateurs, the members of this society also undertook to define this identity. To this end, they combined the legacy of an 18th century historical figure with a new sense of non-professionalism. Far from assuming an independent status against the rules of art, the association allowed a microcosm of aristocratic dilettantes to find a place of their own within the Parisian art world. It also supplied this elite with resources to justify its merit and productivity among the professionals of the Third Republic.