Interesting facts about artists and their paintings. Interesting facts about artists

This material tells interesting facts about artists. The sequence is naturally random, and the interestingness of the facts is subjective. If you are interested in the world of art and creativity, this material is a must read.

Van Gogh's ear

"Self-portrait with a cut off ear and a pipe." 1888

Everyone knows that Van Gogh cut off his ear, but they imagine it as if he cut off his whole ear. Although in fact, he only cut off the tip of his lobe. Then he took it to a brothel, to Gauguin’s beloved woman, and ordered her to keep it as her most precious treasure. You can read about Van Gogh’s ear in more detail in the material I published earlier. By the way, the following fact about Van Gogh’s friend, namely we'll talk about Paul Gauguin.

What kind of women did Paul Gauguin like?

Gauguin's mother was from Peru, due to the fact that he spent his entire childhood in his mother's homeland, he developed a love for the exotic and unusual, non-European female beauty. He was a notorious womanizer and was famous for liking fat and rough women. He always looked for the most unusual and non-standard representatives of the fair sex. But soon he moved to the Marquesas Islands, and died of syphilis, side by side with his young Tahitian wife.

Claude Monet's Garden

Claude Monet was a great lover of flowers and flora in general. He liked to paint nature in different times day and time of year. His favorite activity- watch how the colors of flowers change :) He was a very famous and influential artist, this allowed him to live with dignity. He was able to fulfill his childhood dream, he created an ideal garden that blooms all year round, this was done specifically so that there is always something to draw. It still exists and also blooms beautifully, here is a video from it:

Quick portrait of Picasso

The writer Ehrenburg was a good friend of Picasso, and one day the artist decided to paint a portrait of his good friend. Ehrenburg was very happy and began to nervously sit down, straighten his hair and in every possible way prepare for a long, responsible process. It took the artist less than 5 minutes and he said: “that’s it, look.” Ehrenburg was very surprised and asked why so quickly? The master answered him: “I’ve known you for 40 years, I also learned to draw portraits for 40 years, that’s why I don’t need more time.”

Morning in a pine forest and bears

I don’t know everything about this popular “deception,” but this is a common situation among artists, especially when they are members of creative associations. Shishkin never managed to finish his picture, namely, he couldn’t get the bears to work. Then his friend Konstantin Savitsky came to the rescue, for whom this task was not difficult. Over time, in order to increase Shishkin’s value and “promote” him as an artist, Savitsky was removed from co-authorship.

The logo for Chupa Chups was invented by Salvador Dali

I came up with the shape of the flower great master surrealism, he sketched it in one evening. The logo lasted in this form for several decades. For this he was paid a tidy sum. It was after this incident that he got the nickname “Avida Dollars” (In love with dollars).

The mystery of the black square

Malevich himself said that the black square is a symbol of the final break between art and academicism. The painting itself, in terms of beauty or aesthetics, naturally does not have much value. But in terms of meaning, this picture is very important and has great value. It was written precisely in its time and became a real symbol for contemporary artists At that time, she gave them the green light, she allowed them to do what they wanted.

Michelangelo da Caravaggio's first still life

This means that this is not only the first real still life of this great artist, but also that this is one of the first still lifes in the history of painting. In his paintings, he paid a lot of attention to fruits, and at the age of 23 (this is the age at which this picture was painted), he plucked up the courage and challenged all foundations, and painted only fruits in a basket. No one had done this before. These are some interesting facts about artists.

Dali worked with Hitchcock

Hitchcock asked the artist to help stage the main character's dream scene. Dali was famous for his surreal paintings, which in essence were dreams on canvas. Dali offered Hitchcock a long and intricate scene, with clever references - but the director left only a few minutes. Actually, you can watch this scene for yourself:

In fact, Dali staged the dream scene in another Hollywood film called "Father of the Bride".

Van Gogh ate yellow paint

"Wheat Field with Crows"

Of course he didn't eat oil paint, but sometimes, when sadness and melancholy came over the artist, he ate paint of his favorite color - yellow. This color can be seen most often and most in Van Gogh's paintings. It is worth noting that yellow is a favorite color among people with schizophrenia.

On December 3, 1961, a significant event took place at the New York Museum of Modern Art - Matisse’s painting “The Boat,” which had been hanging upside down for 46 days, was properly rehung. It is worth saying that this is not an isolated funny incident associated with paintings by great artists.

