What is the main message of The Art of Rivalry?

The main message of The Art of Rivalry explores the power and impact of artistic rivalries on the creative process.

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The reading time for The Art of Rivalry varies depending on the reader's speed. But you can read the Blinkist summary in just 15 minutes.

Who is the author of The Art of Rivalry?

The author of The Art of Rivalry is Sebastian Smee.

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The Art of Rivalry Book Summary - The Art of Rivalry Book explained in key points

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The Art of Rivalry summary

Name: The Art of Rivalry
Rating: 4.1 (96 reviews)
Author: Sebastian Smee

Sebastian Smee

Four Friendships, Betrayals, and Breakthroughs in Modern Art

4.1 (96 ratings)

15 mins

Brief summary

The Art of Rivalry by Sebastian Smee explores the complex relationships and artistic rivalries between four pairs of renowned artists that ultimately contributed to their individual artistic achievements and legacy.

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The Art of Rivalry
Summary of 6 key ideas

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What’s in it for me? Understand how rivalries helped create some of the world’s best art.

In business, rivalry and competition are often seen as crucial factors in the creation of the best products and services. In the artistic fields, however, competition is often portrayed as a drama of creative geniuses pitted against each other in bitter feuds. But is this really the case?

In these blinks, we’ll look at the relationships between some of history’s greatest painters: Edouard Manet and Edgar Degas, who were both part of the Impressionist movement in the nineteenth century; Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso, who redefined art in the early decades of the twentieth century; Lucian Freud and Francis Bacon, whose portraits and grotesque paintings, respectively, have granted them a special place in art history; and Willem de Kooning and Jackson Pollock, who were both key players in the advent of modern and abstract painting.

The intense meetings of minds between these artistic peers has profoundly affected art history as we know it today, so let’s explore the artful rivalry among these renowned luminaries.

You’ll also find out

about the impact extroverted painters had on more introverted ones;
how Matisse played an integral role in Picasso’s development of Cubism; and
why Pollock's personality influenced the quiet de Kooning.

Many famous artists have engaged in friendly rivalries, despite far more malicious fights among their supporters.

Have you ever heard the term frenemies? It refers to people who are close, but who are constantly at each other’s throats. Since the general public love to hear about heated competition between creative geniuses, the relationships between artists often seem to turn out this way. But despite what people want to see or read about, artists themselves aren’t always so malicious.

Just take the rivalry between Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso. People were absolutely thrilled at the idea of these two painters hating each other.

In fact, Picasso’s supporters would spread graffiti across Paris with government-style warnings regarding the health dangers posed by Matisse’s art. They even shot rubber-headed arrows at a portrait of Matisse’s daughter, Marguerite, that Matisse had given Picasso.

You can imagine how disappointed these fans were when they discovered that the two artists would often pay each other studio visits or walk together in the Tuileries Gardens.

Or take Willem de Kooning and Jackson Pollock, who were pitted against one another by the rival critics Harold Rosenberg and Clement Greenberg. While this critic-provoked animosity added tension to their creative processes, the men were still great admirers of each other’s work and shared tremendous mutual respect.

That being said, Pollock, who was a bit of a wild card, would show his respect for de Kooning in an unusual way; he would bait the other artist into a fight, or shout abuse at him during exhibition openings. On other occasions, he would simply praise his fellow painter’s work in the press.

But regardless of how they show it, the personal development of artists depends on the respect of their peers. After all, by influencing those in his field, an artist can become more widely recognized and thus broaden his success.

For instance, Picasso was inspired by Matisse’s deconstruction of form, known as deformation. This technique worked by changing the normal proportions of a figure to create a more visceral impact.

The technique became widely recognizable within Matisse’s work, eventually causing Picasso to open his mind and reconsider his entire approach to painting. As a result, Picasso developed Cubism, a style that revolutionized painting and for which he would forever be recognized.

In friendships between artists, the older, more outgoing of the two tends to dominate – but that’s not to say their influence isn’t reciprocated.

Most relationships experience some degree of asymmetrical balance of power, and those between famous artists are no exception. For example, Francis Bacon and Edouard Manet both held an upper hand of sorts in their friendships with their peers Lucian Freud and Edgar Degas, respectively.

While Bacon and Manet were both older and more established when these friendships began, in both cases they were also the ones with the more extroverted personality as compared to their younger colleagues.

Matisse and Picasso both profoundly influenced each other.

In much the same way that Bacon’s extroverted character made him a role model to Freud, Matisse, too, had a profound influence on his more introverted peer, Picasso. But that dynamic wasn’t set in stone; Picasso’s profound desire to emerge from Matisse’s shadow eventually pushed him to invent Cubism together with Georges Braque, a landmark movement in art history.

Picasso felt insecure around Matisse who, through his native French, would regularly captivate crowds of people at the soirées held by his friends and collectors, Gertrude and Leo Stein. Picasso, a Spaniard, spoke rather broken French and could never hope to match Matisse’s charisma or hold an audience of potential patrons as he did.

More dominant artists often inspired their traditional counterparts to work with greater freedom.

In many friendships among painters, the extroverts tended to dominate the relationship – but they also worked in a different way, tending to paint with greater freedom. In turn, this inclination had a major impact on their peers.

In most cases, the technically superior of the two would be inspired by the other to adopt a freer style. Just take Freud, Degas, de Kooning and Picasso, all of whom were superb draftsmen, with technical expertise far surpassing that of their rivals. All of them were encouraged to approach their work with greater freedom, of both hand and mind, neither of which came naturally to them.

Pollock was a particularly dominant character who changed art forever.

The great abstract-expressionist painter Jackson Pollock first became interested in art after his brother, Charles, took it up. His early teachers considered Jackson to be essentially talentless, but they failed to see his true ingenuity, which would come to transform the history of art.

Pollock was a wild child of the 1940s and 50s New York art scene. To be blunt, he was an alcoholic with a penchant for violent outbursts.

The relationships between artists supported the advancement of their field.

The artists you’ve learned about in these blinks are some of the most influential of all time. In fact, they were so important that their genius inspires people all over the world to this day.

And, while it might not have felt this way at the time, the relationships they had with each other were a driving force of the creativity that cemented their status as legends. After all, competition between these artists pushed them well beyond what they would have been capable of on their own. In the process, these very rivalries advanced the field of art as a whole.

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What is The Art of Rivalry about?

The Art of Rivalry (2016) details the remarkable accomplishments of some of history’s greatest artists and the personal relationships with their peers that propelled them to creative success. These blinks explain how rivalry between artists drives innovation and how relationships have been central to the growth of the arts in general.

The Art of Rivalry Review

The Art of Rivalry (2016) explores the complex relationships between four sets of artists and the impact of their rivalries on their creative journeys. Here's why this book is worth reading:

It delves into the intense, competitive dynamics between artists like Picasso and Matisse, shedding light on how their rivalries fueled their creative output.
By examining the interplay between personal relationships and artistic development, the book unveils the profound influence of these rivalries on the artists' works.
Through captivating storytelling and careful research, Smee brings to life the complexity of these relationships, making the book a captivating exploration of art history.

Best quote from The Art of Rivalry

At times, Picasso was looking more intently at Matisse; at other times, it was the other way around.

—Sebastian Smee

Who should read The Art of Rivalry?

Students of art and art history
Artists of all types
Entrepreneurs hoping to understand how competition can drive innovation

About the Author

Sebastian Smee writes for the Boston Globe as an art critic and is a recipient of the Pulitzer Prize. He has contributed articles to the Guardian and the Daily Telegraph, among other publications, and is the author of Freud (2015).

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History Motivation & Inspiration

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