Best of: Artists

foreign as I pondered we can weary over many acquaint and curious volume of Forgotten lore as I nodded nearly napping suddenly I heard a tapping as if someone gently rapping wrapping at my chamber door tis some visitor I muttered tapping at my chamber door merely this and nothing more it was October 7th 1849 and the author of those famous words was dead Edgar Allan Poe would become one of the most celebrated authors in American history but his life was a series of tragedies punctuated by bouts of literary genius and his mysterious death at just the age of 40 and the events that led up to it deserved to be remembered he was born in Boston in January of 1809 to two actors David and Eliza Poe his father left the year after he was born and his mother died of tuberculosis the year after that Poe and his two siblings were adopted by John and Francis Allen of Richmond Virginia was a relatively well-to-do tobacco Merchant who upon the death of a rich Uncle inherited an estimated 750 thousand dollars that amount of money would be worth 17 million dollars today historians have preserve some of Allen's early ledgers and on the back Poe was already writing verses showing his interest in becoming an author and not following in his adopted Father's Footsteps in 1826 Poe left Richmond to attend the University of Virginia Living behind a sweetheart Sarah Elmira Royster Elmira was a 15 year old neighbor with whom Poe with age 16 had fallen in love he wrote it on my own multiple letters from the University which According to some omaris family intercepted because they disapproved of the match they convinced Elmira to marry the wealthy Alexander B Shelton in 1827. she would remain married until Shelton's death from pneumonia in July 1844 meanwhile Poe who was so broke from gambling and John Allen's refusal to send him further money was burning his furniture to stay warm at the University he dropped out returned to Richmond and learned about his Sweetheart's marriage to another man Poe was apparently heartbroken his relationship with John Allen became more strained and shortly thereafter he left the Allen home in Richmond Poe never reconciled with his adopted father who even left Poe out of his will but despite this lack of support Edgar Allan Poe was determined to become a famous author According to some historians his first published work tamberlain and other poems was inspired by his failed romance with Elmira in Tamara Lane Poe wrote asano heaven but in her eyes he was only 18 years old when it was published Poe published Timberland anonymously as a Bostonian and only 50 copies were printed only a few of these oddly sought after tomes still exist today he lied about his age to join the military saying he was 22 years old when he was actually 18 and used a fake name Edgar Perry post spent two years in the military and obtained the rank of Sergeant Major when he revealed to his commanding officer his deception he was discharged in order to attend the United States Military Academy at West Point which some biographies claim he hated so Poe acted up and was court-martialed after only eight months and kicked out of West Point but in his brief time there Poe made friends and fellow Cadets lent him money to publish a second book of poems in 1831. he included a dedication to them which read to the U.S Corps of cadets this volume is respectfully dedicated after being booted from West Point going back to Richmond wasn't an option John Allen's wife imposed adopted Mother Francis had died a few years previously and Ellen had remarried instead Poe went to Baltimore Maryland to stay with his paternal Aunt Maria Clem and her daughter Poe's cousin Virginia in March 1831 his career started to take a turn for the better when he won a literature contest and was invited to become an editor for the magazine Southern literary messenger part of Poe's success was due to the fact that he wrote masterful literary reviews not holding back in his criticisms of other authors to the Delight of the publication's readers in one of his reviews about a poem Poe disliked he wrote a more absurdly flat Affair was never before paraded to the world was so grotesque and era bombast and assumption the insulted poet's wife was later to say about Poe he did not play with his pen he wielded it one of the authors co-offended with his reviews was Rufus Griswold after Poe's death Griswold wrote a scathing obituary and followed up with a biography that portrayed Poe as a hard drinking womanizer in an effort to permanently blackened Poe's name according to the Poe Museum of Richmond Virginia Griswold's plan backfired and more readers bought pose books after the dark biography was published than ever before but one part of Griswold's biography appears to be true Edgar Allan Poe did indeed binge drink some historians claim that Poe temporarily lost his job at the southern literary messenger when he showed up to work inebriated and only got it back after he promised to behave in the future author and historian John Wall she was written a non-fiction book about Poe called Midnight dreary claims Poe was not a drunkard in the way usually meant by the term he points to the extraordinary writing and editing Poe was able to produce as proof of his sobriety and occasional lapses into binges Walsh writes as always with this type of alcoholism the unsettling fact was its combined certainty and unpredictability after long periods of perfect sobriety he seemed almost bound to fail again and those who cared about him had to live with that Relentless expectation one of the people who cared about him was his first cousin Virginia whompo married in 1836 Witnesses told authorities Virginia was of age but she was actually only 13. Poe was more than a decade her senior Poe's efforts at his new job led to the southern literary messenger becoming one of the most popular magazines in the Southern United States and he thought his pay was not commiserate with his results so he left the messenger and moved North first living in New York and then Philadelphia working for different Publications in an effort to earn more money to support himself in Virginia the literary world was a difficult place to earn a living in the early 1800s part of the problem was the lack of an international copyright protecting the rights and income of authors American Publishers had the unfortunate habit of bootlegging British Works rather than paying for original Works another problem was instability in the business Publications would spring up and then fall apart almost overnight throughout his career Poe worked for numerous Publications and planned to start one of his own but his dream is a publisher crumbled because he lacked the money to support the Venture after years of struggling Poe became famous when his classic work the Raven was published in January 1845 but he didn't become rich from the success historians say he was paid only nine dollars for the work but he was able to springboard his Fame into a series of rather successful