What is the secret of creative genius? Why do some artists create artworks than remain in history forever and others don’t? Dutch researchers studied the biographies of famous artists and found an interesting pattern.

The scientists studied the works and careers of almost all well-known artists and made a detailed statistical analysis.

The results were stunning: it turns out that the best artwork of almost every one of them was created at a time when his age was about 2/3 of all life, or rather 0,6198. This proportion is completely independent of the age of the genius, whether he died at the age of 25 or 90 years old.

The found number is remarkably similar to the so-called “golden ratio”, also known as the Fibonacci ratio: 0.6180, which can often be found in both nature and the cosmos, as well as in music, photography, and visual arts.

In their study, the scientists focused primarily on the prices of works exhibited at international auctions since their relative monetary value usually matches their artistic value. The average age of the artists, in which they created their most brilliant paintings, was equal to 42.

For example, Picasso, who lived 91 years, created, his famous Guernica, a masterpiece depicting the horrors of the Spanish Civil War, at the age of 56.

Monet died at age 86, and his best paintings, which went under the hammer for 19.8 million pounds in 1998, were created when he was 68 years old.

The average age of the artists is not so important,” says Philip Hans Frances, a math professor from the School of Economics of the Erasmus University Rotterdam. “Much more important is the relative age when they had a peak of creativity.”

It is known that images created according to the rule of “golden ratio” are the most compelling for human perception. Thus, this interesting study shows that the very life of a gifted artist is actually a perfect work of art. This is probably the most unexpected secret of creative genius.


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