Art In Action: Surprising Hidden Artists
By Darla McCammon and DeeAnna Muraski
What would you guess the pastime to be one of the world’s most notorious mass murderers, reviled and hated around our globe?
A hint is that he was not dancing around in a tutu. Surprisingly, this mass murderer created thousands of paintings. They were exceptionally good paintings with exacting perspective, thoughtful coloring, tranquil natural settings and detailed shading. Even though his work was rejected during his early years, he maintained no other desire in life but to be an artist.
The painting of “Castle Neuschwanstein” lacks warmth, but it is technically executed with a good deal of skill and architectural sense. After reviewing the beauty and subtlety of this painting, would it surprise you to learn the artist was Adolf Hitler? If you look closely at the bottom left-hand side of “Castle Neuschwanstein,” you will see his simply nondescript signature. Handwriting experts probably have an enjoyable stint trying to decipher the man behind the signature.
Hitler struggled when he was young with a strict, vicious father who beat him into submission repeatedly. Desiring to continue his forbidden love of art, Hitler bravely struck out on his own and left home. He made it to Vienna, where the art culture flourished and the ability to paint was heralded as a grand achievement. He admired the various artists and began to produce works as a necessity for his own survival.
Unfortunately, due to the high saturation of art and his naiveté with marketing, sales were modest and slow. Hitler was able to eke out a few sales, then tried to gain entrance to art schools to provide legitimacy to his work; but he was rejected multiple times. He was relegated to make a small living by copying work of other artists which he sold as postcards.
His real success, however, was back in Germany on the political front, where he quickly climbed the ladder with a penchant for power, which surpassed his love of the art world. Although, Hitler never completely deserted his desire to be a great, accomplished artist. Later, during the war that he initiated, he tranquilly painted watercolors in his home while ordering the murder of his own citizens, with no evidence of remorse. His goal became a driving force to conquer a people and then steal any worthwhile art from them. He hid these treasured artistic masterpieces and stored them for his personal future enjoyment.
One wonders if he had planned to copy the work of the world’s famous artists as he had done with the postcard artists of his youth. Hitler’s recovered artwork which he painted, and those he stole, were available for view along with 7,000 artifacts from the war in Boston at the International World War II museum in the United States. However, the museum abruptly and permanently closed without notice in September 2019.
On the other side of the world and political spectrum, one of our own presidents has surprised art critics since leaving office. President George W. Bush has an affinity for painting cats, dogs, and many of the people he met while he was in office. Former President Bush has developed a unique contemporary approach and bold strokes, effectually branding the art with his technique.
His praises have flowed freely from art critics for the work in a book called “Portraits of Courage: A Commander in Chief’s Tribute to America’s Warriors.” Proceeds of the book sales are donated to various charities, all of which support veterans. This beautiful book contains 192 pages full of brilliantly executed artwork from the viewpoint of someone high in the political atmosphere, paying homage to those who served our country in a differing capacity. The ability to capture the subtlety of skin tones, shadowing, curves of the face and descriptors of age is a feat not many are willing to take on.
The contrast of the two leaders, Hitler and Bush, and evidenced differing talents as discussed in “The 7 Kinds of Smart” by Thomas Armstrong, is a deeper study into evil versus good. Hitler used his seven kinds of smart to bolster his personal ego and hoard art. Alternatively, Bush gave back to those he viewed as the real heroes of our country. Former President George W. Bush may still have a few more of those smart genes up his sleeve.