Exploring the Lives of Four Visionary Artists: Claude Monet, Vincent Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, and Michelangelo

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1 Smith 1 Kelsey Smith Dr. Downing College Composition 1 Assignment #6 Imagination and Reality Word Count: 1,479 November 6 th, 2007 Exploring the Lives of Four Visionary Artists: Claude Monet, Vincent Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, and Michelangelo The author of the essay Imagination and Reality, Jeanette Winterson, was born in Manchester, England and grew up in Accrington with her adoptive parents. Although Winterson had a tough childhood, and was expected not to be intelligent, she was eventually enrolled into an all girl s grammar school. Winterson then attended Oxford University and there she learned how to read English. Her first novel, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, came out after she had attended Oxford at the age of 23. This was just the start for Jeanette Winterson. In 2006 she received an OBE award for her literary works and she also published an essay in the book Making Sense, called Imagination and Reality. Making Sense also includes other essays by different authors on Art, Science, and Culture. In Winterson s essay, Imagination and Reality, she describes two different types of artists; court photographers and visionary artists (Winterson 598). A court photographer is someone who presents a form of art that keeps imaginations from lingering; it makes one stay within the world. A type of court photographer is someone who using art to advertise, such as the famous Coca-Cola products. Each manufactured good has the same curved Coca-Cola label, whether it is small or large, such as Sprite, Diet Coke, Cherry Coke, and Vault. However, visionary artists are people who help take someone s thoughts outside of the world; it helps one to imagine the unimaginable. Visionary artists include Claude Monet, Vincent Van Gogh, Pablo

2 Smith 2 Picasso, and Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, also known as Michelangelo. This paper explores the lives and the works of these four visionary artists. One of many visionary artists is Claude Monet. According to intermonet.com, Monet was born in Paris on November 14 th, He began painting a couple of years after his mother s death in Due to his encounter with Eugène Boudin, a majority of Monet s paintings are of objects, or people, outside. Monet s paintings were submitted in 1865 for the first time to the official Salon. Monet is considered to be a visionary artist because of his paintings such as Impression, Sunrise (See Appendix A, Figure 1). Impression, Sunrise is an image is of the sun rising, and includes cool colors like different shades of green and blue to characterize the sky and water, and orange to represent the sun. This painting might keep one inside of their world, but only to an extent. It is noticeable that there is a sun, but in order to understand the rest of the painting, we have to use our imagination. We can visualize bits and pieces of his picture, but we have to use our imagination in order to put it all together. If this were some kind of ad to get something across, such as the type of boat that the person is in, it would be much clearer and it would not be a necessity for someone to create this figure in their head. Another visionary artist is Vincent Van Gogh. Van Gogh was born in Groot-Zundert, Holland and was described as highly emotional and lacked self-confidence ( Vincent ). Due to his weak virtues, Van Gogh decided to learn art, determined to give happiness by creating beauty ( Vincent ). Some of his paintings include Boats at Saint-Maries, The Night Cafe in the Place Lamartine, Olive Trees, and Starry Night. His most well-known painting is The Potato Eaters (See Appendix A, Figure 2).

3 Smith 3 The Potato Eaters is visionary; it sees beyond the view from the window, even though the window is its frame (Winterson 599). This means that even though there is more outside of the window, one is still able to create a sense of imagination. Therefore, instead of Van Gogh drawing exactly what he sees while creating The Potato Eaters, he goes beyond by adding colors that expresses himself more powerfully and by drawing out different images of people. Van Gogh is an example of a visionary artist due to his lack of presence in the inside world and by not trying to convey a message of trying to get someone to buy a product; it is just his imagination drawn out on canvas. Pablo Picasso is also another artist that is considered to be visionary. Picasso was born on October 25 th, 1881 in Malaga, Spain. By 1896, at the age of sixteen, he had already developed into an experienced painter. Throughout his career, he eventually became one of the most prominent artists of the 1990 s. Picasso has gone from his Blue Period, where he depicts forlorn people painted in shades of blue, evoking feelings of sadness and alienation to his Rose Period; where his paintings took on a warmer more optimistic mood ( Pablo Picasso ). Eventually, Picasso s paintings became more like a collage; using different figures, shapes, and items all in one painting. Pablo Picasso s collages are one of the main reasons why he is considered to be a visionary artist. Some of his works consist of The Dream, Girl in Chair, Figures on a Beach, Les Demoiselles d'avignon, and Friendship. Les Demoiselles d'avignon is a key example of a visionary painting (See Appendix A, Figure 3). This work of art looks as though there are four figures of four different women. In order to be able to tell that these images are people, one must use a sense of creativity. As Winterson states, the reality of art is the reality of imagination (Winterson 608). In order to make Picasso s art become realistic, one will have to put their

