Fame’s Uncertain Path

Following up on "Artistic Self-Promotion," what about those artists who were dissed in their own time, only to find appreciation and fame after they were no longer there to enjoy it? Then there were famous and respected artists, who made little money and may have been known only locally when they were alive. They became lost to history, only to be rediscovered centuries later.

The one always mentioned first is Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890). He was clearly unstable from the beginning. In his few productive years, however, he produced over 850 paintings. He sold only one painting during his lifetime at a fair in Brussels in 1890: "The Red Vineyard" (1888), now in the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow. That same year, he committed suicide at the age of 37.

Artemisia Gentileschi (1593-1654), the daughter of Orazio Gentileschi (1563-1639), was already producing paintings of interest by the age of 15. Her "Susanna and the Elders," painted at the age of 17, is today in the Schönborn Collection, Pommersfelden, Germany. She even became a court painter under the patronage of the Medici. Shortly after her death, however, her reputation suffered from attributions of her work to her father—probably, partly because that is where her inspiration came from, but even more from misogyny and the belief that a woman could not equal a man's achievements. I can remember that in the middle of the last century, I began to hear more and more about her, mostly due to feminist art historians, but backed by evidence of the great paintings that Artemisia actually produced.

Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675) had moderate success and indeed respect locally in Delft during his lifetime. He also had a few wealthy patrons. He made his living, however, as an art dealer. When he died suddenly, he left his family in debt. It did not help that while van Gogh produced arguably more than 850 paintings in his brief career, Vermeer produced only around 35 in his entire lifetime. Acknowledgment of him as a great artist had to wait until the mid-19th century.

Paul Cézanne (1839-1906), called today "The Father of Modern Art," was initially ridiculed and rejected from the Salon, with critics calling his work ugly. Change is always rejected at first. I believe that people enjoy their comfort zone and don't want it disturbed. They are also scared of what the repercussions might be—but that is a subject for another time. Cézanne represented the link between Impressionism and what we call modern art. He became a great influence on Braque and Picasso in their development of the Cubist movement. In the same period, Claude Monet (1840-1926) struggled with critics, who thought his impressionist paintings were strange and unfinished. Did it represent progress or just change?

I will end this missive with a favorite artist of mine, Salvador Dalí (1904-1989). A contemporary of Picasso, Pollock, and Mondrian, he is known best as the iconic figure of Surrealism. The movement, however, was started by the writer, poet, and theorist André Breton. Dalí joined the group in 1929 only to be thrown out by Breton in 1939. According to an Art Net article, Breton found him “too flamboyant, too political, and too fond of money”!

I think this brings my missives of the last two weeks full circle. Dalí is an artist who was thrown out of the very movement with which he is so identified because of his self-promotion.

Artistic Self-Promotion

People say a lot of things about the art world without really thinking them through. You've heard them: "My kid could do that" about abstract expressionism. "Art dealers only care about money." "Museums are above all that—they're educational institutions, not businesses." However, without the economic relationship between art and money, artists would starve, dealers and auction houses wouldn't exist. Museums would have to close their doors.

Nobody knows exactly how many artists worked in the 17th century in Europe, though I've seen estimates ranging from 20,000 to 50,000. Today there are probably 500 times that many. These numbers are rough at best, but here's one that caught my attention: apparently only 10,000 individual artists are represented in museums worldwide. That seems low to me ... add a zero or two and it's still nowhere near all the people who call themselves professional artists.

So why are certain artists collected by museums and not others? Yes, galleries promote specific artists ... that's not untrue. But how were those artists chosen in the first place? And why did institutions acquire their work after sifting through all those thousands of other artists?

I'd argue that self-promotion by the artists themselves plays a huge role, and this isn't some new concept. From the Renaissance on, European artists put their own faces in paintings and sculptures to get noticed. Even in commissioned works, an artist would sneak his likeness in there to satisfy his ego, or advertise his prowess showing that some important patron thought he was good enough for the commission.

Take Giotto di Bondone (?-1337). He is believed to have painted himself into The Last Judgement fresco (around 1305) in the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua. Sure, the donor Enrico Scrovegni is front and center, kneeling at the bottom. But scholars think Giotto slipped his own face in among the saved souls.

Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528) a painter, draughtsman and engraver, was versatile in his subject matter doing portraits, nature, animals and religious subjects demonstrating his abilities to a wide variety of patrons. He took commissions from royalty, the gentry, as well as the Church. His woodcuts and engravings, that even appeared in book form, won him recognition far and wide. Dürer started early using his own image. Here is a silver-point drawing in the Albertina, Vienna which he produced at the age of 13!

And then there's Rembrandt (1606-1669), who wasn't subtle about it at all. He depicted himself in drawings, paintings, and etchings 80 times. He documented his entire life—from when he was young and ambitious right through to old age. Talk about advertising your skills by creating your own visual autobiography! This 1633 engraving exists in a number of museum collections and the painting is in The National Gallery, London, one of 3 self-portraits he did the last year of his life.

Andy Warhol (1928-1987) was the master of self-promotion. He's the one who coined "15 minutes of fame." He grabbed every media opportunity, showed up at every important art event, and made sure he was seen everywhere in the art world.

My wife often tells this story: In 1977, as a Met curator, she introduced Dale Chihuly, who's hugely famous today but wasn't yet, to Henry Gelzahler, the head of the Museum’s Department of Twentieth Century Art and a central figure in the contemporary art scene and urged him to acquire examples of Chihuly’s glasswork. Geldzahler acquired two cylinders, which became the first Chihuly works to enter the permanent collection of a major museum. As Chihuly was leaving his office, Geldzahler offered him a piece of advice “Young man, focus more on your work and less on self-promotion.” Geldzahler got that one wrong!

Today, with social media, artists have so many more ways to promote themselves. The tools have changed, but the basic truth hasn't… talent alone has never been enough.

New Year's Resolutions ... Redux

I am taking off one more week, finding this 8-year-old Missive especially appropriate for this new year. If you can imagine a red cap on the character in the second image down, you also have a perfect meme…

**********

We have all made New Year’s Resolutions at one time or another, and this is a subject that hits the news every year at this time.  So what is a New Year’s Resolution?

Our tradition of resolving to change undesired behavior or accomplish a personal goal is probably directly attributable to ancient religions, where people made promises to their gods. I remember a time in my life when every morning on my way to school, I would resolve not to go to the nearby Cake Masters Bakery to buy a slice of chocolate layer cake.  I broke that resolution several times a week!  So much for my willpower!

What started me thinking about this subject was an article in our local free paper, The Santa Fe Reporter, whose front cover banner said, “2018 Resolutions”.  After last week’s Missive titled “Charities” for Christmas, “Resolutions” seemed perfect for January 1. The Reporter article, however, was mainly asking known personages in Santa Fe and nationally for their predictions and aspirations. I cannot resist repeating the one that might be closest to my way of thinking after this most depressing year: Kenneth Baumann, a teacher in Santa Fe, said,  “I’d like to see less fascism, more decentralized institutions.  Less authoritarian impulses, less violent persecution of minorities.”

I did, however, want to look up some of the most popular resolutions online and found that every article had a different slant.  Being more careful with money or getting out of debt were, of course, near the top of any list. Also, there was losing weight, eating healthier, getting in better shape (ie, going to the gym), and drinking less alcohol, which could all be considered the same resolution. The one that amused me was spending less time on Social Media: it sounds so new, how is it already a bad habit you want to get over!  Here is a cartoon you will relate to if you have ever thought, “I must listen to my mother more”.

If people have made resolutions for thousands and thousands of years, why have they found them so difficult to keep?  For one thing, even if you continue to work on a resolution for a long period of time, eventually you stop and go back to your old ways.  I know that half a century ago, I lived in London for 9 months and walked everywhere, often 9 miles in a day, and lost 45 lbs.  I actually went to a Savile Row tailor to have my clothes taken in because it was cheaper than buying all new suits.  When I was back in New York and still walked and pedaled a lot, it was never the same. After some time, I gained much of the weight back.  If your patience and stamina don’t pay off sooner or later, you say “What’s the use?"

I found this article from Psychology Today titled, “Why People Can’t Keep Their New Year’s Resolutions”. It looks at what researchers and psychologists have to say.  Articles from various publications are quoted with links as references. It is an interesting method of internet footnoting! The article actually explains my weight problem as my having been discouraged after really trying, but also that resolutions require a “rewiring of the brain,” which is not easy to do on your own.