articleone : starving artists
It has long been understood that the best works of art come from the stomach, and that the best artists are starving. This is one of the reasons why young artists are taught how to paint bowls of fruit, and why prominent artists always return to the subject. In fact, the term "Still Life" comes from the french "Encore vivant", which means "Still alive", something the artists were thankful for being.
When asked about his "Still Life With Plums", c. 1730, Jean-Simeon Chardin revealed that the source of his prodigious tactile painting of the plums was not gleamed by sight, but by licking the plums to get a better taste for what he was missing out.
Francisco Goya was so hungry for food during the Spanish Civil War that he started hallucinating. He painted "Saturn Devouring his Children", 1819-23, as a result of his mad cravings for a Mars bar.
Claude Monet Painted "le Dejeuner (The Luncheon)", 1840-1926, while suffering extreme hunger pains. Monet loved food, and so planted a large vegetable garden in his backyard, and painted in it frequently. Later, when Monet had his cataracts removed, he discovered that he hadn't planted vegetables at all, but chairs. Monet burnt many of his paintings in disgust because of this.
Vincent Van Gough painted "The Potato Eaters", 1885, during a famine. He originally intended the painting to be a self-portrait called "The Potato Eater", but when the next-door neighbours heard about his secret stash of spuds, they came round and jostled him out of the way. Van Gough eventually chopped off his ear for a quick midnight snack.
Pablo Ruiz Picasso painted the surreal "Grande Nature Morte au Guéridon", 1931. It is believed that the three round fruit are passionfruit, simply because they look furry. Picasso painted in this surreal manner after he moved out of his Cubist period, as he found it extremely difficult to find square fruit.
Salvidor Dali was having problems with constipation when he painted "Last Supper", 1955. Art critics have come to agree that the apostles actual each represent a piece of fruit, possible dates. Paul is also generally believed to be an apple, and Judas a cumquat. In a lecture to other starving artists, Dali handed out cabbage leaves so that the students might be able to more appreciate food. Dali himself was quite rich, but starved himself for effect.
There have been many other starving artists, and there will be many more. If you know of some, please tell me. And remember that the best artists do not starve by choice, but by circumstance, and would eat their dog if they had enough strength to catch it.
When asked about his "Still Life With Plums", c. 1730, Jean-Simeon Chardin revealed that the source of his prodigious tactile painting of the plums was not gleamed by sight, but by licking the plums to get a better taste for what he was missing out.
Francisco Goya was so hungry for food during the Spanish Civil War that he started hallucinating. He painted "Saturn Devouring his Children", 1819-23, as a result of his mad cravings for a Mars bar.
Claude Monet Painted "le Dejeuner (The Luncheon)", 1840-1926, while suffering extreme hunger pains. Monet loved food, and so planted a large vegetable garden in his backyard, and painted in it frequently. Later, when Monet had his cataracts removed, he discovered that he hadn't planted vegetables at all, but chairs. Monet burnt many of his paintings in disgust because of this.
Vincent Van Gough painted "The Potato Eaters", 1885, during a famine. He originally intended the painting to be a self-portrait called "The Potato Eater", but when the next-door neighbours heard about his secret stash of spuds, they came round and jostled him out of the way. Van Gough eventually chopped off his ear for a quick midnight snack.
Pablo Ruiz Picasso painted the surreal "Grande Nature Morte au Guéridon", 1931. It is believed that the three round fruit are passionfruit, simply because they look furry. Picasso painted in this surreal manner after he moved out of his Cubist period, as he found it extremely difficult to find square fruit.
Salvidor Dali was having problems with constipation when he painted "Last Supper", 1955. Art critics have come to agree that the apostles actual each represent a piece of fruit, possible dates. Paul is also generally believed to be an apple, and Judas a cumquat. In a lecture to other starving artists, Dali handed out cabbage leaves so that the students might be able to more appreciate food. Dali himself was quite rich, but starved himself for effect.
There have been many other starving artists, and there will be many more. If you know of some, please tell me. And remember that the best artists do not starve by choice, but by circumstance, and would eat their dog if they had enough strength to catch it.