Theft of inspiration

Greetings, 

Free-thinking, free-conscienced, beautiful people.

Continuing to look through the mirror of art…

What appears to us today in the mirror of art is,

Theft of inspiration,

Do not say, "Can there be such a thing as the theft of inspiration?"…

Or go ahead and say it, no problem.

We will explain it anyway….

The art of painting has been based on imitation from the very beginning.

Artists have visually imitated and depicted everything belonging to nature: animals, plants, trees, mountains, rivers, clouds, etc.

In the initial stages, for artists, everything was a subject of imitation, and nature, which presented all these things to them, was their first teacher.

As artists' creative imagery developed over time, nature ceased to be the only thing to be imitated; artist interpretations and works themselves became tools for learning by being imitated and used as inspiration.

Before you ask, "Well, when did this creative learning begin?", 

Here is the answer:

Let's call it the Renaissance, "Rebirth," and continue.

Look, rebirth is important; let's make a note of that…

The Renaissance was an era of artists where those with special creative talents were almost sanctified, and everyone agreed that they possessed the most beautiful thing God had bestowed upon humanity.

But were these special people displaying their genius and talents as soon as they were born?

Of course not.

Children whose talents were discovered by their families were sent to workshops affiliated with guilds, as educational institutions in this field had not yet been established. In these workshops, which had an education system based on a master-apprentice relationship, training lasted between 3 and 8 years.

By the way, let me give you a secret that will surprise you. Painters of that period were registered with the pharmacists' guild because they collaborated with pharmacists to meet their need for paint used in their paintings.

Now, let's assume you are asking, "How do we know how giants of the art of painting like Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Raphael received their training?"

Let us answer that we know from the artist biographies written by Giorgio Vasari, an Italian painter, writer, historian, and architect who lived between 1511 and 1574.

According to Vasari; Leonardo da Vinci was apprenticed to Andrea del Verrocchio, a famous painter and sculptor of the period; Michelangelo to Domenico Ghirlandaio, a well-known painter of the period; and Raphael to Pietro Perugino, a famous painter, to receive their training. Apprenticeship was important, and so was guidance…

Are you whining, "But we still haven't gotten to the 'theft of inspiration'?"

Anyway, let's talk about being inspired first, then we will get to the theft.

One of the most famous examples of inspiration is the work Michelangelo did from the fresco of The Ascension of John the Baptist (1313-1314) (detail) by Giotto, the most important name who opened the door to the Renaissance. There are many such examples that have been the subject of art history.

I think one in particular will interest you more, I hope I am not wrong…

Come on then, let's take a look at the drawing Raphael made by being inspired by Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa.

And now we have arrived at the theft of inspiration. Raphael was impatient to see the frescoes that his contemporary, Michelangelo, who was older than him, had painted on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. But Michelangelo would not let anyone see them. When Michelangelo left Rome for a job, the chief architect of the building and his rival, Donato Bramante, secretly took his distant relative Raphael inside and showed him the frescoes. When Michelangelo returned to Rome, he became aware of this theft of inspiration and informed Pope Julius II that he would continue working only on the condition that the keys to the chapel were handed over to him, and he had this condition accepted. 

But Raphael had already taken what he needed and had carried his art to the peak with what he had taken.

This behavior, which I described as theft, perhaps slightly exaggerating, was perhaps an internal necessity for Raphael. It is a good thing he became a thief of inspiration. Thanks to this, he was able to leave immortal works to humanity.

I wish we had such thieves of inspiration among us, so that they could be inspired by the world of ideas and emotions of our eternal leader Atatürk and elevate our Republic, which he called his greatest work….

I wish…

Rebirth is important, so it is essential to be inspired again.

Until our next meeting, goodbye for now; for now and always, breathe with art, stay with art.