Portrait Of The Artist As An Antisocial Loner

It’s a phenomenon that seems to cross all artistic genres and mediums: the live-fast, die-hard lifestyle of artists from James Dean to Lord Byron. But why is it that artists capable of communicating such profundity through their work are so frequently incapable of normal social interaction? ” A new exhibition at Britain’s National Gallery traces the image of the artist as rebellious loner from its Romantic roots through works by Vincent van Gogh, Edvard Munch, Edgar Degas and others.”