Since the days of the Greeks — when Pygmalion took Aphrodite for his muse and carved from stone Galatea, the ideal woman — society has been fascinated by the passionate dynamic between artist and muse.
No matter what sort of art you create, how deep the creative streak runs through you, inspiration must have a source; artistic vision does not simply drop from a cloud. In every century, the artist has been inseparable from his muse. Sometimes, the artist has only one muse, the eternal candle which burns all his life, even in the event of the muse’s death. More often, the artist keeps many muses throughout his lifetime. They leap onto and off of the canvas in swift succession, the power they hold over the artist growing weaker with time.
Anyone or anything can be a muse. A lover, a friend, the grass in the field, the sun at noon. In most cases, the muse is a woman — usually beautiful, young and virtuous, though there are exceptions (after all, van Gogh loved his prostitutes, his homely cafegoers, his wilting flowers) — but always an ideal in the eyes of the artist. It matters little what form the muse takes so long as she inspires. The job of the muse is to provoke, whether by her beauty or great ugliness. At the sight of her, the artist’s imagination inflames and a masterpiece is born from the fire.
There is something undeniably fascinating about the artist’s capacity to immortalize, not to mention romantic. But there is also a tension inherent to the artist-muse relationship. Woman as object is problematic; at some point or other, the muse is bound to defy her role, to step down from the pedestal that is her prison. We must ask, what becomes of a living thing when it is put to canvas (or granite or the inky page or the stage with its velvet curtains)? What happens to the soul when it is prioritized below the shell it sleeps in? What is lost, corrupted when art and love entwine? Indeed, the union of artist and muse is unsustainable, historically ending in madness and death. The muse cannot only live to inspire; the artist’s fancy cannot be fed forever.
Still, the trope itself has endured, transcending the boundaries of time, era, and culture — and for good reason. How many of history’s most romantic pairings were brought together for the sake of art?: Botticelli and Simonetta, Zelda and Fitzgerald, Birkin and Gainsbourg.
Below I’ve compiled some personal favorites, iconic representations, and reinventions of the artist-muse trope as it appears in film and literature.
On screen
Phantom Thread (2017), directed by Paul Thomas Anderson
“I want you flat on your back. Helpless, tender, open with only me to help. And then I want you strong again.”
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc2852ac1-127a-4d3a-8fbc-534622ac1eb7_736x367.png)
Girl with a Pearl Earring (2004), directed by Peter Webber
“You should be faithful to one mistress above all others: Art!”
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F861076f2-87e6-445b-a81d-b66c1907f008_623x311.png)
Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2020), directed by Céline Sciamma
“You were right. I am scared. Do all lovers feel they're inventing something? I know the gestures. I imagined it all, waiting for you.”
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc93991f6-ce55-4a85-aff7-18ffbac1874f_724x364.png)
Bright Star (2009), directed by Jane Campion
“A poem needs understanding through the senses. The point of diving in a lake is not immediately to swim to the shore but to be in the lake, to luxuriate in the sensation of water. You do not work the lake out, it is a experience beyond thought. Poetry soothes and emboldens the soul to accept a mystery.”
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc76ab29d-7ded-48f9-839b-ed47706da95c_1280x642.png)
Black Swan (2010), directed by Darren Aronofsky
“The final act. Your final dance! You've tasted your dream. Touched it! Only to have it crushed. Your heart is broken. Wounded! Your life force fading. The blood drips. The black swan stole your love! There is only one way to end the pain.”
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7870034d-ed3b-4425-9c75-c80c35f6c8b7_848x424.png)
Surviving Picasso (1996), directed by James Ivory
“You are in the labyrinth of the Minotaur. You should know that the Minotaur consumes at least two maidens a day.”
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5fd38c5c-d5af-40dc-b934-a389ca4754da_984x492.png)
On the page
The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890) by Oscar Wilde
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fce2cc9f1-f24c-4dd8-a7f1-65354e7ffe3f_291x450.jpeg)
Tulip Fever (1999) by Deborah Moggach
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8576e42a-e56d-4442-9a31-16d9fc80e779_297x452.png)
Effie: The Passionate Lives of Effie Gray, John Ruskin and John Everett Millais (2010) by Suzanne Fagence Cooper
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcaa53c6c-cde4-4ae1-a2b1-41bb79f14284_314x475.jpeg)
Just Kids (2010) by Patti Smith
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbc004804-42fa-4aeb-9dc9-5ff2a4c70688_647x1000.jpeg)
Sirens & Muses (2023) by Antonia Angress
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff269cd89-f310-4717-8b91-e6067d12ca65_1838x2775.jpeg)
Happy July, everyone. I hope these media recommendations find you all in good health and spirits and offer you a little inspiration this week. Thank you so much for reading!
Yours in ink,
Adding “Big Eyes” to the list
A very interesting read, thank you for sharing! I will definitely look up some of the movies you shared as they sound really good. 😊