Pablo Picasso painted one of his famous portraits in less than 5 minutes

Ehrenburg expressed surprise at the speed of execution of the work, because not even 5 minutes had passed, to which Picasso replied: “I have known you for 40 years. And all these 40 years I have been learning to paint portraits in 5 minutes.”

Ilya Repin helped sell a painting he didn't paint

The bears in Shishkin’s famous painting were painted by another artist

A piece of fiberboard, over which paint was simply poured, became one of the most expensive paintings

Rubens encrypted the date of creation of his painting using the stars.

The Chupa Chups logo was drawn by the world famous surrealist

It is worth noting that in 1967 in Italy, with the blessing of the Pope, it was released with illustrations by Salvador Dali.

The most expensive painting Flour brings misfortune

One of the Munch Museum employees once accidentally dropped a painting, after which he began to suffer from terrible headaches, which led this man to suicide. Another museum employee, unable to hold onto the painting, was involved in a terrible car accident just a few minutes later. And a museum visitor who allowed himself to touch the painting, after some time, burned alive in a fire. However, it is possible that these are just coincidences.

Malevich's "Black Square" has an "older brother"

Christ and Judas in Da Vinci's painting have the same face

Once on the street the artist saw a drunkard who was unsuccessfully trying to get out of a cesspool. Da Vinci took him to one of the drinking establishments, sat him down and began to draw. Imagine the artist’s surprise when, having opened up his thoughts, the drunkard admitted that he had already posed for him several years ago. It turned out that this was the same singer.

Each artist’s creation is unique; each painting contains a piece of the soul of its creator. But like any other business, painting has its own nuances, artists have their own tricks. Each picture is associated with interesting facts, the most interesting of which we will present to you.

1. Apelles (370 - 306 BC) was an outstanding ancient Greek artist, a friend of Alexander the Great. Many interesting facts are associated with his name. According to one legend, Apelles held a competition with another artist to determine the realism of the image. When they removed the canvas from the competitor’s painting, the birds immediately flocked to the surprisingly living grape branch. Then they began to remove the bedspread from Apelles's painting, but the assistants were unable to do so - the bedspread was depicted in the painting!

2. One of Rubens’s most famous paintings, “The Feast of the Gods on Olympus,” had an unknown date of creation for a long time. Finally, astronomers took a closer look at it, and it turned out that the characters were located exactly as they were located on the planet’s horizon in 1602.

3. B Soviet era each artist had to be able to pass his painting through a commission that often had little knowledge of fine arts. I had to invent the most interesting and unexpected moves. So one artist painted a completely inappropriate yellow dog in the corner of the picture. It was this yellow dog that became main theme discussion for the commission, which no longer paid attention to anything else. A verdict was made - to accept the painting after removing the dog.

4. Van Meegeren was extremely talented Dutch artist. Unfortunately, his works were not appreciated, but his copies of paintings were famous painters enjoyed unprecedented popularity. It was these copies that he sold to the Nazis. After the war he faced a dilemma - or be accused of selling national treasure, or prove that they were fakes. Interestingly, in just a few days, under court supervision, he actually created a new painting.

5. Vasily Dmitrievich Polenov (1844-1927) was a recognized master historical painting. His brushes belong interesting picture with the original title "Christ and the Sinner". But the picture was not accepted at that time, since the artist depicted Christ without the obligatory halo, in fact, as ordinary person. It was possible to exhibit the picture to the audience only after it was renamed “The Prodigal Wife.”

6. One artist managed to introduce his fake in the most original way. He painted another picture on top of the fake canvas and took it all to the restorer. In the process of work, he discovered this “dual” interesting fact and the discovery of an “unknown Monet” was announced, the authenticity of which was not in doubt for a long time.

7. Other original way allows you to sell a fake. Two paintings are inserted into the frame, one of which is genuine. This entire “sandwich” is tested and receives an official conclusion about the authenticity of the work. After this, one of the paintings is removed, and the second is sold to a naive buyer.

8. Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov’s paintings on epic subjects were not particularly popular among other Russian artists; some even called him “Carrion” after the massacre of Igor Svyatoslavovich with the Polovtsians, and his fabulous “Flying Carpet” as “Carpet with Ears.”