speaking tours where he'd read aloud from his poetry and then Engage The audiences in question and answer sessions when Poe's wife Virginia died of tuberculosis in 1847 he went into another tailspin he found himself unable to ride and alcohol took front and center stage in his life once more for a while he courted a poet named Sarah Helen Whitman but their relationship fell apart for her part Whitman seemed infatuated with Poe before she even met him writing to a friend I can never forget the Impressions I felt in reading a story of his for the first time I experienced a sensation of such intense horror that I dared neither look at anything he had written nor even utter his name but by degrees this Terror took on the character of Fascination and devoured with a half reluctant and fearful avidity every line that fell from his pen the poe on the other hand for stal Whitman when he was walking by her Rose Garden with a friend in 1845. some historians claim he revised the classic poem to Helen to reflect his experience on seeing Whitman for the first time thy Hyacinth hair thy classic face thine heirs have brought me home to the glory that was Greece and the Grandeur that was Rome others claim that the only Muse for that poem was Helen of Troy Whitman's mother didn't approve of the relationship between the poet and her daughter so the couple had to meet in the Providence Library called the Atheneum at one of their clandestine meetings Whitman asked Poe if he had read which was published anonymously in the American review Poe revealed that he had not only read it but that he was the author he secretly signed the library's copy of the poem which the Librarians didn't discover until later various rumors persist about why Whitman canceled their engagement but in addition to the opposition of her mother she was apparently warned about Poe's alcoholism and an attorney advised her to write a prenuptial agreement to keep her money out of Poe's hands whatever happened they ended their engagement and Poe returned to Richmond Virginia there he resumed his acquaintance with Sarah Elmira Royster Shelton his childhood Sweetheart would married a wealthy Merchant now widowed Elmira seemed at first reluctant to let Poe back into her life when he first visited her after decades away he showed up on her doorstep on a Sunday morning while Amira was on her way to church later after Poe's death she remembered that meeting saying I went down and was amazed to see him but knew him instantly he came up to me in the most enthusiastic Manner and said oh Elmira is this you she casually thanked him for his visit and then went to Sunday services Pope persisted even though elmira's two children didn't like the poet in later years they would confess to mocking the dark-haired man behind his back in a letter to a friend Elmira wrote that Poe asked her to marry him and when she realized he was serious about it I told him that if he would not take a positive denial he must give me time to consider it he said that love that hesitated was not love for him but Poe was convinced that she shared his affections about meeting his former childhood sweetheart he wrote I am convinced she loves me more devotedly than anyone I ever knew and I cannot help loving her in return they tentatively set a wedding date for October 17 1849 when Paul was scheduled to return from a lucrative editing job up north on his way out of Richmond posts stopped by the southern literary messenger the publication he used to work for and gave John Thompson one of the editors there a poem Thompson recalled Poe saying here's a little trifle that may be worth something to you when Poe left Thompson opened the pages and read Annabelle Lee for the first time it was many and many a year ago in a kingdom by the sea that a maiden there lived whom you may know by the name of Annabel Lee and this Maiden she lived with no other thought than to love and be loved by me it was to be the last complete poem written by Edgar Allan Poe he left Richmond September 27th and then was discovered drunk and Ill in Baltimore where he died in a hospital on October 7th the circumstances of his death have been a mystery almost since they occurred some contemporaries of Poe claimed that he was a victim of couping a type of kidnapping used by political parties at the time in essence they would snatch men off the streets keeping them drunk and confined in the days before an election and then forcing them about the way the group wanted them to in an effort to falsely inflate votes proponents of this Theory point to the fact that Poe was discovered drunk in a Tavern that was being used as an election place and wearing clothes so worn that they didn't seem to belong to him others claim Pope fell off the wagon and then fell victim to alcohol withdrawal called delirium tremors untreated victims of delirium tremens can die up to 40 of the time it is a terrifying way to die especially for those forced to witness it as the victim may suffer from seizures in hallucinations like insects under their skin or pink elephants post symptoms as described by the doctors who attended him during his last few days seemed to fit the description of delirium tremens still other historians like John Walsh support a claim that Poe was attacked and left to die by Angry relatives of Elmira Furious that she was going to marry a man with no money a history of women troubles and a habit of heavy drinking his last words According to some nurses were garbled but sounded like Lord help my poor soul Edgar Allan Poe was only 40 years old when he died Edgar Allan Poe was buried in a presbyterian Cemetery in Baltimore only six mourners attended his funeral Elmira didn't even know that he had died until she read about it in the newspaper though later in life she would refuse to talk about her time with Poe and sometimes deny ever having been engaged to him one of her first letters to pose former mother-in-law described her grief as unbearable it was the most severe trial I have ever had and God Alone knows how I can bear it perhaps Poe's life was best summed up by his obituary in the Richmond newspaper the daily wig we regret to learn that Edgar Allan Poe Esquire the distinguished American poet scholar and critic died yesterday after an illness of some four or five days this announcement coming so sudden and unexpected will cause poignant regret among all those who admire genius and who have sympathy for the frailties so often attending it now a ninja Sonic claim what I used to spend my time serving over Majesty the queen of all the black-faced crew the finest man I knew was regimental Beastie gangadin was din-din Daniel hi slippery hitherow want her bring it to Perry low yes squishy nose don't idle gun get in written in 1890 the poem gungadin was one of the most famous poems in the world in its time Chronicles the life of a British soldier in India and offers an unlikely hero in the person of Ganga Dan the regimental water Bearer who represents an idea perhaps surprising to