Fascinating Facts About The World’s Most Iconic Painters

We all admire the creative art done by great and famous painters. Everything seems fascinating about these iconic painters but there is always something that is more attractive about them. You have seen every kind of painting in this world. Every painting says something about the painter. So, let’s go on a voyage of fascinating facts about the world’s most iconic painters.

Leonardo Da Vinci (1452-1519)

One of the World’s Most Iconic Painters of all times. Leonardo was an Italian painter, sculptor, architect, writer, anatomist, geologist, astronomer, botanist, inventor, engineer, and scientist. Mona Lisa and The Last Supper are the most famous paintings by Leonardo. He is known as a renaissance artist.

• Leonardo Da Vinci was an illicit child. He was born on 14th April 1452 in Anchiano, Itlay.
• Leonardo made Scissors in 1 A.D. in Rome. He used them for cutting the canvas.
• The parachute was Da Vinci’s creation in the 15th Century.
• He wrote in a mirror script by reversing his handwriting.
• Mona Lisa was a real person.
• Leonardo created a painting, Salvator Mundi ( c. 1500) which is the most expensive painting ever sold as of 2019.
• Da Vini died in 2nd May 1519. Salai, assistant of Leonardo was the one who finished Mona Lisa.
• Leonardo was also an animal rights activist.
• Da Vinci’s book named The Codex Leicester went up for auction, where Bill Gates, the co founder of Microsoft bought the book for $30.8 Million.

Michelangelo (1475 – 1564)

Michelangelo, one of the iconic painters of all times. He painted The Creation of Adam. Which forms part of the Sistine Chapel’s ceiling, painted c. 1508–1512. In addition, it illustrates the Biblical creation narrative from the Book of Genesis in which God gives life to Adam, the first man.

• He was the first person whose autobiography published during his lifetime.
• David(17-foot height), the sculptor of Michelangelo, which was carved on the discarded block of marble. The creation of David was to symbolize the great heights, strength, and youthful beauty.
• Michelangelo greatly regretted carving his own name into the Pieta.
• Michelangelo worked for nine different popes.
• He never painted Sistine Chapel’s ceiling lying down. Instead, he painted it while standing upright on a platform.

Vincent Van Gogh (1853 – 1890)

A Dutch painter who is one of the most iconic artists in the history of Western art. Moreover, he is widely known for his painting The Starry Nights. Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam South for only artworks of him.

• In just one decade, Van Gogh created 2,100 artworks, including around 860 oil paintings, most of which date from the last two years of his life.
• The original Starry Nights painting can be estimated as worth of 100 million dollars.
• Van Gogh died because he shot himself.
• Vincent cuts off his left ear lobe because of his illness. In other words, he starts hallucinating and attacks himself with a knife.
• At the time when he was in asylum, he creates ‘Starry Nights’.
• Vincent died at the age of 37 and yet called as master at such a young age.
• “The Redheaded Madman” is Vincent’s nickname.
• He sold only one painting in his lifetime: The Red Vineyard which went for 400 francs in Belgium seven months before his death. However, his most expensive painting Portrait of Dr. Gachet was sold for $148.6 million in 1990.

Pablo Picasso (1881 – 1973)

Picasso was a Spanish painter. He was best known for Cubism, alongside Georges Braque. Importantly, he also invented collage and made major contributions to Symbolism and Surrealism.

• His full name has 23 words.
• His first word was ‘Piz’ (Spanish) meaning pencil.
• At the age of 9, he created his first artwork.
• Picasso had a great fear of illness and an even greater fear of death.
• Picasso got narcissistic characters.

M. F. Husain (1915 – 2011)

Maqbool Fida Husain, an Indian known famous controversial painter. In addition, he is known for executing bold, vibrantly coloured narrative paintings in a modified Cubist style.

• In February 2006, people accused Husain for hurting sentiments because of his nude portraits of Hindu gods and goddesses.
• He was an admirer of bollywood actress, Madhuri Dixit.
• He died in London on 9th June 2011 in his self imposed exile of 5 years.
• Forbes magazine called him the “Picasso of India”.
• M.F. Husain was part of following movies  – Pehla Sitara (2012), Meenaxi : a tale of three cities (2004), Gaja Gamini (2000) and Through the eyes of the Painter (1967).

So, here were the fascinating facts about the world’s most iconic painters. You see how different personalities turned into greatest painters. Every person witness different situations. Therefore, their ways are also unique. we can see this in their artworks. Also, we need to understand one thing was in common in all these iconic painters, that is they all experienced some kind of illness. Hence, their minds used to work differently and then they created masterpieces.  Additionally, we found how they suffered. In Conclusion, we got to know these painters more closely.