The traits that once made such Renaissance men appear old-fashioned—their scholarly followings, their steady price levels—have now become strong selling points. Although the recession hurt every art category last year, Old Master values at auction only fell 12% last year, compared to a 60% drop for contemporary art, according to Clare McAndrew, a Dublin-based art economist. Old Masters also have a history of rebounding quickly from downturns: As an investment asset, older art yielded a 6.2% compound annual return over the past decade, besting the negative 1.4% for the S&P 500 for the same period, according to the Mei Moses Annual Old Master Art Index, which tracks repeat sales of thousands of artworks at auction and compares the trajectory of art prices to other financial barometers.