Amedeo Modigliani, Resting Nude (On the Left Side), 1917. Private Collection.
BBC Television and SKY TV arts presenter, Kate Bryan discusses her new book Bright Stars, unraveling the lives and legacies of artists whose time creating unique works of art was tragically cut short, and celebrating their inspirational stories and extraordinary talent.
Most artists have decades to hone their craft, win over the critics and forge their reputation. But for some of these artists, such as Vincent van Gogh and Jean-Michel Basquiat, their lives have been mythologised, with their early deaths playing a key role in their posthumous fame.
Others, such as Aubrey Beardsley and Noah Davis, were driven to create, knowing their time was limited. For some, premature death, compounded by gender or racial injustice, meant being cut out of history books, as was the case with Pauline Boty and Amrita Sher-Gil. And as the lives of Caravaggio and Vermeer show, it can take centuries for forgotten artists to be given the reputation they truly deserve.
Bright Stars: Great Artists who Died Too Young by Kate Bryan is published by Frances Lincoln.
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