by PenultimateManStanding » Fri 10 Jun 2005, 01:01:16
The most beloved and recognizable artist of the last two centuries or more is no doubt Van Gogh. I have a big collections of photos of his works on another CD which isn't on my computer. But people know his stuff, generally. What a sad story, poor Vincent's. If he could have lived on for another decade without committing suicide, he would have lived to see his fame soar to heights he never would have dreamed of. Something similar happened to Maurice Utrillo, a drunken lout who was arrested for indecent exposure in the Paris subways. But Maurice didn't do himself in and actually lived to see his own work selling at much higher prices than Picasso's. Maurice was under house arrest and supervised by his mother, Suzanne Valadon, a painter herself. A local grocer, quite an entrepreneurial fellow, sent bottles of wine up to Maurice in his second floor captivity in exchange for paintings which were sent down by rope. The grocer made a fortune from them. Maurice Utrillo was known for his remark, 'I'm not crazy, I'm just an alcoholic'.