A high degree of creativity has frequently been known to bring with it an ample dose of eccentricity. History is full of artists and other extremely innovative thinkers whose behavior fell outside the realm of the status quo. Read on to learn about some of the most idiosyncratic artistic figures that ever existed:
Vincent Van Gogh, 1853 – 1890
Van Gogh was a Dutch post-Impressionist painter whose originality and brilliance made a huge impact on the visual arts. His eccentricities displayed themselves from an early age. He was unable to hold a job due to his wild emotional swerves and unusual behavior, and his personal life was a roller coaster as well – at one point, he stuck his hand in a flaming lamp in order to get the attention of a woman who had rejected his marriage proposal. His most iconic and famous act of eccentricity is an incident in which he cut off part of his ear.
Andy Warhol, 1928 – 1987
Andy Warhol was a major figure in the American pop art movement, creating works that explored the interactions between advertisement, capitalism, celebrity culture, and artistic expression. His public persona was noted for its unpredictability and eccentricity, and this way of acting (behavior focused on challenging social norms) added to his cache as an artist.
Salvador Dali, 1904 – 1989
Salvador Dali was a Spanish surrealist painter whose highly innovative, imaginative, and vivid work continues to yield a huge impact on the visual arts today. He was famous for living entirely on his own terms, never concerned about fitting into the norms of mainstream society. He wore a dramatic fake mustache, kept an exotic ocelot as a pet, donned elaborate capes and walking ticks, and referred to himself in the third person during interviews, among many other eccentric tendencies.
Henry Darger, 1892 – 1973
Henry Darger was an American writer and artist who became famous after death when his 15, 145 page manuscript was found, along with hundreds of drawings and paintings illustrating the book. He has become celebrated as a symbol of the “Outsider Artist” in American culture – that is, an artist who has not been formally trained and does not have any involvement with the art world. Darger lived a reclusive and eccentric existence as a menial worker at a hospital, befriending very few people and spending his spare time compulsively collecting bits of trash.
Michelangelo
Michelangelo was a celebrated Italian painter and sculptor during the Renaissance period. His stunningly ingenious works and polymathic mind made him a major artistic figure of his time and long afterwards. He was also well known for his personality quirks and unusual tics – for example, there are many stories of him having temper flare-ups and screaming at statues. Michelangelo also distributed lifestyle eccentricities, living in squalor like a pauper despite his financial successes as an artist. His assistants claimed that he often slept with his shoes up and rarely changed his clothes.
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