9. Interesting business made by one lady in a painting with the autograph of Ilya Efimovich Repin. She simply bought a certain painting for only 10 rubles, but with the proud signature “I. Repin." The lady showed this work to Ilya Efimovich after some time. The artist laughed and added “This is not Repin,” after which the lady sold his autograph (along with the picture, of course) for 100 rubles.

10. Artists often helped each other, because everyone has their own favorite subjects, but there are also weak points. It is natural in this case to use the help of a friend - Repin painted Pushkin for Aivazovsky’s painting “Pushkin on the Seashore”, Nikolai Chekhov portrayed a lady in black for the painting “Autumn Day. Sokolniki" by Levitan, and the most famous bears from Shishkin's "Morning in a Pine Forest" were written by Savitsky.

About famous artists you can find a huge amount of information - how they lived, how they created their immortal works. Many people usually do not think about the characteristics of the artist’s character and lifestyle. But some facts from the biography or the history of the creation of this or that picture are sometimes very entertaining and even provocative.

Pablo Picasso
Good artists copy, great artists steal.

When Pablo Picasso was born, the midwife considered him stillborn. The child was saved by his uncle, who was smoking cigars and, seeing the baby lying on the table, blew smoke in his face, after which Pablo began to roar. Thus, we can say that smoking saved Picasso's life.

Apparently Pablo was born an artist - his first word was PIZ, short for LAPIZ (“pencil” in Spanish).

IN early years During his life in Paris, Picasso was so poor that he was sometimes forced to burn with his paintings instead of firewood.

Picasso wore long clothes and also had long hair, which was unheard of at that time

Picasso's full name consists of 23 words: Pablo Diego Jose Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno Maria de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santisima Trinidad Martir Patricio Clito Ruiz and-Picasso.

Vincent van Gogh
Don't be afraid to make mistakes. Many people believe that they will become good if they do nothing bad.

Abundance yellow and yellow spots different shades in his paintings are believed to be caused a large number taking medications for epilepsy, which developed from excessive consumption of absinthe. " Starry night", "Sunflowers".

For my hectic life Van Gogh visited more than one psychiatric hospital with diagnoses ranging from schizophrenia to manic-depressive psychosis. His most famous painting"Starry Night" was written in 1889 in a hospital in the town of San Remy.

Committed suicide. He shot himself in the stomach while hiding in a farm yard behind a pile of manure. He was 37 years old.

Throughout his life, Van Gogh suffered from low self-esteem. He sold only one of his works during his lifetime - Red Vineyard at Arles. And fame came to him only after his death. If only Van Gogh knew how popular his work would become.

Van Gogh did not cut off his entire ear, but only a piece of his earlobe, which hardly hurt. However, there is still a widespread legend that the artist amputated his entire ear. This legend was even reflected in the behavior of a patient who operates on himself or insists on a certain operation - it was called Van Gogh syndrome.

Leonardo da Vinci
He who lives in fear dies from fear.

Leonardo was the first to explain why the sky is blue. In the book “On Painting” he wrote: “The blueness of the sky is due to the thickness of illuminated air particles, which is located between the Earth and the blackness above.”

Leonardo was ambidextrous - he was equally good with his right and left hands. They even say that he could write different texts at the same time different hands. However, he wrote most of his works with his left hand from right to left.

He played the lyre masterfully. When Leonardo's case was heard in the Milan court, he appeared there precisely as a musician, and not as an artist or inventor.

Leonardo was the first painter to dismember corpses in order to understand the location and structure of muscles.

Leonardo da Vinci was a strict vegetarian and never drank cow's milk, because he considered it theft.

Salvador Dali
If I didn't have enemies, I wouldn't have become what I have become. But, thank God, there were enough enemies.

Arriving in New York in 1934, he carried a 2-meter-long loaf of bread in his hands as an accessory, and while visiting an exhibition of surrealist creativity in London, he dressed in a diver’s suit.

Dali wrote the painting “The Persistence of Memory” (“Soft Hours”) under the impression of Einstein’s theory of relativity. The idea took shape in Salvador's head while he was looking at a piece of Camembert cheese one hot August day.