the soldier narrator that a person's worth is not defined by the race the poem has inspired films and songs and it's famous last line you're a better man than I am gungadin is an off-quoted bit of Praise but the author of the poem the youngest person ever to receive the Nobel Prize for literature lived a tragic life Roger Kipling the author of such beloved Classics as The Jungle Book and Captain's courageous suffered an abusive and difficult childhood went on to become one of the most famous authors of his time but lived a life of tragedy the father of three only one of his children would survive him the life and losses of Roger Kipling our history that deserve to be remembered Kipling was born to Lockwood Kipling who was the head of an art school and his wife Alice in Bombay India on December 30th 1865. they entrusted the early care of their son to an Indian nurse who carried the young Kipling with her during her daily duties to the bazaar he was with her so much that Kipling's first language and the one that he said he spoke in his dreams was Hindi but the nurse always reminded Kipling to speak only English to his parents so that they didn't necessarily know the extent of his fluency Kipling's parents were concerned about the health of their amiable son he was nicknamed the little friend of the world because of his friendly attitude and their second child a daughter named Alice whom everyone called Trix who was born a few years later typhoid cholera and other epidemics were common partially because the causes of the disease were unknown and the kiplings believe their children would be safer from potential illness back in England they found a boarding house in the south of England that seemed like the perfect place but they apparently didn't check all the appropriate references and it was an unfortunate decision for Rudyard and Trix the family that ran the boarding house called the holloways told the children that their parents had left them behind in England because they had been bad there never seemed to be enough to eat Kiplinger called the lady of the house quizzing him about his daily activities and then picking apart his every answer in an effort to catch him in a lie the Holloway's son cruelly beat the five-year-old Kipling with his fists if the children cried after receiving a letter from their parents they were locked in the basement for an entire day the word help was carved into the House's Walls by one of the children kept by the holloways it was Bleak came playing Forever After called the place the house of desolation later in life Kipling wrote a semi-autobiographical novel entitled ba baa black sheep that detailed the lives of a six and three-year-old who were left in the care of an abusive family in the south of England Kipling's readers didn't know that he modeled the story after his own life for when young lips have drunk deep of the better Waters of hate suspicion and despair all the love in the world will not wholly take away that knowledge though it may turn dark in eyes for a while to the light and teach Faith where no faith was Baa Baa Black Sheep 1889. after Roger's mother came to take care of children home six years later she was putting Kipling to bed and went to give him a kiss good night he automatically threw up his hands as if to ward off an attack it was then that she realized how awful The Boarding House life had been to her children the emotional scars ran deep Trix would struggle with what might be now labeled as bipolar disorder for her entire life Rudyard on the other hand had intermittent periods of what he called depression and according to some historians and an ability to form a close relationship with his wife Kipling said he dealt with his variable moods by working long hours sometimes as much as 16 hours in a day he'd laid a write to a friend my head is all Queer and I'm going to have to have it mended someday but that someday never seemed to come Kipling received his formal education at United Services College in Devon it was another boarding school and one at which he didn't necessarily Thrive he recalled being terrified as this fellow students hung him by his ankles out of the window on the fifth floor of a dormitory never particularly athletic that dreamy and bookish Kipling was described as an indifferent student yet there be certain times in a young man's life when through great sorrow or sin all the boy in him is burnt and steered away so he passes it one step to the more sorrowful state of manhood the dream of Duncan peronis 1884. but there were Echoes of Kipling's earlier amiable attitude towards the world one of his classmates remembered him as a capering podgy little fellow who has precocious as ever could be when he finished his time at United Services College Kipling took a job at a newspaper near his parents in Lahore India which is now in Pakistan Kipling began publishing his poetry which was incredibly well received by the public almost from the beginning of his career he formed a close relationship with an American publicist in London named Walcott balestier and when baluster unexpectedly died Kipling married the deceased man's sister Carrie in January 1892. the rush wedding was small with only four people in attendance because London had virtually come to a standstill there was a crippling influenza epidemic swooping the city Kipling described the atmosphere in his biography as it was in the thick of an influenza epidemic when The Undertakers had run out of black horses and the dead had to be content with brown ones the couple honeymooned in the United States for a time and went on to Japan where they received news that their bank had collapsed and taken much of their Fortune with it the return to the states carries Home Country purchased a home near her family in Brattleboro Vermont Carrie Kipling discovered she was pregnant and gave birth to the couple's first child Josephine on December 29 1892 in his biography Kipling wrote that his daughter was born in three foot of snow on the night of 29 December 1892. her mother's birthday being the 31st and mine the 30th on the same month we congratulated her on her sense of the fitness of things Kipling described this period of his life as the happiest and most productive of his career he loved living in the countryside Vermont away from the noisy cities or Temptations like alcohol or opium he wrote Such Classics as The Jungle Book Captains Courageous both of which would later be made into films and other books filled with short stories and poetry now this is the law of the Jungle it's old and as true as the sky and the wolf that shall keep it may Prosper but the wolf that shall break it must die as the creeper that girdles the tree trunk the law runeth forward and back for the strength of the pack is the wolf and the strength of the Wolf is the pack the second Jungle Book 1895. in 1896 Carrie gave birth to the couple's second child a daughter named Elsie and the son quickly followed in 1897 whom they named John Kipling began telling