Of 63 painters and sculptors of definitely known origin,
only two can be placed in the aristocratic division. Of the remainder 7
are the sons of artists, 22 the sons of craftsmen, leaving only 32 for
all other occupations, which are mainly of lower middle class character,
and in many cases trades that are very closely allied to crafts. Even,
however, when we omit the trades as well as the cases in which the
fathers were artists, we find a very notable predominance of craftsmen
in the parentage of painters, to such an extent indeed that while
craftsmen only constitute 9.2% among the fathers of our eminent persons
generally, they constitute nearly 35% among the fathers of the painters
and sculptors. It is difficult to avoid the conclusion that there is a
real connection between the father's aptitude for craftsmanship and the
son's aptitude for art.
"To suppose that environment adequately accounts for this relationship
is an inadmissible theory. The association between the craft of builder,
carpenter, tanner, jeweller, watchmaker, woodcarver, ropemaker, etc.,
and the painter's art is small at best, and in most cases is
non-existent."
Arreat, investigating the heredity of 200 eminent European painters,
reached results similar to those of Ellis, according to the latter's
citation.
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