Artists are starving beings. They starve for fame, recognition, validation, acceptance, appreciation, well, the list goes on. But what they desire the most is legacy. Many great innovators rise to fame and get to see their legacy in their time, while others only reach their pinnacle after their death. What make an artist great are their talent, ingenious innovation, and their unique perspective.
Pablo Picasso was not only regarded as a boy genius, but he also became a co-founder of the Cubist movement. Jan Vermeer Van Delft’s “Girl with a Pearl Earring” may just be a painting from the Dutch Golden Age, but her possession of vigor and animation has given her a conscience that has survived through the ages. Artists can amalgamate their dexterity and skill with their subtle love for creativity that makes them timeless.
Van Gogh, Michelangelo, and their Undefying Consistency
Although Van Gogh was known to be mentally unstable, his paintings still are changing the way mankind perceives art. His works garnered their deserved popularity after his widowed wife, Jo van Gogh-Bonger, decided to loan some of his works and sell others to exhibitions at Brussels, The Hague, Paris, and Antwerp. His Impressionist and post Impressionist style was mirrored by many but was duplicated by none.
A painter, an architect, a poet, and a sculptor, Michelangelo was a gifted man with an overabundance of talent at his mercy. This Italian genius first gained notice in his 20s for his sculptures of the Pietà, and his reputation cemented further with the ceiling frescoes of the Sistine Chapel. He received a commission from some of the most powerful men in his day, and his psychological insight and realism engraved his mark on the wall of artistic fame.
Struggling Artists who Later Became Legends
“My whole life as an artist has been nothing other than a continual struggle against the forces of reaction and the death of art.” Pablo Picasso studied under his father and soon became a highlight in the art industry. Still, his work didn’t result in any profit until 1905 when an art collector, Gertrude Stein, finally caught his attention.
He learned from the odyssey of Matisse and Cezanne and invented a new form of content. Even after returning to Spain due to financial struggles, Picasso left his trace and became the well-known ‘archetypal modernist.’
Born in Italy in 1452, the self-educated artist, Leonardo Da Vinci, struggled a lot with self-doubt and inferiority complex. He survived a better part of his life by painting dead criminals and only got a job when the Duke of Milan hired him to paint his mistress. His “The Last Supper” and “Mona Lisa” may have resulted in his indefinite popularity, but his paintings of barbaric monsters and draconian caricatures are what originated him.
Edvard Munch and his Psychological Revelations
The famous Norwegian artist Edvard Munch captured the loss of his loved ones in his first artwork, “The Sick Child.” He was heavily influenced by an old, wise painter, Christian Krohg, and exhibited a wide array of his paintings at the invitation of the Union of Berlin Artists. His “The Scream” became a masterpiece due to the contrived personification of nature’s inner turmoil and shriek.
He became prominent throughout Germany due to his salacious and open representation of sexuality which cleared his path to fame and prominence. Munch gave the City of Oslo the possession of his entire collection of paintings which later inaugurated into a museum with the title, “Munch Museum,” upon his death.
Caspar Friedrich, Landscape and Romanticism
Caspar David Friedrich’s work embodied German Romanticism in ways that transcended reality. The subjects in his paintings took the role of observers and basked in the neverending spectacle and grandeur of nature. His portrayal of landscapes did not only reflect the shimmering water and the fallen leaves, it had deep religious and spiritual relevance. His subtle and sensitive depiction of fog, darkness, mist, and shadows wrapped the enamored and picturesque realms of romance and left behind a heritage of Romanticism.
Conclusion
An artist isn’t born great; they become great. Their perseverance in the face of despair, their constant hard work in times of despondence, and the people they were helped and inspired by are all a part of the journey that helped them climb the stairs of triumph.
1st Art Gallery is the abode of paintings of all the famous artists who have left their trace on the pages of artistic chronicles. It is also the world’s largest supplier of Made-to-Order Oil Paintings! These exceptional artists may have left their legacy behind, but now it’s our time to keep that legacy sentient and alive.