his eldest daughter Josephine whom he called Effie versions of his now beloved Just So Stories for little children every night before bed he said in the evening there were stories meant to put Effie to sleep and you were not allowed to alter those by one single little word that'll be told just so or if he would wake up and put back the missing sentence so at last they came to be like charms all three of them the whale tail the camel tail and the rhinoceros tail the gesso stories are imaginative stories about how animals begin to look and act the way they do in nature the titles detail each story there's how the whale got his throat and How the Camel Got His Hump the enduring popularity of these stories speaks to the loving care with which Kipling wrote them for his children I keep six honest serving men they taught me all I knew their names are what and where and when and how and why and who the elephant's child 1902. the Kipling's idyllic existence in the United States ended when Kipling had a public run-in with Carrie's brother Beatty baluster ballester struggled with addiction to alcohol and money troubles after publicly threatening to blow off Kipling's head baluster was arrested and a trial followed which Drew quite a lot of attention from the Press because of Kipling's popularity as an author as for his part tippling seemed to mourn the loss of his privacy eventually moved his family back to England in an effort to reclaim it we're all Islands shouting lies to each other across Seas of misunderstanding the light that failed 1891 unfortunately he suffered one of the largest losses of his life the Kipling's eldest daughter Josephine age six succumbed to pneumonia on March 6 1899. Kipling had been ill at the same time and at first a family feared they would not that they would lose them both however Kipling survived to discover that his daughter had not the world is very lovely and it's very horrible and it doesn't care about your life or mine or anything else the light that failed 1891. when the gesso stories for children was first published in 1902 Kipling Illustrated the stories himself the timing of the publication so soon after the loss of Josephine was particularly poignant the loss Forever After changed the author according to those close to him the man who had once been described as a friend of the world smiled and laughed a little less often Kipling's sister Trix said he became a sadder and a harder man Kipling received the Nobel Prize for literature in 1907 and Remains the youngest person ever to have obtained the honor but his star seemed already to be fading he espoused imperialistic political ideas and encouraged countries to pursue imperialistic policies Kipling wrote the poem The White Man's Burden in an effort to encourage the United States to take a more active role in the Philippines take up the white man's burdens and fourth the best you breed go bind your sons to Exile to serve your captives need The White Man's Burden 1899. he was also in support of the Great War World War One encouraged his son John to serve the conflict at first John failed a medical examination to join the Royal Navy because of his weak eyesight he attempted to list two more times but was rejected both times and then using his father's connections Kipling joined the Irish guards took part in the bloody Battle of lose the largest British assault of 1915. John Kipling age 18 was assumed to have been blown apart by shells and no piece of his corpse was ever recovered for his family to mourn over 2015 the Commonwealth grave commission announced it located the grave of John Kipling whose remains been buried in a French Cemetery if any question why we died tell them because our fathers lied epitests of War 1918. this second lawsuit Kipling and his wife incredibly hard Kipling said he read the novels of Jane Austen to his wife and remaining daughter over and over again in an effort to shake the grief he felt at John's death he also joined the group that would later become the Commonwealth War Graves Commission in honor of his lost son Kipling suggested some of the biblical verses the commission put on the stones of the word dead he also wrote a regimental history of the Irish guards which was published in 1923 it has been considered by some to be one of the best examples of a regimental history have repent and there were two many almost children of whom no record remains they came out of warley with the constant renewed drafts lived the span of a second Lieutenant's life and were spent the Irish guards in the Great War 1923. while mourning his lost children Kipling's Health began a study decline Kipling suffered from duodal ulcers which it is believed eventually killed him at age 70. The Writer's ashes are interred with Mr Abby's poet's Corner this forever into the remains of Thomas Hardy and Charles Dickens Kipling's only surviving child Elsie married George bambridge a diplomat in 1924. she never had any children so Kipling's bloodline ended she died on April 24th 1976. like some celebrities today Kipling's death was reported ahead of its time reading about it in a magazine he wrote to the magazine I just read that I died don't forget to delete me from your list of subscribers many of his political viewpoints notably about imperialism no longer held Sway in the international world as he grew older and he did receive much criticism for that George Orwell described him as a Jingo imperialist who was morally insensitive and a gutter Patriot his literary career had a meteoric rise but then seemed to stagnate and he often spoke to friends about the foibles of early Fame like his idyllic views of empire in many ways Roger Kipling seemed to become history even before his days had passed especially in the way that the loss of his children affected him but what is left of Roger Kipling when everything else is turned to dust or his writings like perhaps his most famous poem If penned in 1895 which seems to represent his tragic life but exhorts us all to be the best that we can be even in the face of terrible loss if you could make one heap of all your winnings risk it on one turn of pigeon toss lose start against your beginnings never say one word about your loss if you can force your heart and nerve and sinew to serve your term long after they are gone and so hold on when there is nothing in you except the will that tells them all hold on if you can talk to crowds I keep your virtue walk with Kings nor lose the common touch if neither foe nor loving friend can hurt you if all men matter to you but not too much if you can feel the Everlasting minute with 60 seconds of distance rot then yours is the Earth and everything that's in it and what's more you'll be a man my son Pablo Picasso a groundbreaking and prolific artist of thousands of paintings sculptures and other works showed his Brilliance from an early age throughout his career his art went through several distinct phases as did his love life he's reported to have said there are only two kinds of women