5 artists who died suddenly under mysterious circumstances

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Everyone at least once in his life has heard such names as: Caravaggio, Vincent Van Gogh, Georges Seurat, Tom Thomson and others, and many are probably completely familiar with the work of these artists. Their works are so unique and inimitable that most connoisseurs of painting are ready to pay a decent sum for the picture they like, especially if the artist died suddenly under mysterious circumstances.

1. Vincent Van Gogh

Everyone knows the sad story of the untimely death of Vincent Van Gogh. Suffering from depression, Van Gogh committed suicide in 1890. At the time of his death, he was not a well-known artist and only sold one piece. If he only knew that one day he would become one of the most recognizable artists of all time, maybe then something would have changed …

On that July day in 1890, Vincent shot himself in the chest outside his home in southern France. But in 2011, another biography of Van Gogh shed new light on what happened. One of the versions turned out to be murder.

In 1956, Vicente Minnelli directed a biographical film about Van Gogh, Lust for Life, which tells the story of the artist's suicide. But after the release of the film, Rene Sekretan decided to mention his involvement in the death of Vincent. The sixteen-year-old admitted to being a gun fanatic and sometimes posed as Buffalo Bill. Once again playing a cowboy, the guy fired into the air, but a stray bullet hit the artist without hitting significantly important organs. Neglecting what had happened, Vincent did not go to the doctor and died a little more than a day from his injury.

2. Caravaggio

Caravaggio's paintings are full of drama, emotion and balance on the brink of madness. They say that art imitates life, and Caravaggio's life was truly dramatic. He was always distinguished by his explosive character and no less explosive temperament. Once, the artist even threw a plate of food at the waiter just because he did not like the artichokes served. And this is only a small part of the antics of the legendary painter.

Since he died in 1610, his death has been the subject of speculation among historians and art historians. Some people to this day say that the artist died after complications of syphilis. Others say that it was from murder.

In 2010, in Tuscany, investigators found bones and, after conducting tests, found that with a probability of eighty-five percent of the bones belonged to Caravaggio. After examining the find, signs of sepsis, that is, blood poisoning, were found. He probably suffered a seizure, did not clean the wound, and died after being infected. Such an ending could easily become true for the lover of fights and troubles Caravaggio.

But not all art critics are convinced of this. For starters, the bones may not be Caravaggio's. In addition, some art historians believe that Michelangelo died of lead poisoning due to the high lead content of 17th century paints. Another version was that he was killed by the Knights of Malta after he wounded a member of the Order during a fight. He did have to flee Rome in 1606 after he killed a respected man because of his jealousy. Therefore, the version with murder and another rigged fight could be much more truthful than the one where he allegedly died of sepsis or lead accumulated in his body.

3. Tommaso Masaccio

Masaccio was a young and sullen artist who preferred to spend time painting rather than socializing with his Florentine peers. No matter how he acted, Masaccio was ahead of his time and was a genius in painting. Unfortunately, the artist joined the infamous "Club 27" when he died for unknown reasons.

He was a genius of his time and inspired two other famous artists, Donatello and the architect Brunelleschi. Without the influence of Masaccio and his naturalistic Florentine style of painting, the Italian Renaissance would not have been so impressive. Who knows if the works of Raphael, da Vinci or Michelangelo would have existed without Masaccio?

Art critics understand the influence of this not very famous artist, but there are not so many records about him. He died in 1428, but the exact date and cause of death are still unknown. Historians speculate that the artist died of the bubonic plague, which was wreaking havoc in Europe at the time. But there is no concrete evidence. Perhaps it was suicide? Maybe murder? Or perhaps an accident altogether killed this genius of the early Italian Renaissance. Unfortunately, people will most likely never know the truth about the mysterious death that overtook the talented artist, whose works will live on the walls of the most beautiful churches in Florence for centuries.

4. Tom Thomson

In July 1917, the body of artist Tom Thomson was found face down in Canoe Lake in Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario. The same lake that he painted a million times before it took his life. Whether it was an accident or a murder, who knows.

While not a well-known artist in the States, Tom made a huge contribution to the modern art movement of the early 20th century in Canada. That is why his sudden death excited the public.

Thomson knew Canoe Lake like the back of his hand. He wrote it many times and sailed on its waters. The coroner believed that the death was accidental. Tom probably got up to cast the line, lost his balance, hit his head on the boat and fell unconscious into the depths of the lake.

However, the public was not convinced. Thomson had a big, suspicious bruise on his temple. The coroner was convinced that this was due to the artist hitting a boat or even a rock at the bottom of the lake while drowning. However, people suggested that he was hit on the head and then thrown into the water to drown. Thomson's paddle was never found either, perhaps it was the murder weapon. Apart from the bruise, Tom's legs were tied with wire. The Canadians suggested that someone tied him up before he was in the water. However, wire around the ankles was a common practice for those suffering from arthritis or joint pain at the time.

Another version was that Thomson committed suicide after learning that a woman, possibly the daughter of the owner of an inn, which he often visited near Canoe Lake, was pregnant with him. Maybe he could not afford to raise a child, so he decided to give up his life, thereby trying to avoid responsibility.

Canadians did not know how to deal with the death of this famous artist, whose works were sold in the National Gallery, so they constantly spread new rumors about his sudden and mysterious death.

5. Georges Seurat

Georges Seurat was a French neo-impressionist painter who created pointillism, a method of small painted dots that make up a big picture. Most probably remember and know one of the most famous works of the artist - "Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte", the one from which Cameron Fry could not take his eyes off in the film "Ferris Büller's Weekend". Seurat worked for only nine years before he died at the age of thirty-one in 1891.

After the artist fell ill and died, a series of tragedies followed. Two weeks later, his son and father died in the same way. Madeleine, his mistress, lost her second child in childbirth and soon died of liver disease herself at the age of thirty-five.

Historians speculate about the cause of the death of the famous artist, which led to the death of his family. One of the versions says that a common cold turned into a fever, which was fatal. At that time, the doctors did not know what was the matter. Seurat felt a sharp pain in his chest, which caused a cough and fever. Having looked at these symptoms, the doctors decided that he had angina pectoris, heart disease. Delirious, the artist eventually choked on liquid and died on Easter Sunday.

His death remains a mystery to this day, and versions are becoming more and more every time, without giving an intelligible answer to the question "what really ruined the artist and his family?" Some blame meningitis or pneumonia for this. However, most historians agree that Seurat died of diphtheria, a fatal respiratory illness. Diphtheria was an epidemic in France in the 19th century, and despite the fact that the disease mainly affected children, the artist could pick up this infection, which became a fatal end for him and his family.

Read also about which of the artists created paintings dedicated to the brightest feelings and why there is a constant debate around these works.