Meet the Artist Activities
Artist Fun Facts
The Ambidextrous: Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
- Da Vinci was ambidextrous, meaning he could draw with his left hand as well as his right.
- Da Vinci was an excellent musician and played the lyre and flute. He liked to listen to music as he painted.
- It is believed that da Vinci painted only one self-portrait.
The Painter of Women: Mary Cassatt (1844-1926)
- Cassatt came from a wealthy family that did not support her painting. They encouraged her to marry a rich man instead of having a career.
- Cassatt particularly enjoyed painting portraits of her sister Lydia.
- She was a good friend of Edgar Degas and met many Impressionist painters through him.
Friend of the Shah: Reza Abbasi (1565-1635)
- Before Abbasi, most major Persian paintings showed heroes and war scenes. He was one of the first to paint happy couples, fashionable youth, and people at rest.
- For most of his life, Abbasi worked for the great Iranian Shah Abbas I.
- The title Abbasi was given to him as a gift from the shah, showing his connection to the important man.
The Scientific Artist: Georges Seurat (1859-1891)
- Seurat met the chemist Chevreul and used his color theories as the basis of his art.
- He was only 31 years old when he died.
- Because he did not live long and his paintings took a long time to make, we have fewer than 50 paintings by him.
The Painter on a Boat: Claude Monet (1840-1926)
- Monet was a key Impressionist painter who helped create the first Impressionist exhibition.
- Monet collected and was inspired by Japanese woodblock prints.
- Monet built himself a small “boat studio” in which he liked to paint.
The Underappreciated Painter: Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890)
- Van Gogh only sold one painting while he was alive.
- He is famous today in part because his sister-in-law Johanna dedicated herself to making him appreciated after he died.
- He was especially close to his brother Theo, who supported him financially for most of his life.
The Neoplasticist: Piet Mondrian (1872-1944)
- Mondrian’s last name was originally Mondriaan, but he changed the spelling to separate himself from his Dutch background.
- He was a founder of the Neoplasticism movement, where the artists mostly used basic colors, forms, and shapes.
- He painted his studio walls to match his artwork!
The Feline Fan: Gustav Klimt (1862-1918)
- Klimt loved cats and had many pet cats in his studio.
- His artwork was plundered by Nazis but restored to their previous owner many years later.
- His use of gold leaf in his paintings was inspired by sparkling Byzantine mosaics.
The Quiet Painter: Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675)
- Only 36 of Vermeer’s oil paintings survive to this day, though experts still debate which paintings are and aren’t his.
- He and his wife had fifteen children; eleven of them survived beyond the first year.
- He spent almost his entire life in the Dutch city of Delft.