goddesses and doormats the women Picasso adored appeared in his paintings some bore his children and almost all his Affairs ended in tragedy as if there was a dark side to loving the artist his granddaughter Marina Picasso wrote in her memoir His Brilliant Uber demanded human sacrifice he needed the blood of those who loved him people who thought they loved a human being whereas they really loved Picasso the lives of the many Muses of Pablo Picasso or history that deserved to be remembered Picasso said when I was a child my mother said to me if you become a soldier you'll be a general if you become a monk you'll end up as the Pope instead I became a painter and wound up as Picasso he learned the basics of art at his father's Studio but his talent surpassed his father's abilities when he was still young Picasso's first word according to his family was a shortened form of pencil Picasso created compulsively drawing and sketching for hours at a time until collapsing exhausted to rest and then start again his prodigious Talent earned Picasso a spot at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts at San Fernando but he dropped out soon after being admitted Picasso moved to Paris where he honed his abilities even further and made friends with many of the artists there he lived in poverty with the Bohemians of Paris burning some of his early Creations to stay warm he's remembered for among other accomplishments as being one of the co-founders of cubism the unique art movement is considered by some art historians to be one of the most influential art developments of the 20th century cubism takes everyday objects or scenes breaks them into their component of parts and then examines those parts from different viewpoints creating geometric shapes and surreal designs the Creations evoke a strong response in the viewer which seems to be unique to each person because of the way the human brain struggles to fill in the blanks left by the artist Picasso seemed to innately understand this one-of-a-kind interaction between art and everyone who views it he said the pictures live only through the man who is looking at it one of Picasso's first Muses Fernand Olivier he met the artist during his struggling early years in Paris Olivier born Emily Long in June 1881 had a difficult past she was born out of wedlock which was far more problematic during her lifetime than today and raised by an aunt and uncle when they arranged a marriage for her Olivier ran away and married a man of her choice who was abusive she fled this marriage and hid from her husband in Paris changing her name to complete her Escape Olivia met Picasso in 1904 when she was modeling for many of the artists of Paris she was described as strikingly beautiful and caught the eye of many of the Bohemians with her lovely features Picasso said he used Olivier as a model in 60 of his Creations including the model for the sculpture head of a woman and as one of the women in his provocative and groundbreaking work with demoiselle's devignon the rest of the women in the portrait he claimed were prostitutes they demo zells shocked the art world with French artist Henry Matisse proclaiming the portrait was not only a crime against Art but a personal affront despite or perhaps because of the visceral reactions to the creation Picasso and his art was catapulted onto the world stage Olivia and Picasso's love affair lasted for seven years she adopted a 13 year old girl in order to create a family with the artist perhaps in an effort to secure his affections for herself but Olivia returned the child to the orphanage after she discovered graphic and nude sketches the Girl by Picasso Olivier ended their relationship soon after later in life and struggling to escape poverty she published a series of articles about a relationship with Picasso who had gone on to such incredible Fame Picasso sued to prevent the publication of the Articles and was eventually successful forgotten nearly deaf and suffering from crippling arthritis Olivier lived on a small pension provided by the artist until she died in 1966 at the age of 85. marcellum bear who was called Ava goel by Picasso was Olivier's friend in Picasso's next notable relationship like most of his relationships Picasso was obsessed with goel and was known to have signed some of his works I love Ava during their time together goel for her part helped organize and clean Picasso's home except for his Studio which he refused to straighten she was also helpful to the artists in his business enterprises assisting the sale of pieces encouraging Picasso to add more color to his creations she was with Picasso for four years seemed to experience little of his more negative mood goel said to look at him you would think he would be violent but he is really like a lamb sadly goel developed tuberculosis and died at age 30. Picasso was despondent but found comfort in the arms of Gabby lesbiance a 27 year old who lived nearby Picasso didn't introduce lesbanos to his friends and few knew they even had an affair until she sold some of his paintings in the 1950s the affair was not just kept secret because goel was on her deathbed but also because Les benasse was dating an American named Henry lespanas and she'd already taken his name they married a year later Picasso gave her some beads and a few paintings one of which had a passionate note attached to the frame that said I've asked the good God for your hand there were some watercolors and sketches of rooms where they reportedly carried on their Affair that supposedly had erotic inscriptions by the artists but which were thought to have been etched out by Les panace to protect her reputation a tall Russian ballerina was the next notable Muse in Picasso's life he met her after designing the satin costumes for a ballet covo was performing in shortly after she began a relationship with Picasso kokova injured her foot and though it healed after some time she never danced in public again nearly a decade younger than Picasso koklova was descended from Russian nobility expected a commitment of marriage in Picasso before she would sleep with him he acquiesced and kokova gave him his first child a boy they named Paolo kokova believed in a well-run household and disliked some of his more Bohemian friends she hired a chauffeur to drop a cop store around and insisted that he lived more like the famous artist that he was becoming was a jealous wife but she couldn't prevent him from having his affairs the unhappy marriage peaked when cook Lova discovered Picasso had been in a 10-year long affair with the girl next door named Marie Therese Walter the relationship had started when Walter was only 17 and now she was pregnant with Picasso's child demanded a divorce which Picasso was unwilling to give instead she relocated to France remained technically married to the artist for the rest of her life developed cancer died in 1955. which was the end of her life she asked to see Picasso again but the artist did not go to see her or attend her