There is an almost unanimous belief that artists have a distinctive personality and that they are and have always been egocentric, whimsical, romantic, rebellious, informal, licentious, bizarre, obsessed with their work and difficult to live with. Art historians have contributed little to this subject, as they do not consider psychoanalysis to be useful for historical research, which in a way has deprived them of a deeper understanding of both the behaviour of ancient and modern artists and their works. The aim, then, is to investigate when, where and why a typical image of the artist was created in the minds of the general public, and what has been its distinctive features and critical fortune. The answer has been sought in the welter of historical sources: biographies, letters and documents, i.e. the research is rigorously focused on historical documentation.

Language: Spanish

Pages: 376