After ArtMajeur, YourArt acquired Artsper and its network of galleries. The group founded by Maurice Lévy intends to keep the two brands while pooling their resources. An operation that poses a central question for art marketplaces: how to transform the wealth of catalogs into profitable sales?
The brands will remain distinct, but part of the resources will be pooled. By announcing the acquisition of Artsper, YourArt continues the construction of an online art distribution group, almost two years after the merger with ArtMajeur. An acquisition where the transaction amount is not communicated.
According to figures announced by the group, the new ensemble brings together 95,000 artists and 1,800 galleries, for 2 million monthly visits. YourArt thus claims the leading European position in the sector.
The logic of the merger lies in the combination of two commercial approaches. ArtMajeur brings a widely distributed catalog and an announced presence in 80 countries, and Artsper a premium positioning, nearly 1,200 partner galleries and a personalized customer relationship practice. YourArt intends to rely on these skills to develop sales while sharing common expenses.
Artsper brings thirteen years of relationships with galleries
“When we launched Artsper with François-Xavier Trancart, the idea was simple: to allow everyone to discover and purchase contemporary art simply and with complete confidence, by giving galleries an online showcase that meets their requirements,” recalls Hugo Mulliez, co-founder of Artsper.
This relationship with professionals constitutes a commercial asset for YourArt. A gallery provides works, but also a selection, knowledge of the artists and an ability to support the buyer. For a platform, the difficulty consists of extending this relationship at a distance, from the discovery of a work to its acquisition.
Two brands, common means
Artsper: premium positioning, nearly 1,200 partner galleries and expertise in commercial support.
ArtMajor: an offer with wide international distribution, a technological infrastructure and artificial intelligence tools intended to be gradually integrated into Artsper.
YourArt’s choice: preserve the brands, their positions and their customer portfolios, while pooling common functions.
Preserve brands, spread costs
Artsper and ArtMajeur will continue to operate independently for artists, galleries and collectors. This choice makes it possible to preserve their clients’ benchmarks, while opening up the possibility of sharing technological developments and certain operational functions.
The border between the two offers is not watertight, however. Artsper also welcomes independent artists and collectors wishing to resell their works, and ArtMajeur also targets galleries.
Business models combine several sources of income. Artsper offers gallery subscriptions and charges commissions, while ArtMajeur notably markets a premium offer combining additional features and reduced commission. For sellers, the value of these services depends on their ability to bring qualified leads and transactions.
FRENCHWEB · MARKET MAPPING
Buying art: four circuits to find your way
Who puts the works on sale, how to buy and what service to expect?
01 · PLATFORMS OPEN TO ARTISTS
Buy from artists
ArtMajeur · Saatchi Art · Artfinder
Discover creators and purchase their works via a platform.
Service provided: visibility, discovery and transaction services.
02 · GALLERY PLATFORMS
Access the galleries
Artsper · Artsy
Explore selections from several galleries from the same site.
Service provided: selection, connection and support.
03 · HOUSES AND AUCTION PLATFORMS
Buy at auction
Christie’s · Sotheby’s · Drouot.com · Catawiki · Artnet Auctions
Bid on lots offered according to a sales schedule.
Service provided: organization of sales, information on lots and auction.
04 · GALLERIES AND ARTISTS WORKSHOPS
Buy directly
Galleries · Artists · Art advisors
Communicate with the seller; be accompanied, if necessary, by an advisor.
Service provided: personal relationship, advice and collection monitoring.
Two groupings which cross these circuits
YourArt
ArtMajeur ↔ Artsper
Combine a platform largely open to artists with a platform historically built around galleries. Two brands retained.
Beowolff Capital
Artsy ↔ Artnet
Majority investment in Artsy and takeover of Artnet, which combines market data, media and auctions.
Reading : indicative cartography, not exhaustive and without size classification. Families correspond to distribution methods, not to price levels. An actor can intervene in several circuits: Artsper also welcomes independent artists and resale; ArtMajeur welcomes galleries; Christie’s and Sotheby’s also offer private sales. Drouot.com aggregates sales from auction houses. The advisors support the purchase without necessarily selling the work.
Benchmarks: press release YourArt–Artsper; presentations of Artfinder, Saatchi Art, Artsy, Drouot, Catawiki offers; announcement of takeover of Artnet.
A consolidation that goes beyond the French market
The movement is part of a broader recomposition of online art. In May 2025, Beowolff Capital announced a buyout offer for Artnet, after a majority investment in Artsy. The investor also highlighted the size, collaboration between its investments, profitability and the sharing of artificial intelligence tools.
These connections organize competition on several levels: access to works, relationships with galleries, knowledge of collectors and the ability to support them. Platforms must also deal with direct sales from galleries and physical circuits, which retain an important role in the purchasing decision.
The Art Basel and UBS 2026 report shows a 4% increase in the global market in value in 2025. In the dealer and gallery sector, however, the share of online sales has returned to 16% of turnover, compared to 22% a year earlier, with high-value transactions having shifted more towards physical channels.
Artificial intelligence facing the test of purchase
YourArt plans to gradually integrate ArtMajeur’s artificial intelligence solutions into Artsper. “By combining the premium approaches of Artsper and the democratization of ArtMajeur within a whole using the formidable capabilities of AI, YourArt intends to become a key player in online art,” declares Maurice Lévy, founder and president of the group.
On an art marketplace, the benefit of these tools can be concrete: facilitating research in an abundant catalog, comparing works according to their characteristics or guiding a visitor based on their tastes.
The challenge will be to evaluate their effect on sales and quality of service. A relevant recommendation can trigger a discovery, but the acquisition also involves trust in the seller, information on the work, its condition and delivery conditions.
The operation comes following a capital increase carried out in September, largely subscribed to by the Lévy family, the amount of which is not specified. Founded by Maurice Lévy, YourArt welcomes Artsper, created in 2013 by Hugo Mulliez and François-Xavier Trancart. The new ensemble will be led by Stéphane Lévy, CEO of ArtMajeur, and Claire Halconruy, CEO of Artsper.
YourArt–Artsper: the benchmarks of the operation
Buyer: YourArt, group founded and chaired by Maurice Lévy, already owner of ArtMajeur.
Company acquired: Artsper, created in 2013 by Hugo Mulliez and François-Xavier Trancart.
Activity : discovery and sale of works of art online, with a historical positioning among galleries.
Announced scope of the group: 95,000 artists, 1,800 galleries and 2 million visits per month.
Organization : maintaining the two brands and pooling common functions.
Direction announced: Stéphane Lévy and Claire Halconruy.
Financing: capital increase in September, largely subscribed by the Lévy family.
Data not communicated: acquisition price, amount of capital increase, share of capital acquired and detailed financial results.
Catalog and audience indicators are declarative and do not constitute a measure of sales achieved.