funeral Marie Therese Walter a French woman gave birth to Picasso's daughter Maya in September 1935. Walter's depictions in picasa's works are noted for the bright colors he used she is credited as the Muse for a collection of 100 etchings that Picasso called The bowyard Suite her pregnancy with Picasso's child was captured by the artist in his work the Rev for the dream their child Maya was the model for Picasso's cubism style portrait called Maya the doll Picasso moved in with Walter for a period of time but two months after the birth of Maya he met Dora Mar his next Muse he carried on affairs with both women then 26 and 28 years old to the artists 54 years there's an impocable story that Walter came to Picasso Studio when Mar was there and the two had a literal wrestling match over who would be with the artist Picasso was said to have remarked that the wrestling Metro's attention was a choice memory but later Picasso and the women denied the incident it never happened Picasso went on to pursue his relationship with Mar and many others when koklova died in 1955 Picasso called Walter and asked her to marry him she refused despite being younger than Picasso Walter wouldn't long outlive him committing suicide in October 1977 a mere four years after the artist's natural death there was speculation that she committed the act because of her lingering attachment to Picasso Dora Mar whom Picasso considered more of an intellectual equal than Walter worked closely with the artist she was a talented painter and photographer notably photographing the disastrous results on many Americans of the 1929 crash on Wall Street Marr opened a studio in Paris working in commercial photography for a Time she also held solo exhibits and her work was published in Parisian magazines Mars birth name was Henrietta Theodora Markovich and she was raised in Argentina by Croatian and French parents the promising photographer was introduced to Picasso in 1936. shortly after she was working as a set photographer on the film The Crime of mishua Lang journalist Jean-Paul crespier described Mara in Picasso's first meeting in a cafe she kept driving a small pointed pen knife between her fingers into the wood of the table sometimes she missed and a drop of blood appeared between the Roses embroidered on her black gloves the Caso asked Dora to give him the gloves and locked them up in the Showcase he kept for his mementos during their nine-year Affair Mar was amused for and worked with Picasso on some of his art Mar painted a few of the pieces of Picasso's Masterwork Guernica work in which he started to express his feelings about war and its Horrors she also documented guernica's creation the portraits Picasso created of mar were noticeably darker than those for his previous Muse Walter one of the more famous ones the Weeping Woman was depicting Mar Picasso says ethamar was always a Weeping Woman for him part of Mars misery may have been due to the fact that she was unable to have children when Picasso eventually left Mara for his next Muse she sought therapy including electrosh treatments to soothe her heartache and deep depression Mark expressed the darkness in her heart when she said after Picasso only God sadly Picasso was said to have physically abused Mar during the relationship and then teased her about his other women after their relationship ended he shared erotic artwork he had done of her body even though she wanted to keep it private he bought her a house which he lived in for a while and she died a virtual recluse in 1997 at the age of 89. since her death the world has only started now to ReDiscover the paintings of doramar when she was with Picasso he insisted she painted his favorite cubis style but later during Mars time away from the artist he was able to paint in her own style preferring Landscapes a retrospective of Mar's work was shown in Paris from June through July of this year a talented and ambidextrous painter I met Picasso in the spring of 1943. Picasso was at a restaurant with Mara and friends when Shiloh sat at another table with her own friends he brought over a bowl of cherries and introduced himself to the beautiful young woman who was only 21 years old at the time a few years later Shiloh and Picasso moved in together and she bore the artist two children she served as the model for the painting The Femme Fleur their relationship ended in 1953 with Shiloh walking away from the artist one of the few if only women in Picasso's life to do so she wrote a book about their time together life with Picasso was incredibly popular and sold over 1 million copies in its first year Picasso tried to prevent the book's publication but failed he reportedly was so enraged over the book that he disinherited he Angelo's two children because of it life with Picasso was republished by the New York Review of Books Classics in June 2019. perhaps in retaliation Picasso told the art dealers he worked with not to purchase any paintings by Joe in an effort to stall her career but she continued to paint Jello went on to design sets and costumes for Productions at the Guggenheim she married artist Luke Simon in 1955 but they divorced in 1962. she then married Jonas Salk the researcher behind one of the first successful polio vaccines shalom in her 90s now is still alive and exhibiting her art in a feature interview in June of this year by thesley laforce for the New York Times magazine jillow said the most important thing in life is to be true to yourself you can be true to others if you have time Picasso saw his final Muse Jacqueline Roque at a party in 1961. he was 72 years old and she was 26. she refused to date him at first knowing his poor reputation with women but he ardently pursued her he sent her a rose every day until she relented rook's childhood was rather tragic her father abandoned the family when she was very young and her mother died when roke was only 18. she married at 19 and had a daughter but rook's first marriage didn't last when she finally agreed to have a relationship with Picasso she told him if he took another Muse she'd leave him in a heartbeat they married in March 1961 and remained together until Picasso's death he created more portraits of Rogue than any of his other muses when the artist died in 1973 at age 91 Witnesses said Rogue was so upset that she slept on the snow-covered grave where they buried Picasso's body she never got along with Picasso's four children argued with the rest of the family over Picasso's property broke into word life without Picasso until 1986 when she committed suicide Pablo Picasso is arguably one of the most prolific artists of all time almost maniacally creating art throughout his entire life which lasted 91 years The Genius of his vision is still readily apparent even years after his death the women that modeled for him and inspired some of his most famous artworks had their lives overshadowed by his great talent in 2015 Picasso's work the Femme De version o sold at auction for 179.4 million dollars highest amount