All creative minds in the world know that creating art is a prolonged arduous process that forces us to pour an immense amount of time, thought and energy. Art only becomes significant when we connect to it, and when you connect to art, you inherently connect to its artist. Take Otto Dix, a German painter during World War I, who created art that was inspired by the brutality of war. Without experiencing the war, his art would be notably different, or wouldn’t even exist. It’s important to understand that works of art impact both responses to culture and shape it, and artists are not just mere illustrators of their time. This idea shows the relationship between the art and the artist is more complicated than simply a person creating art.

The moral flaws of the artist have an affect on our appreciation of its aesthetics, a common example could be Adolf Hitler, while he was known to have been a talenter painter, he was also a monster that perpetuated war, genocide and dictatorship. Of course, one can appreciate a painting without knowing the artist, but the question remains of whether one can revert to that state of ignorance once an offensive creator is discovered. In some instances, it becomes clear that a creator’s twisted values are reflected in their art. Thus, separating the two becomes impossible. But art isn’t always a mirror image of the artist’s crimes. Take Hitler’s paintings, which are quintessential pieces of art that do not visually reflect the tyrant he was .This is a prime example of art that we don’t visually associate with its artist, but once we learn about past infamy, it becomes nearly impossible to forget.

Read more at: Why We Cannot Separate Art from the Artist