Many people have several misconceptions about people with disabilities and think that they may not have a place in the world of arts. However, history has often shown us otherwise.
Did you know that many famous artists and writers had significant disabilities, but they didn’t let themselves or society stop them from pursuing their heart’s true desire? Here are some of the famous artists and writers with disabilities that you should know about:
Vincent Van Gogh
Vincent Van Gogh was a Dutch painter whose talent was unfortunately never recognized in his lifetime. He had a tough life and struggled to make ends meet. However, he attained posthumous fame with his incredible paintings, which are now worth millions.
Did you know that Vincent Van Gogh had bipolar disorder and temporal lobe epilepsy? He would often get seizures from the latter. In addition, the medication he took had side effects on his vision, which surprisingly had an extremely positive impact on his art. His disabilities were also a great source of creativity. He would have phases where he was hyper-productive and created stunning works of art.
Ludwig van Beethoven
Beethoven is still celebrated as a genius in the musical world for his spectacular compositions. He was a prodigy that started at the age of seven. He became a masterful composer in his youth. In his late 20s, he started experiencing hearing difficulties, which unfortunately grew with time.
By the time he was a middle-aged man, he couldn’t hear at all. However, his love for music was so strong that he could visualize and feel the music inside of himself. He didn’t let his hearing loss stop him from composing incredible works like the Opera Fidelio.
Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder is also another musical prodigy who became blind after his birth. He knew how to play multiple musical instruments and learned how to sing by the time he was ten. He is known to have a profound understanding of musical theory. He has a huge fan base around the world for his mastery of the piano and is recognized as a legend.
Henri Matisse
Henri Matisse was a popular French painter and sculptor whose works are still studied and appreciated today. Later in his life, he fought cancer, the effects of which led him to use the wheelchair as a mobility aid.
He didn’t let this stop him from pursuing his passion for painting. He developed unique methods and shaped his life around making paintings while sitting in his wheelchair. He produced some of his best works in this period.
Ray Charles
Ray Charles was a celebrated singer and songwriter known for his genius in the unique genre of soul music. He had blindness from an early age and learned music in a school for deaf and blind students. He became a master at the piano and learned it through the Braille script.