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by
Robert Genn
Economist
David Galenson of the University of Chicago has published
several books and countless papers on the genesis of creativity. Odd
business for an economist, you might say, but his research is largely
based on exhaustive research into the number of times certain works of
art are published in art books, mentioned by critics, or have achieved
high prices at auctions. His
conclusions include the startling finding that some of the great
artists peak early, while others don't do their best till later on. We
are of two main types, he says. Some
are quick and dramatic, what he calls conceptual innovators. Others are
slow and plodding, what he calls experimental innovators. Picasso
is of the first type, producing his best and most important work before
the age of thirty. Cezanne is of the latter -- steady growth and
refinement until his best work comes late in life. What
to do with Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, who died in 1912 one of the
highest paid painters of all time, but who now hardly appears on the
radar. Or
Maxfield Parrish who in his time sold almost as many photo-lithos as
Thomas Kinkade. Or
Mark Rothko whose high prices, drooling critiques and popular acclaim
seem to be due to a few dealers and critics who took control and had a
run with a goodly supply of his work after he had gone to the big
studio in the sky. He
also shakes up the notion that genius is a youth thing where the likes
of Mozart can knock off a small bagatelle at age four months. Through
all the misinformation and self-perpetuating myth, the mystery of
creativity further deepens. "Many
that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first," says the
New Testament. I rather like the idea of an Artists' Pearly Gates where
a clear thinking and unsullied St. Peter-like character evaluates
incoming artists according to quality, craftsmanship, joy, wonder,
imagination, taste, content, etc., and their ability not to privately
bore people. A lot
of the truly bad, I'm sorry to say, might just have to be punished. But
then again, only an economist or a fool could say who those might be. The
highest prices for Cezanne's paintings are from the year he died. He's
the third most illustrated French artist of the Twentieth Century. Of
all his reproduced and celebrated images, only 2% are from his
twenties. By far
the most popular are from when he was an "old man." Less than ten
percent of Cezanne's works are actually signed. Picasso signed
everything, including the tablecloth. 
From The Robert Genn
Twice-Weekly Letter
Creativity
enhancement
articles Visual
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