From Michelangelo to Marden:
the seven brightest fights in the history of painting

Nothing human is alien to geniuses. Often, they had to solve their creative questions or prove their case with the help of fists. We present you an overview of the most desperate fights in the history of painting.

Lovis Corinth - Odysseus Fights Beggar Ira

Florence, circa 1490: Pietro Torrigiano vs Michelangelo

As a teenager, Torrigiano was considered the most talented young sculptor who worked for Lorenzo de Medici. However, it soon became clear that Michelangelo was not only three years younger than him, but also much more talented. Once, in a drawing lesson, Torrigiano hit Michelangelo in the face and broke his nose. There is a version that Michelangelo himself provoked a fight. Be that as it may, fearing the wrath of the Medici, Torrigiano fled from Florence and went to work for Henry VIII in England.

Winner: Draw. Technically, Torrigiano won the battle, but as a result, he had to leave Florence at the height of the Renaissance. Michelangelo’s broken nose does not seem to have any negative impact on his work.

Rome, 1606: Caravaggio vs. Pimp

Caravaggio had a rather hot temperament and often found himself involved in fights, in one of which he killed a young man named Ranuzzo Tomassoni. What exactly circumstances led to that fight is unknown. The most popular theory is that the reason for the brawl was betting on a tennis match. According to another version, the young people quarreled over the wife of Tomassoni or the prostitute who worked for him. Perhaps Caravaggio was trying to castrate Tomassoni.

Winner: Caravaggio, although fate severely punished him for his deed. At the age of 38, Caravaggio himself was killed.

London, 1890: James McNeill Whistler vs. Confused Editor

Whistler was a proud “peacock” and often quarreled with those who criticized his work, and once even sued John Ruskin for defamation. On September 7, 1890, the San Francisco Call newspaper published a note on “the most shameful and exciting fight” on fists between Whistler and August Moore, editor of The Hawk. Whistler attacked Moore and knocked him down with a stick, the manager of a nearby theater and several Whistler friends joined the fight. The reason for the fight was that in The Hawk for several weeks there was not a single article about the artist.

Winner: Whistler. Even after Whistler got out of the fray, the stunned Moore continued to be beaten by the theater manager. No one likes criticism.

Petrograd, 1915: Kazimir Malevich against Vladimir Tatlin

Futurists, both in Italy and in Russia, have always tended to defend their opinions about art and aesthetics by force. On the eve of the revolution in Russia, Malevich and Tatlin found themselves on opposite sides of the barricade: while Malevich preached creativity and a philosophical view, Tatlin called for order and realism. At the "Last Futuristic Exhibition of Paintings" 0, 10 "opponents met, as they say, face to face.

Winner: Tatlin, as it turned out later. Immediately after the revolution, the USSR supported constructivist ideas and prohibited abstractions.

Paris, 1937: the battle of the lovers of Picasso

Marie-Therese Walter was a lover and model of Picasso for about 10 years (and just gave birth to a daughter from him) when a photographer named Dora Maar seriously decided to take her place. When both women put Picasso in front of the choice “either I or she”, the artist gave them the opportunity to decide this. While the ladies forcefully figured out which of them is more worthy of the attention of the master, Picasso calmly returned to work.

Winner: Picasso. Technically, Maar won, but a few years later the artist found a new muse, lover and model - Francoise Gilo. So Picasso won. Picasso always wins.

New York, 1961: Willem de Kooning vs. Clement Greenberg

In the fall of 1961, during a lecture on abstract expressionism at the Guggenheim Museum, critic Clement Greenberg spoke of the fact that Willem de Kooning created the most successful works before 1950. After a couple of months, they collided in one of the bars where, in a fight, de Kunnig allegedly broke Greenberg’s face. (Greenberg, of course, tells a different story.)

Winner: de Kooning, who before hesitated to solve problems with fights in bars.

New York, circa 1980: Julian Schnabel vs. Brice Marden

In the 1980s, New York artists continued the tradition of expressionists, including the tradition of drunken brawls in bars. In his autobiography, Schnabel talks about how he had a fight with Marden because he called him a “student”, trying to put the presumptuous young artist in his place.

Winner: Both. Schnabel and Marden are among the richest living artists.

Anna Sidorova © Gallerix.ru