ever paid for an artwork up until that time and that's not even considering the cost in broken hearts and lives that Picasso left in his wake [Applause] if we're not for his younger brother the world may never have seen the famous paintings Starry Night wheat filled with crows or sunflowers Alberts created by the famous and troubled Vincent van Gogh though he did not achieve success during his lifetime Van Gogh's paintings are some of the most valued works in the world in 2015 Van Gogh's Ali a dezeli camp sold for 63.3 million dollars at a Sophie auction the most expensive painting to ever be sold at auction is Van Gogh's the portrait of Dr gashe which was purchased for a jaw-dropping 82.5 million dollars at an auction in May of 1990 but beyond the monetary value of his paintings Vincent van Gogh whose name I won't be butchering by attempting the Dutch pronunciation has come to typify that idea of a struggling tortured artist whose creative passions undermine what otherwise might have been a contented life his untimely death at the age of 37 was followed shortly thereafter by the death of the subject of today's episode his brother's unwavering support both emotionally and financially of Vincent Van Gogh allowed the artist to create some of the world's most enduring Masterworks and while his contributions not just to his brother's paintings but to the development of Contemporary Art are not well known theodorus Theo van Gogh deserves to be remembered Theo van Gogh was born in the southern Netherlands on the 1st of May 1857. he was one of a half dozen children born to theodorus Van Gogh and Anna Cornelia carventus Theo's older brother Vincent was the eldest surviving child of the family although another boy also named Vincent had been born but died about a year before Vincent's birth theodores Van Gogh their father was a minister in the Dutch Reformed Church a Protestant religion founded in 1571. as a minister he didn't receive a large salary but the church cared for the family's needs by providing a house two Cooks a gardener made a horse and carriage their mother Anna has been described by some historians as strict and religious woman who would accompany her husband as he visited his parishioners her Father William carbentis was a book binder who had the honor of binding the 1848 constitution of the Netherlands thus being called the book binder to the king perhaps because of her father Anna love to read and write letters to her friends and family something that she ultimately passed on to her sons who exchanged hundreds of letters back and forth over the course of their relatively short lives none of the van Gogh children were described as having a strong Constitution except for Vincent Theo shared Vincent's coloring reddish hair and blue eyes that had a tendency to darken to a greenish blue Theo and Vincent originally studied at the local school but their parents became convinced that the country children were ruining Their Manners and so hired a governess to teach them at home the brothers became close even when they were young and Theo would later reminisce about the delightful games they played together in the family's home in zundirt in the province of Vermont after one of his many bouts with mental illness Vincent remembered the peaceful days of his childhood he wrote during my illness I saw again every room in the house at zundirt every path every plant in the garden the view of the fields outside the neighbors the graveyard the church our kitchen Garden at the back down to a magpie's nest in atal Acacia in the graveyard but the idyllic days did not last Vincent was sent to a boarding school in zavenbergen where he is believed to have been desperately unhappy he would remember this period of his life as austere and cold and sterile with some assistance from an uncle also named Vincent who was a successful art dealer the younger Vincent found a job at gupila and Company in July 1869 selling art prints and reproductions to middle-class purchasers Vincent van Gogh would not begin creating the art that would make his legacy to the world until his late 20s Theo would join his brother at the firm of Google and Company in January 1873 the youngest employee there seemed to thrive at the art dealership while his brother Vincent did not Vincent's temperament was not a good fit for a salesperson it was eventually fired for taking a vacation without seeking permission from his employers first but everyone in Vincent's family knew that the art dealership was not going to be Vincent's future Theo wrote when the apple is ripe a soft Breeze will make it fall from the tree and such was the case here Vincent entertained the idea of becoming a minister like his father but he didn't want to spend another seven years in school trying to become a clergyman he worked for time as a Bookseller and a school teacher before finally settling on his desire to become an artist Vincent was 27 years old when he began seriously painting he found it distracted him from his inner turmoil which was beginning to show more and more he wrote I said to myself I will take up my pencil I will go on with my drawing from that moment everything has seemed transformed to me his family was troubled by his seemingly erratic Behavior which was intertwined with his own version of religious asceticism Vincent would refuse to bathe and insist on sleeping on the floor even when a comfortable bed was available for his use he didn't eat very much I mean the crust of Breads and had a thin appearance his mother wrote I am always so afraid that wherever Vincent may be or whatever he may do he will spoil everything by his eccentricity his queer ideas and views on life and his father was of the same opinion it Grieves us so to see that he literally knows no joy of life but always walks with a bent head whilst we did all in our power to bring him to an honorable position it seems as if he deliberately chooses the most difficult path the intensity of its its passions disturb others Beyond his immediate family Vincent fell in love with his cousin Cornelia key Vos Stricker but she turned down his marriage proposal he refused to accept it and approach Cornelius parents with his pleas according to Legend he held his hand in the flame of the lamp and demanded let me see her for as long as I can keep my hand in the flame eventually Vincent was driven off by Cornelius father mainly because he seemed unable to support himself let alone a wife and family meanwhile Theo was finding a successful career in the art dealership world he worked at branches at gupil and Company and the Hague in Brussels was eventually transferred to Paris where he found himself at the Forefront of the Contemporary Art scene these work to bring among others the artist Claude Monet and Edgar Degas to the Public's adoring eye Theos and his brother money for food and art supplies and also tried to introduce him to other contemporary artists so that he might form some friendships with people who shared his interest but Vincent's