Artist Frenemies - Friendships, Rivalries, and Competition

As I continue to do research for my art lessons I am finding that many artists befriend a fellow artist, sometimes becoming competitive rivals, and often challenging each other to improve and innovate.

In another post, I've talked about Van Gogh's friendship (late in life) with Gauguin. Van Gogh was a somewhat timid soul who was later institutionalized following his relationship with his bolder, adventurous friend Gauguin. 

While Vincent liked to paint outdoors from nature, Paul insisted that he make up scenes from his own imagination. Vincent used his imagination to re-colorize copies of paintings by Jean-Francois Millet and the works of Japanese artists. I will discuss other friendships and rivalries that were often based on copying each other's works and some works that were deemed plagiaries.

National Gallery London

Another rivalry I know about is between portrait painters Sir Joshua Reynolds and Thomas Gainsborough. I knew about this one while researching the life and work of Reynolds and prior to visiting the UK in 2017. Apparently, Gainsborough was jealous of Reynolds having been appointed the Painter to the King (George III) and President of the Royal Academy of the Arts. At the Tate Britain museum, I stumbled upon works by both artists that were curiously displayed side-by-side (Reynolds on the left). I was taken aback and commented about their placement to two young patrons who were summarily impressed by my knowledge of the strained relationship. I then revealed to them how Gainsborough put aside his differences when he visited Reynolds's deathbed before he died. It's always a good idea to do the right thing and avoid regret later.







While in self-imposed isolation during the recent outbreak of Covid-19, I find myself accelerating my blogging, though struggling to come up with interesting topics. In order to learn more about artist rivalries, I turned to the Internet, finding a couple more strained friendships as well as a book on the subject.




Edouard Manet and Edgar Degas had a falling out after Manet slashed the face of his wife in a portrait Degas had painted of his friends. In retaliation, Degas returned a painting that Manet had gifted him.









Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse would often choose similar subjects to paint and occasionally use the same titles for the works. This form of flattery went on for a while until Picasso criticized Matisse's design for  Chapelle Du Rosaire in Venice, likening it to a bathroom (salle de bain in French).

Rival art writers/critics created a rivalry between Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning.





The next set of three rivaled pairs comes from Sebastian Smee's book entitled, The Art of Rivalry: Four Friendships, Betrayals, and Breakthroughs in Modern Art. He cited four pairs, but I am not interested in the feud between Freud and Bacon.

Not sure about this one: when John Constable was to exhibit his painting, "The Opening of Waterloo Bridge", Joseph Mallord William Turner was to exhibit side-by-side with his. Turner decided to upstage Constable by adding a red buoy to his own painting, "Helvoetsluys".

Battle of Anghiari, da Vinci

Battle of Cascina, Michelangelo

The rivalry of a well-established, mature Leonardo da Vinci and up-and-coming,  young Michelangelo had an adverse effect on art history and the celebration of two famous battles in Florence history. 




Both were commissioned for Florence's Hall of Five-Hundred and neither was ever finished due to their utter dislike for each other. Not so mature after all, eh!?

Caravaggio's Cupid

Giovanni's Version

The final is a bitter rivalry. Michelangelo Caravaggio was criticized by Giovanni Baglione, who claimed that Caravaggio's "Amor Vincit Omnia" painting of Cupid was plagiarized. So, in response to the Cupid painting, Giovanni painted "Sacred and Profane Love", giving the face of the devil a likeness of Caravaggio. Caravaggio was so inflamed that he engaged in libel and spent a few days in jail as a result.

Now that's a rivalry!