What do you picture when thinking of the life of Michelangelo?
Most people see a sad, impoverished artist, dressed in old ragged clothing,
struggling to make ends meet.
Michelangelo led a pretty frugal life and always did complain about being short on money.
So for centuries people believed this.
His story helps to confirm a common assumption about artists, that most of them
starve throughout their lives, and some don’t achieve success until after their death.
But that story is a myth.
In his 2002 book “The Wealth of Michelangelo,” art historian Rab Hatfield revealed a discovery
indicating that when Michelangelo died at age 89, he left an estate worth an equivalent
of around 47 million dollars today.
That fortune wasn’t due to a late-life success either,
apparently he had been paid well throughout his life.
For instance, when he worked as chief architect of the Laurentian Library in Florence,
he was paid an equivalent of $600,000 a year.
The reality is, while Michelangelo was great artist, he was an even better businessman.
When he was starting out, Michelangelo sought apprenticeship under the Renaissance master
Domenico Ghirlandaio.
At this time, art apprentices were not paid, with some even paying to work for their masters.
Michelangelo however, demanded to be paid.
This attitude would set the tone for Michelangelo’s whole career.
While studying under Ghirlandaio, Michelangelo not only learned the craft of art making,
he also learned what it’s like to run a studio, manage apprentices
and correspond with patrons.
Michelangelo also cultivated a network of supporters by befriending influential individuals
and established art patrons.
This didn’t happen over night.
Like the long years it took to master painting and sculpting, developing strong professional
relationships also involved many years of hardwork.
When he made money, Michelangelo invested it into land and property, which not only
secured his financial future, but also provided the means for him to further grow his artistic practice.
Of course, being a starving artist was myth that Michelangelo himself helped to perpetuate.
But ironically, his success pretty much redefined what it means to be an artist.
Before Michelangelo’s time, in most of European society, artists were craftspeople who were
not very highly regarded.
Michelangelo helped to usher in an era where artists can have prosperous careers, and be
recognized as important historical figures.
The story that is most often associated with French Impressionists of the late 19th century
is also a tale of rejection and poverty.
And while it is true that most impressionists struggled financially early in their careers,
their story is an example of how collaboration and a strong community can build successful
careers despite being in a system that worked against them.
Artists like Claude Monet, Frédéric Bazille, Auguste Renoir, Alfred Sisley and Camille Pissaro
first became friends with each other in art school in Paris.
These young artist all shared a vision of breaking out of
the traditional confines of Classical art.
However, their avant garde styles were dismissed by most galleries and academic institutions.
But it was their tight knit friendships that would serve as the foundation for
each other’s eventual success.
The artists would paint together, hold group shows, promote each other’s work, help financially
support each other, and recruit other artists into their circle.
Many of them would eventually achieve phenomenal success by the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
For instance, in 1912 Monet earned 369,000 francs selling his works when the average
Parisian labourer only made around 1000 francs a year.
The impressionists demonstrated that when the network you want to be apart of
doesn't want you, sometimes you just need to build your own.
But of course, you don’t do this alone.
Even though the idealized stereotype of the creative genius is someone alone in a cabin
in the middle of the woods.
Historically some of the biggest breakthroughs, whether in art or science, were not achieved
by a lone genius, but by small groups of people collaborating with each other.
Throughout most of her life, Georgia O’Keeffe was portrayed as a lone recluse living out
in the desert of New Mexico.
But the reality is that in addition to being a very prolific and hardworking artist, O’Keeffe
was also really good at making and maintaining connection within the art world.
Early in her career, O’Keeffe would visit established New York galleries to
familiarize herself with the art scene.
She kept in touch with her network of friends from Art School, including her friend and
former classmate Anita Pollitzer.
In 1916 she sent some of her work to Pollitzer, who then showed them to Alfred Stieglitz,
a well established photographer and art dealer in New York at the time.
Stieglitz, being impressed with her work, decided to exhibit them in his gallery, helping
to bring O’Keeffe’s works to the attention of a wider, international audience.
Even after moving out to New Mexico, O’Keeffe continued to maintain friendships with other
artists, such as befriending photographer Ansel Adams, which led to a lifelong friendship
where they supported each other’s work and inspired each other to create.
In 1940, TIME Magazine described O’Keeffe as the “least commercial artist in the US.”
Which was really odd since O’Keeffe often took up commercial commissions.
Early her career, she designed ads for fashion companies in Chicago.
Even after becoming a famous artist, O’Keeffe continued to do commissions such as painting
murals at New York’s Radio City Music Hall, and painting a pineapple for Dole in 1938
to be used in an ad campaign.
But many people are uncomfortable with associating art with making money.
They think artists shouldn’t “sell out.”
Artists should make art for the art’s sake.
But I think they’re looking it all backwards.
Most genuine artists are not making art in order to make money, they’re making money
so they can make more art.
This symbiotic relationship between art and commerce have always existed.
And it’s through the collision of these two worlds that opportunities were able to
present themselves time and time again.
Today, these opportunities are more abundant than ever.
Is every aspiring artist going to become a millionaire like Michelangelo?
Of course not.
But it’s more possible than ever to build a sustainable and fulfilling creative career.
Thus, I think it’s time for us to stop clinging onto the misguided myth
that artists can’t be successful.
It’s time for us to stop discouraging our children from pursuing creative careers.
And it’s time to embrace the reality that real artists don’t starve.
Thanks for watching everyone!
This video was inspired by the book “Real Artist Don’t Starve” written by Jeff Goins.
I highly encourage everyone to read this book.
There are endless fascinating tales of artist, musicians, writers and other creative individuals
building their successes throughout history and today.
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and I’ll see you guys next time! *snap!*