What's Your Muse

In Greek mythology, the Muses referred to the inspirational goddesses and protectors of the liberal arts and sciences. They brought human characteristics to inspiration and the desire to obtain it. Over time the meaning has evolved, and a muse is now generally thought of as a person or personified force that is the source of inspiration for a creative artist. Many renowned artists throughout history were inspired by a muse, some whose names we know, like Elizabeth Siddal and Edie Sedgewick, while others remain anonymous, such as Vermeer’s Girl With a Pearl Earring. Of course, a muse does not have to take human form. Shakespeare considered his internal creative spirit his muse. This spirit that sparks artistic creation and other sources of inspiration are what we’re exploring in the featured articles this month.

Some Famous Muses Throughout History

Elizabeth Siddal was the favorite female model of the pre-Raphaelite artists due to her ethereal beauty. Ophelia by John Everett Millais, in which Siddal floats in a bathtub full of water to evoke the tragic heroine, is perhaps the most famous portrait of her. After marrying one of the group’s leaders, Dante Gabriel Rossetti in 1849, she stopped modelling for other artists. In 1863, a year after her death, Rossetti immortalized her beauty in Beata Beatrix, where she is presented as the praying daughter of a noble Florentine family who also died young. Other Rossetti paintings that included Siddal are Ecce Ancilla Domini and Regina Cordium (The Queen of Hearts).

For many years Camille Claudel was thought of mainly as sculptor Auguste Rodin’s assistant, lover, and muse. From 1884 on, she worked as an assistant in Rodin's studio, but she too had a passion for sculpture and created several portraits of Rodin. Her best-known pieces include The Age of Maturity (1893–1900) and The Gossips (1897). Although Claudel destroyed much of her own work, today she is considered to have had a significant influence on Rodin, as dramatic changes in his practice and technique occurred after he met her.

Edie Sedgwick was a muse for both Pop Art icon Andy Warhol and legendary folk musician Bob Dylan. “Poor little rich girl,” Sedgwick was a socialite who moved to New York to pursue modeling. Enchanted with her iconic style and vibrant personality, Warhol had her star in several of his screen tests and films, including Beauty No.2, Ciao! Manhattan, and Poor Little Rich Girl. After her split from Warhol, she began dating Dylan, who wrote several songs about the would-be star, including "Just Like a Woman" and "Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat.”

Another woman who captured Bob Dylan’s attention was French singer-songwriter and actress Françoise Hardy. One of the leading figures of the yé-yé wave of the early 60s, she also turned the heads of rockers including David Bowie, members of The Beatles and Rolling Stones, even Morrisey. Hardy and Dylan met in 1966, at one of his concerts. Two years earlier, Dylan had included a beat poem he had written about Hardy, a source of infatuation for him, on the back cover of Another Side of Bob Dylan. When Dylan noticed Hardy was in the audience at his concert, Dylan notoriously refused to go back on stage to perform the second half unless she went to his dressing room so they could meet in person. Hardy left her mark on far more than music, she was a true cultural personality and French national treasure, who inspired art, fashion, film, poetry, and dreams of admirers that spanned generations.

Keith Richards described Marianne Faithfull as an “über muse” when taking about her influence on Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones. One of the original ‘It’ girls of the Swinging 60s, Faithfull started off as a folk singer in 1964, but her true fame came from her relationship with Jagger and inspiring hit songs “Sympathy for the Devil,” “You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” and “Wild Horses.” Her songwriting talents are actually credited on “Sister Morphine.”

History is filled with fascinating and inspiring artist couples as well. These relationships are often passionate and complex, where each partner acts as muse and/or mentor for the other. Examples of these include talented Mexican painters Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera and American modernist painter Georgia O’Keefe and the famous photographer who became her husband, Alfred Stieglitz.

Finding Your Muse

How do you summon your own inner muse and find artistic inspiration? Sometimes this process seems daunting. Here are some suggestions that might inspire and enrich your creative spirit.

  • Look to others. Ask your mentors or artistic colleagues how they find inspiration. Research how other artists in your form of creative expression develop their own creative muses. Exploring what works for others may stimulate your innovation.
  • Set aside time for daily practice. Dedicate a portion of each day to practicing and mastering your chosen art form. Be intentional about doing what you love. Creating a process and routine that includes time actively devoted to your passion can increase your creative output.
  • Take a mental break. Walking away from your project and the “artistic canvas” allows your mind to wander elsewhere and refresh. A workout at the gym, meditation session, exhilarating swim, or an impromptu dance party may be exactly what you need to bring vitality and innovation to your work.
  • Change your point of view, literally. Get outside or somewhere different than your normal landscape. Trade your desk chair for a beach chair or backyard swing. A change of scenery can do wonders to replenish your creative well.
  • Do some brainstorming. Sit down with a friends or family members who have a different perspective and come up with original thoughts and ideas. Stretch beyond your normal way of thinking and embrace other ways of approaching a project or task. Sometimes you just need to see things from a different angle to get “unstuck.”
  • Embrace new experiences. You may discover that your muse exists outside the realm of your project. Seek adventure in its many forms. It may stimulate your senses in a new way, open your mind, and get your creative juices flowing.
  • Most importantly, don’t give up hope. Your creativity isn’t lost even if you have trouble finding your muse from time to time. Inspiration is known to strike at its own pace and in unexpected ways. Be patient and trust the process.