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ARTS o’ Magazine exists to feature the world’s budding & timeless art scene, AIR’s Resident and ‘Local AIR’ Artists, Community Partners, creative business opportunities and career development.

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ART OPINION

Would the Old Masters Get the Same Attention Today?

A random thought on Art

4 min readOct 13, 2026

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Still life with three pears — artwork and photo by author.

When we look at art history, there’s always a handful of names that return. They are referred to as the (old) masters. They have put their mark on art history and in a way they earned their title and place. But they are also often referred to as brilliant, genius, highly skilled… A whole bunch of words to express that they were superior.

But were they?

And by “old masters” I not only mean the likes of Rubens, da Vinci and Michelangelo, but also people like Buffet and Picasso. They, and many of their contemporaries, occupy lots of museum space. I reckon most will say “rightfully so”, but is that really true, objectively speaking?

The two modern masters I referred to are among my personal heroes, and even though I admire their work, I often wonder if they deserve the accolades, the praise, and most of all, the space they take up in museums and art books.

Would they reach the same status if they were starting out today?

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I'm a traveling visual artist, writer and photographer. I am currently staying in Gavaudun, France.

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ARTS o’ MAGAZINE
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Published in ARTS o’ MAGAZINE

ARTS o’ Magazine exists to feature the world’s budding & timeless art scene, AIR’s Resident and ‘Local AIR’ Artists, Community Partners, creative business opportunities and career development.