Artists often create iconic pieces by getting inspired by the interesting experiences of their life and that is you should be interested to know which famous paintings have interesting stories behind them.
Whenever people see an interesting painting, they try to find out the origin story. They do so to take inspiration from those stories because they think going through similar experiences may create a creative spark. That is why we have come to know the stories behind many famous paintings and some of them are quite fascinating. Sometimes they fascinate people because of the facts about the surrounding events, and in other times, the painting can become famous for the exact opposite reason – lack of information leading to creation of mystery and intrigue. For example, Vermeer’s painting “Girl With A Pearl Earring” is shrouded in mystery because no one knows who the girl in the painting really is. On the other hand, “American Gothic” has a very simple story. Grant Wood saw an interesting house with Gothic architecture and got inspired to paint the picture with his dentist and sister as subjects. “The Scream” is also very interesting because it can be interpreted as either Edvard Munch’s interpretation of the sunset scene he witnessed or a representation of the painter’s mental condition.
Vincent Van Gogh led such a sad but fascinating life that each of his paintings has a story to tell. He painted “Self Portrait Without Beard” to convince his mother that he was doing better mentally, even though he committed suicide only a few months later. “Starry Night” depicts Van Gogh’s interpretation of the view from his mental asylum room. But, even though it is now considered to be one of the best paintings of all time, he personally considered it to be a failure.
If these stories have made you interested in knowing about the stories of other paintings, take a look at Insider Monkey’s piece 12 Famous Paintings with The Stories Behind Them to check them out.