4 Smith 4 imagination to use. If someone is without imagination, they are also without creativity, originality, and are not considered to be a visionary artist. Those who keep their artistic abilities within our world are considered to be court photographers, lacking a strong sense of ingenuity. In addition to the other three visionary artists is Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, also known as Michelangelo. Michelangelo was born in 1475 in Caprese, Italy and grew up with his mother, Francesca di Neri del Miniato di Siena, four brothers, and his father, Lodovico di Leonardo di Buonarroti di Simoni. His mother grew very ill and passed away at an early stage of Michelangelo s life. After his mother s death, even though his father did not want Michelangelo to be the apprentice of Domenico Ghirlandaio, Michelangelo ended up going against his father s will. This decision led him to become the famous painter that he is today and is now known as one of the most important artists of the Italian Renaissance, a period when the arts and sciences flourished ( Michelangelo; Renaissance Artist ). His artwork nowadays is the most viewed and admired by everyone around the world including his sculpture, David, and his paintings on the ceiling of the Vatican's Sistine Chapel, which is considered to be another visionary painting (See Appendix A, Figure 4). Michelangelo s paintings in the Vatican's Sistine Chapel are the best examples of why he is considered to be a visionary artist. Throughout the entire ceiling are images of the nine stories of the Genesis; Separation of Light from Darkness, Creation of the sun, moon and planets, Separation of Land from Sea, Creation of Adam, Creation of Eve, Original Sin Banishment from the Garden of Eden, The Sacrifice of Noah, The Flood, and The Drunkenness of Noah ( Vatican Museums; Central Stories ). In order to form this amazing work of art, Michelangelo had to use his imagination from the beginning until the end. He created every image in his mind including his view of what God, angels, Adam and Eve, and Noah look like. With the purpose of trying to

5 Smith 5 have a comprehension of this imagery, we have to use every piece of imagination that we encompass. Someone s vision of the people in his paintings may differ, but if one can visualize each story, they can also comprehend what the artist is trying to explain through his art. There are many different visionary artists that can take their imagination and turn a painting, sculpture, or any type of artwork to lead a person s mind out of this world. These visionary artists; Claude Monet, Vincent Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, and Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, are all well known today and have all been able to produce images that are extraordinary. Court photography is more popular in today s society, rather than visionary artists. While court photographers are trying to covey messages to people and advertise their products, they fail in the spiritual sense because they keep people in the physical realm. In relation to Winterson s essay, real art must come from ones imagination. When Winterson claims that the reality of art and the reality of imagination are closely linked, one must realize this in order to become a visionary artist. To create a successful, popular piece of art, a person should be able to think out of the box, or yet, think out of this world.

6 Smith 6 Works Cited Biography. Jeanette Winterson. 6 November Claude Monet Life and Art. Governy. 30 November Michelangelo; Renaissance Artist. Lucid Café. 25 August November Pablo Picasso. Lucid Café. 15 August November Vatican Museums; Central Stories. Vatican Museums Online. 9 November Vincent van Gogh: Biography; Revealing the life and times of Vincent van Gogh. Van Gogh Gallery. 6 November Winterson, Jeanette. "Imagination and Reality." Making Sense: Essays on Art, Design, and Visual Culture. Boston: 2006.

7 Smith 7 Appendix Impression, Sunrise. Claude Monet, The Potato Eaters. Vincent van Gogh Les Demoiselles d'avignon. Pablo Picasso

8 Location: Vatican's Cappella. Michelangelo Smith 8