Happiness, fulfilment, exuberance, playfulness, content, serenity, joy - are all reflected in the music of one composer, Domenico Scarlatti, a composer who has been fully supported, recognised, understood, well paid, and given all the freedom in the world to compose without a single worry.
A very rare circumstances indeed, but an example that debunks the toxic and destructive myth about artists needing to be unhappy, ill, poor or have a tragic life to produce great art.
How many times did we hear that pain and suffering inspire great art ? However, not only is that belief a part of the historical myth we are fed and keep being fed, but there are a lot of artists from the past and present times whose life could point to that myth being true.
Well, we have to finally admit it - it is just a myth !
It is not a requirement to be unhappy to make art … not even great art !
If truth be told, I believe it is just the opposite. Great art is produced by great artists, happy or unhappy. And when happy, they could thrive and produce more great art. I often try to imagine how much more would all those great artists of the past eras have created (e.g. Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Schubert, etc.) if they had been happier, healthier, wealthier, more supported ... And as a consequence, in many cases, had lived longer.
Happiness inspires great art, joy inspires great art, fulfilling meaningful life inspires great art, to love and being loved in return inspires great art, being recognised and supported by society inspires great art ...... The list of positive things that inspire great art is quite long, in fact, too long for this article.
So yes, we can be happy artists, fulfilled artists, well paid artists, healthy artists, loved artists, recognised and praised artists and - produce great art ! And Domenico Scarlatti's music is the proof.
Listen to some of Scarlatti's (26 October 1685 – 23 July 1757) sonatas for keyboard played by Ivo Pogorelich, which in my opinion, is one of the best Pogorelich's recordings, although unjustly never recognised as such by critics:
Picture: from my book 'Colouring Book of Patterns: Lotus Mandalas' (beautifully coloured by Donna Sugra) - happiness, playfulness and joy radiating from the picture and its sunshine colours which somehow very much reminds me on Scarlatti's happy sunshine music.
Very interesting article, as always. I absolutely agree. The picture is very pretty too. I love the book and the endless possibilities for colouring its illustrations.