personality was so prickly that the friendships never seemed to last one of the artists Theo introduced his brother to was Anton vulnerabar a Dutch painter they had a correspondence of nearly five years but had a disagreement that van rapower said he regretted for the rest of his life in a letter to Vincent's Mother after the artist's death Ben rampar wrote whoever had witnessed this wrestling struggling and sorrowful existence could not but feel Sympathy for the man who demanded so much of himself that it ruined body and mind he belonged to the breed that produces the great artists Theo and Vincent wrote to each other often and many of Vincent's letters to Theo have been preserved unfortunately the same cannot be said for Theo's letters to Vincent would seem to have been lost it is through these preserved letters that historians have learned so much about Vincent's life of the more than 800 letters Vincent van Gogh wrote that are still in existence approximately three quarters of them are written to his brother Theo when Vincent eventually committed suicide an unfinished letter to his brother Theo was discovered in his pocket Theo who had spent his life honing his art dealer scales to spot and nurture Talent would offer Vincent encouragement and helpful criticisms of his work Vincent while developing his art skills took in a pregnant prostitute seeing Hornick and her child who are in need of shelter he used ornick as the model for his now famous sketch sorrow Vincent added the line How can there be on earth a woman alone abandoned to the sketch which was a quotation from the author Jules mishlay it showed Vincent's belief that poverty was the cause of many of Earth's Sorrows like prostitution Hornick would return to her old life and Vincent Let Her Go unable to provide for the woman and her children he continued to believe that poverty was what kept her trapped in her situation and wrote to Theo she has never seen what is good how can she be good tragically hornik would eventually end her life by throwing herself on a river Vincent went to live with his parents Who provided shelter for him and wrote to Theo of his continued progress Vincent sketched the local Weavers Miners and anyone who wanted to model for him his artwork was dark and shadowy displaying little of the vibrant colors that would make his later works so memorable Vincent Rota Theo angry that his brother had been unable to sell any of his artwork yet he wrote a wife you cannot give me a child you cannot give me work you cannot give me money yes but what good is it to me if I must do without the rest he fill out a favor with the locals when one of his models turned up pregnant and the Rumor was that he was the father partly to escape the Scandal he moved to Antwerp to study at the Royal Academy of Fine Art but then left the school over creative differences with his professors he then moved to Paris and lived with Theo for a time at first Theo was encouraged with Vincent's progress and wrote their parents if we can continue to live together like this I think the most difficult period has passed and he will find his way but living with Vincent was nearly impossible as time went by Theo stop bringing friends home because they wouldn't everybody get into a fight with his brother he wrote to their sister my home life is almost unbearable no one wants to come and see me anymore because it always ends in quarrels and besides he is so untidy that the room looks far from attractive I wish she would go and live by himself Vincent moved to commune on the north side of Paris and eventually to Arrow where he immersed himself in his art and produced nearly 200 paintings he loved his time in the country and it reminded him of his childhood home Vincent wrote a Theo my great regret is that you cannot see what I am seeing here Theo married Johanna bonger whom he had met through her brother Andres he wrote to his parents that he was engaged and two days later Vincent cut off a part of his own ear after a fight with fellow artist Paul Gogan according to Legend Vincent presented his severed ear to a prostitute at a brothel he frequented his behavior was becoming even more erratic and the townspeople described the Artist as the red-headed Madman Vincent went to an asylum after that and wrote to his brother the kindless you have had for me Isn't lost only transfer this affection onto your wife as much as possible his mental highs and lows became more pronounced it was from an asylum window that Vincent saw the scene that would go on to become immortalized in the work Starry Night Theo and Johanna had a son in January 1890 that they named Vincent in honor of Theo's brother but Vincent killed himself in July of that year by shooting himself in the chest with a pistol Theo was by his brother's side when he died and he said Vincent's last words were the sadness will last forever Vincent was buried in the UVU stories cemetery and Theo attended his funeral where he seemed to become unhinged by Vincent's death he gave up his long-standing job as an art dealer and started a new business exclusively selling Vincent's paintings Theo's former employer said he became a Madman of sorts like his brother he was committed to an asylum by October of 1890 and then in January 1891 six months after the death of Vincent Theo died from chronic illness excessive exertion and sorrow although modern understanding of his condition calls it an organic illness historians believe that Vincent van Gogh might have been suffering from bipolar disorder or maybe a metabolic condition or both which exacerbated by starving himself drinking alcohol and working too hard the Theo was originally buried elsewhere Johanna had his body exhumed and buried next to his brother Vincent she published their private correspondence in 1914 and through multiple art displays and sales managed to make Van Gogh a household name Theo van Gogh understood his brother more than anybody else and he recognized the difficulty in balancing creative impulses with real life he said one of the most difficult things is that whether in good or bad Health he is so cut off from the outer world but if you knew him you would be doubly aware of how difficult it is to solve the question of what can and must be done for him but it is through Theo's efforts that the world would come to know his troubled Brothers genius I hope you enjoyed this episode of the history guys short Snippets of Forgotten history between 10 and 15 minutes long and if you did enjoy please go ahead and click that Thumbs Up Button if you have any questions or comments or suggestions for future episodes please write those in the comment section I will be happy to personally respond be sure to follow the history guy on Facebook Instagram Twitter and 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Channel: The History Guy: History Deserves to Be Remembered

Views: 15,995

Keywords: history, history guy, the history guy

Id: mUsOqjuXT0E

Length: 55min 14sec (3314 seconds)

Published: Wed Oct 18 2023