So on the subject of artists, I did a little exercise recently on Sun signs for my workshop at the Jam Factory. This was based on two ideas. First of all, our Sun sign is our creative centre - and secondly, all signs are creative in a distinctive way. I found a top-notch artist of each Sun sign - yep there's loads for all signs.What was interesting as I was putting this together was how easy it was. I found that the quickest way to do it was to think of the sign first and then guess which artist might be born under that Sun. It was surprisingly obvious quite often and much quicker than going through hundreds of birthdates. Western art is at its best, after all, a true expression of character, so it should reflect the natal chart clearly. In particular, a self-portrait is bound to tell us most.
I have six self-portraits here. See if you can guess which two are Aries, which are Geminis and which are Crabs. Admittedly, it helps if you know a bit about each artist. If you think about the ruling planets of each sign that helps. And also it helps to know who had issues with their heads - eg deafness and ear loss. But mainly I think the pictures speak for themselves. Answers at the bottom of the page. Top right: Vincent van Gogh. Left: Peter Paul Rubens. Right: Rembrandt van Rijn. Bottom left: Francisco de Goya. Centre: Albrecht Durer Bottom right: Paul Gauguin.
Answers: Aries - van Gogh and Goya; Geminis: Gauguin and Durer; Cancers: Rubens and Rembrandt.