Salvador Dali often went to bed with a key in his hand. Sitting on a chair, he fell asleep with a heavy key clutched between his fingers. Gradually the grip weakened, the key fell and hit a plate lying on the floor. Thoughts that arose during naps could be new ideas or solutions to complex problems.

During his lifetime, the great artist bequeathed to be buried in such a way that people could walk on the grave, so his body was walled up in a wall at the Dali Museum in Figueres. Flash photography is not permitted in this room.

Salvador Dali's nickname was “Avida Dollars,” which translated means “passionate for dollars.”

The Chupa Chups logo was drawn by Salvador Dali. In a slightly modified form, it has survived to this day.

Almost every one of Dali's works contains either a portrait or a silhouette of him.

Henri Matisse
Flowers bloom everywhere for everyone who wants to see them.

In 1961, Henri Matisse's painting "The Boat" (Le Bateau), exhibited at the New York Museum contemporary art, hung upside down for forty-seven days. The painting was hung in the gallery on October 17, and only on December 3 did anyone notice the mistake.

Henri Matisse suffered from depression and insomnia, sometimes crying in his sleep and waking up screaming. One day, without any reason, he suddenly had a fear of going blind. And he even learned to play the violin to earn a living street musician when he loses his sight.

For many years Matisse lived in poverty. He was about forty when he was finally able to support his family on his own.

Henri Matisse never painted rocks, clear crystal houses, cultivated fields.

During the last 10 years of his life, he was diagnosed with duodenal cancer and had to remain in a wheelchair.

Edvard Munch
In my art I have tried to explain life and its meaning to myself, I have also tried to help others explain their lives.

Munch was only five years old when his mother died of tuberculosis, and then he lost his older sister. Since then, the theme of death has arisen more than once in his work, and the artist’s life path from the very first steps declared itself as a life drama.

His painting "The Scream" is the most expensive work of art sold at a public auction.

He was obsessed with work and said this himself: “Writing for me is a disease and intoxication. An illness that I don’t want to get rid of, and an intoxication that I want to remain in.”

Paul Gauguin
Art is an abstraction, extract it from nature, fantasize based on it, and think more about the process of creation rather than the result.

The artist was born in Paris, but spent his childhood in Peru. Hence his love for exotic and tropical countries.

Gauguin easily changed techniques and materials. He was also interested in wood carving. Often experiencing financial difficulties, he was unable to buy paints. Then he took up the knife and wood. He decorated the doors of his house in the Marquesas Islands with carved panels.

Paul Gauguin worked as a laborer on the Panama Canal.

The artist painted still lifes mainly without resorting to a model.

In 1889, having thoroughly studied the Bible, he painted four canvases in which he depicted himself in the image of Christ.

Frequent and promiscuous relationships with girls led to Gauguin falling ill with syphilis.

Renoir Pierre Auguste
At the age of forty I discovered that the king of all colors is black.

Around 1880, Renoir first broke his right hand. Instead of being upset and grieving about this, he takes the brush with his left, and after a while no one doubts that he will be able to paint masterpieces with both hands.

He managed to paint about 6,000 paintings over 60 years.

Renoir was so in love with painting that he did not stop working even in old age, when he was ill. in different forms arthritis, and painted with a brush tied to his sleeve. One day his close friend Matisse asked: “Auguste, why don’t you give up painting, you’re suffering so much?” Renoir limited himself to only answering: “La douleur passe, la beauté reste” (The pain passes, but beauty remains).

Paintings by contemporary artists for sale

Bill Stoneham "Hands Resist Him"

1972

This work, of course, cannot be ranked among the masterpieces of world painting, but the fact that it is strange is a fact.
There are legends surrounding the painting with a boy, a doll and his hands pressed against the glass. From “people are dying because of this picture” to “the children in it are alive.” The picture looks really creepy, which gives rise to a lot of fears and speculation among people with weak psyches.
The artist assured that the picture depicts himself at the age of five, that the door is a representation dividing line between real world and the world of dreams, and the doll is a guide who can guide the boy through this world. The hands represent alternative lives or possibilities.
The painting gained notoriety in February 2000 when it was listed for sale on eBay with a backstory saying that the painting was “haunted.” “Hands Resist Him” was bought for $1,025 by Kim Smith, who was then simply inundated with letters from creepy stories and demands to burn the painting.