What Makes An Artist Great Is An Aching Heart

by Sofia Blue
Aug 8, 2017
3 min read

Think about it. Think about some of the most famous artists in the world and their personal lives - painters, singers, movie stars. Many of them have suffered from depression, some have been hospitalized. Money and success have never been able to prevent that. So, why are we so tough on ourselves when we feel depressed?

Let me give you a few examples (there will be another post dedicated to currently famous people suffering from mental illnesses). Van Gogh, I believe, is the definition of an artist with an aching heart. During his brief career, he did not have much success, he managed to sell only one painting, lived in poverty, and was malnourished and overworked all his life. It was his brother who supported him financially. Van Gogh never really took care of his health. At some point he began to alternate between madness and lucidity and was sent to an asylum for treatment. The great artist who is nowadays highly appreciated for his works committed suicide only two months after he was released from the asylum. He left a profound, soul-searching description of his life in his artwork. Van Gogh once said about one of his paintings: “It is not difficult to express here my entire sadness and extreme loneliness”. Irrespective of his mental illness, though, Vincent remained marvelously creative until his death.

Another case is the one of Claude Monet. He is my favorite artist of all times. He had a brilliant mind and great vision, unique in his work. Monet was an innovator - he changed the conventions of the past. He brought abstraction to art, inspired many great artists to come, and used strong colors and bold, short brushstrokes. In spite of his depression, he is one of world's greatest artists.

When he was only 28 Monet attempted suicide by trying to drown himself in the Seine River. He served in the military, had health issues and also lived in total poverty most of his life. Monet met his muse in the face of his wife who he painted in several of his works. But she died. He had a second wife who also died before him. A few years before he died Monet lost his sight - the nightmare of any painter. He wrote in a letter to a friend - "Age and chagrin have worn me out. My life has been nothing but a failure, and all that's left for me to do is to destroy my paintings before I disappear.” Sounds familiar? The fear that you are failure? You have thought that about yourself. I have thought that about myself. But can you imagine the world of art if he actually destroyed his works? Monet is a genius, he changed the world. So if he was so insecure, what about us? It is only human to doubt our own existence.

At the end of the day, it is easy to share happiness, joy, success, good fortune. It's not easy to share pain and sadness. It is not easy to express it either. To express it in such a way that the beholder can not only see the emotions but also experience them through the eyes of the artist. This is art. And it comes from pain.