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When Emile Zola, friend of Cezanne, wrote "L'Oeuvre," where he described the
downfall of an artist (Cezanne believed Zola used him as the prototype), Degas acidly remarked that the flawed novel wouldn't sell, and, of course, he was correct. "A failed artist," Degas said, "is commonplace--no one cares what happens to him, artists go down the drain in Paris every day!" An artist lives in his own world; he wants his world to be revealed through his art, but it is very difficult to ACCOMPLISH, nearly IMPOSSIBLE. And being a painter is a lonely profession; hardly anyone is interested; art is not a necessity, it is purely for the edification of those who are affluent enough to indulge in it .... |