The Worst Things That Have Happened to Great Artists

Many artistic geniuses draw inspiration from the tragedies in their lives.

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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The stereotype of the tortured artist pervades culture in numerous books and movies. Though the tortured artist's essential function is to transform suffering into art, often the people who adopt this persona don't have much in the way of personal tragedy. There are many artists, though, who have faced serious obstacles.

Some, like Ai Weiwei, face persecution because of their art, while others, such as Frida Kahlo, paint as an escape from their tribulations. From mental illness to romantic affairs gone horribly awry, these figures prove that nothing comes in the way of true genius. Here are The Worst Things That Have Happened to Great Artists.

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Michelangelo's nose was disfigured.

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Rembrandt became a widower and declared bankruptcy.

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Pablo Picasso almost died in an earthquake.

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Leonardo da Vinci was jailed for sodomy.

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Vincent van Gogh struggled with mental illness.

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M.F. Husain received death threats and fled India.

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Robert Mapplethorpe was diagnosed with AIDS.

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Max Beckmann's work was considered "Degenerate Art," which resulted in a self-imposed exile from Germany during WWII.

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Caravaggio lived life on the lam.

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Edvard Munch had a dark childhood.

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Owen Maseko was imprisoned and interrogated by Zimbabwe's authoritarian regime.

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William Kurelek struggled with schizophrenia.

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René Magritte's mother's committed suicide by drowning.

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Camille Claudel had a tumultuous affair with Rodin was in an asylum for 30 years.

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Arshile Gorky had to escape from genocide in Armenia.

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Ai Weiwei was imprisoned for 81 days and is currently detained in China.

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Andy Warhol was shot.

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Frida Kahlo was in a bus accident.

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