The Art of Emotion: Fine Artists Who Moved the World
Our eyes are just as sensitive as our taste buds. One man’s visual utopia might mean nothing to the next, and vice versa. Some won’t look twice while others can’t stop looking. At the core of this joyous juxtaposition is that when a painting captures the imagination, it has the ability to make people pause and think, perhaps even to see the world differently - if only for a moment, sometimes forever. This alchemy, however – with respect to traditional ‘painting’ (especially that of fine art) – has been diluted by the digital revolution and mass image-sharing. In the 21st century, myriad images are everywhere, all fighting for our attention. It’s a cavalcade. Paintings do still have real power, and the masters of the past still matter. While it's really a question of subjectivity, perhaps the truest measure of what makes certain painters emerge as “the best” – beyond their technique and creativity – is their ability to stir universal human emotions. It’s a vital ripple effect that lives on and speaks up, even in our noisy modern age.
VINCENT VAN GOGH
The lasting impact of this 19th century Dutch Post-Impressionist on modern art is utterly astonishing – even more so when you consider the anonymity and battles he endured while alive. Van Gogh had a litany of personal struggles, showing signs of mental instability from an early age and, largely self-taught, he didn’t start painting properly until his late 20s. He also spent time in an asylum while attempting to cope with bipolar disorder (and possibly alcoholism) and lost an ear – probably cutting it off himself – before ending his own life by shooting himself in the chest with a revolver.
By the early 20th century his best work, produced in a prolific three-year period in which he created and sold over 850 paintings, was recognised as masterful. His vibrant paintings are full of dramatic strokes and bold colours –the epitome of distinctiveness. To say these paintings are emotionally-charged is a gross understatement: because we know the narrative of Van Gogh’s life, they are loaded with deep layers of complex story and meaning. Iconic paintings such as Starry Night and Irises are among the highest prices ever paid for pieces of art, and Van Gogh’s work is admired by millions every year. In Amsterdam, there is even a museum dedicated to this gifted genius.
HENRI MATISSE
It’s a proven tenet of the human condition that we tend to overcompensate: to load things on and keep going in order to make a statement or prove a point. But often in life, less is more. Henri Matisse (1869–1954) knew this in his bones, and set about creating visionary paintings — genuinely masterful images – by stripping things back. By rethinking how a painting could communicate to its audience and using much more simplified forms, classically-trained Matisse rejected any sense of naturalistic realism and cleverly opened the door for a minor revolution.
He believed that colour itself could convey meaning and emotion, independent of the subject matter of a painting, and this thesis was proven absolutely right. His best work emits a beautiful sense of movement and rhythm, with a perfect sense of line and form, and with emotional expression to the fore. ‘Dance’, made in 1910, personifies this. It’s a monumental painting that depicts five nude figures in a circle, dancing joyously against a deep red background. Despite the simplicity and relative abstraction, it is jam-packed with vitality and feeling.
PABLO PICASSO
Where do you start with the prolific, staggering genius of Pablo Picasso? This iconic Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, and stage designer is possibly the most influential artist of the 20th century, constantly creating awe and wonder while exploring his deep well of talent over the course of an unthinkably rich career which spanned more than seven decades. Picasso was a master of reinvention, forever exploring new styles and techniques. He essentially created Cubism, a movement that deconstructed objects into geometric shapes and depicted them from multiple perspectives.
This whole movement summed him up: he loved to challenge traditional notions of representation and perspective. “Every act of creation is first an act of destruction,” he said. ‘Man with a Guitar’ is a primary example of this philosophy of deconstruction. By the time Picasso died in 1973, at the age of 91, he had left behind a mind-blowing body of work – more than ten thousand pieces covering virtually every artistic medium. His paintings, however, stand the test of time more than any other: Girl Before a Mirror, La Vie and Dora Maar au Chat are typically pioneering and emotive, brilliantly exploring themes that we address to this day: identity, vanity, and self-perception.
FRIDA KAHLO
We know that art history in the 20th century (and earlier) – nay, art itself – didn’t do nearly enough to encourage, cultivate, recognise, champion or hail female painters. Depressingly, that was an indictment of the times: women were sidelined from frontline creativity and expression, and certainly not encouraged to explore themselves or society via a canvas with brush in hand. Thankfully, and perhaps because of this, Mexican painter Frida Kahlo is a glorious exception to the rule. Nowadays, she is resoundingly regarded as one of the most influential artists of all, and with an impact that continues to grow, she is widely celebrated for both her exceptional skill as a painter and even more so for the emotional charge and intensity of her work. A master of self-portraiture, Kahlo created more than 50 images of herself during her short lifetime (1907-54), in which she furiously explored her identity as a women, her Mexican heritage, her status in society, and her physical suffering (a near-fatal bus accident had left her suffering with chronic pain).
Reflecting raw pain and vulnerability, modern ‘audiences’ find her work universally relatable, and by touching on themes like social isolation and miscarriage, her ‘warts-and-all’ honesty was revolutionary at the time. Suffice to say her style was inspired: with bold, vibrant colours and a plethora of symbolic elements, her paintings were meticulously planned and perfectly composed. There is a story everywhere.
GUSTAV KLIMT
While women were not prominent protagonists within the foremost art movements of the 19th and early 20th century, they were absolutely critical to prominent artists – and the work of Gustav Klimt is a shimmering case in point. This deeply talented Austrian symbolist painter, one of the most prominent members of the Vienna Secession movement, used the female body as his primary subject, developing his highly decorative and symbolic style while focusing on themes of sensuality, life, death, regeneration, and eroticism.
Klimt is best known for his ‘Golden Phase’ (1900–1910), when he conjured up visually stunning works such as The Kiss and Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I (aka Woman in Gold). Both paintings take you to another world: his use of gold leaf, inspired by his love for Byzantine mosaics, gives them a glowing quality, while the flattened, decorative forms and detailed patterns are highly stylised and wonderfully rendered. A true original who explored the human condition and continues to captivate.
To stand back and really consider the impact and influence of the world’s greatest painters is many things: educational, rousing, troubling, inspiring. Before the era of mass media – and especially before the age of instant global messaging via digital means – artists, especially painters, were critical communicators. They lit up the world, stirred the emotions, and helped society better understand itself. That they retain that power tells its own story.
