In recent times, the production of artworks has increasingly been outsourced from the studio to specialised artisanal production facilities. The "art fabricators" working here are usually nameless and faceless, actively involved in the production of artworks on the backstage of the "art world", however, with craftsmanship, a distinct understanding of art and a high degree of creativity. They are the focus of this study. By means of ethnographic field research, Franz Schultheis offers the first insights into the practice as well as the production conditions and relationships of such manufactories. The special professional ethos of their employees as well as their self- and role relationships are also examined. Last but not least, the question arises as to how this change in the production of works of art changes the idea of the artist and of art itself.
