Artists’ Studios

The design of artists’ studios is currently getting a lot of attention.  For example, Clare Dowdy of bbc.com (“Behind the Scenes:  10 Revealing Images of Artists’ Studios,” https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20220914-behind-the-scenes-10-artists-studios-through-the-centuries ) probes studios depicted in James Hall’s book In The Artist’s Studio:  A Cultural History.”

Being an artist, and what artists actually need to do well, has evolved over time—and the images Dowdy shares of artists’ studios cover centuries of art history.  The studio shown that seems like it would work best for today’s artists (moderate visual complexity, nature views, and natural materials to boost creativity and mental refreshment, for example) is, not surprisingly that of Hiroshi Sugimoto in Tokyo, a photo of which from 2019 is included in Dowdy’s article.

The studios presented are associated with artists who were successful in their time or movements of respected artists.  One of the things that artists seemed to need to communicate particularly vigorously, especially in prior centuries, was their status as a capable craftsman with many well-paid commissions.  For example, Velazquez prominently features a very expensive mirror in his painting of his studio.

The continuing significance of signalling an important and discerning clientele makes sense—the challenges of selling a good such as art (since it can be difficult to argue the superiority of one painting, sculpture, etc., over another) mean that nonverbal signals were, are, and will remain important.