Artistic temperament

DEFINITION

A catch-all reference to artists' more peculiar attitudes, emotions, or behaviors which observers often attribute to being elements of artists' creative activities. Artists invariably do some things which non-artists find eccentric. Nevertheless, the concept of an "artistic temperament" may be too formless to define satisfactorily. And, it's too often used as an evasion of various issues difficult to confront.Quote: "The artistic temperament is a disease that affects amateurs. . . . Artists of a large and wholesome vitality get rid of their art easily, as they breathe easily or perspire easily. But in artists of less force, the thing becomes a pressure, and produces a definite pain, which is called the artistic temperament." G. K. Chesterton (1874-1936), British author. Heretics, chapter 17 (1905). Also see achievement, bias, effort, motivation, and success.