An ancient legend described the role of chance in art — a sponge flung in anger at a canvas accidentally produced the exact effect a painter had been striving for. The same story was told of three different painters, suggesting the tale was an urban legend. more…
A young French artist, Luc Maspero, supposedly threw himself from the fourth floor window of his Paris hotel in 1852. He left behind a note saying that he had struggled to solve the mystery of the Mona Lisa's smile, but having failed, he preferred to die. We find versions of this story circulating since the 1960s, but there's no evidence that any such artist ever lived (or committed suicide). more…
