Drinking Absinthe: Right inspiration to many!
Absinthe has been the favored drink for many artists. In absinthe, they saw a rich source of inspirations for their work, which was otherwise hard to find. Drinking Absinthe gave artists like Van Gogh and Picasso the inspiration to create masterpieces that they are famous for. It became so much associated with artists and their work, that drinking absinthe became a fashionable aspect of artistic society. Inspiration which otherwise were beyond their grasp, started flowing with a cup of Absinthe.
Inspirations for art work
Inspiration is the the starting point for any work of art. It is the spark that brings alive an artistic work of creation. It is an image of the work before it has been created. Artists are at the mercy of this often elusive idea. It can give them nightmares because this is the only factor in their work which is beyond their control. It means the difference to them from being productive or being unproductive for days on end. But when it does strike it leads to great works of art.
The intensity of the inspiration has a large part to play in artistic work. The stronger the inspiration, the better the artistic creation. A powerful inspiration gets half the work done. The rest of the work forms itself around the idea or is easy to be conceived from the main idea. Artists seek such inspirations because understandably it reduces half their work load.
But it is quite a challenge to get inspired. Sometimes artists are hard done by it, and can woefully be short of ideas. This is the stuff of nightmares for them; the one thing that they fervently hope never arises in their lives.
Artists seek inspirations in different ways. Some have their muse - a figure whose personal magnetism inspires them to produce works of art. Some artists are more pragmatic in their approach and rely on recreating a benevolent ambience to give inspiration to them. Still others rely on external sources like alcohol, smokes or such like to create a mood which would then give them the idea. In the 19th Century, absinthe was one such drink which was popular with artists of the age.
Helped by Absinthe
Many artists of the 19th century and early twentieth century have credited Absinthe with giving them the necessary inspiration. They regularly patronised bars that served the drink. Reportedly, the drink gave them hallucinations which became the source for their creative sparks.
Artists like Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso and Ernest Hemingway took to the drink and sought inspirations from the state of reverie that it brought them to. They credited it for firing their minds and giving them ideas that they later turned into masterpieces. Some even made it the subject of their artistic effort, like Van Gogh, whose ‘Still life with Absinthe’ is famous as a work of art.