Some artists just have big heads. Egotism courses through the veins of the successful and validated, and artists bask in the glory of their narcissism. This is undoubtedly why pieces like Artist’s Shit No. 014 by Piero Manzoni and Faulty Landscape by Marcel Duchamp exist. But, I’m here to present another take on the big head phenomenon that exists in the art world today. Something a bit more literal.
Our awesome website has a magnifying view for each and every image we’ve added and it’s lead to some hysterical results. See for yourself!
Arnold Schwarzenegger by Robert Mapplethorpe at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art
I thought Arnold’s ego couldn’t get any bigger! As if being a bodybuilder and a movie star wasn’t enough, this overachiever had to run off and become California’s governor as well. Pretty impressive, Robert Mapplethorpe clearly knew how to capture this tenacious man’s inner spirit.
Judith Beheading Holofernes by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio at the National Gallery of Ancient Art, Palazzo Barberini.
You would be pretty proud of yourself too, if you chopped off the noggin of the man who was about to take over your country and persecute your fellow Israelites.
Puberty by Edvard Munch at the National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, Oslo
Puberty is an awkward time of self-exploration for all … Sadly for this girl, those tempestuous years will never be forgotten thanks to our boy Munch!
Melun Diptych by Jean Fouquet at the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp
I suppose having huge self-worth comes with the territory of popping out the child of God…
Olympia by Édouard Manet at the Musée d’Orsay
She may not be the mother of Christ, but becoming one of the most revered paintings in art history for simply having the confidence stare down her audience is a pretty great accomplishment too.
The Honourable Mrs. Graham (1757 – 1792) by Thomas Gainsborough at the Scottish National Gallery
I wish I could get away with being a class act while wearing a getup like that.
Venus and Cupid by Peter Paul Rubens at the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum
I think it’s permissible for Venus, the goddess of love, to have a big ego. If I were responsible for all the sappy love songs and romantic comedies in the world today, I think I would be pretty full of myself too.
By: Jennifer Tucker
Big Egos in Big Art was originally published on user’s Blog!
Contributor