Many surveys have revealed that students engaged in extracurricular activities such as art show better brain development. They are also more likely to achieve recognition in academics. Art since the birth of civilisation has intrigued mankind and is considered a true expression of one’s self. Artists over the ages have created paintings, drawings and sculptures that have created art movements, revived old cultures and reflected the contemporary times in which they were created.

Here are a few facts about art and famous artists.

• Claude Monet the great artist was never approved by his father for his paintings. His father always wanted him to become a grocer.

• Monet and Pierre Auguste Renoir were considered the pioneers of impressionist painting, a particular movement in the history of Art.

• Willard Wigan is a micro-sculptor who creates art pieces so tiny that he claims to have inhaled one of his own creations by mistake. Some of his pieces are created in the eye of a needle.

• A study had revealed that most artists are left handed.

• Leonardo Da Vinci was left handed. His notes can be found written starting from the right and moving to the left side of the page in his diary of personal notes.

• It took Leonardo Da Vinci 12 years to paint the Mona Lisa’s lips.

• “The Pieta”, a sculpture by Michelangelo considered a Renaissance masterpiece is the only creation that was personally signed by him. However, he regretted his outburst of pride and later vowed to never sign on any of his pieces ever again.

• Salvador Dali, famous surrealist painter believed that he was a reincarnation of his own brother of the same name. He had been kicked out of Madrid Art School and is even said to have set his own bedroom on fire.

• Sandro Botticelli is best known for his works The Birth of Venus and Primavera, both of which reflect the rich Renaissance era of art and culture.

• Vincent Van Gogh may only be most popular for his art piece ‘The Starry Night’ but he is said to have produced over 900 paintings, 1100 drawings and sketches during his lifetime.

• Paul Gaugin was one of the construction workers of the Panama Canal during which around 25,000 workers died. He is today considered to be a famous French painter.

• Pablo Picasso is said to have been able to paint before he learnt to talk.

• In 1961, Henri Matisse’s painting ‘Le Bateau’ which rests at the Metropolitan Museum of Art was put hung right side up. For 46 days the painting had hung upside down and no one had noticed it.

• Oil paintings are lest costlier to be framed than the printed pictures of similar size. At night the light used to illuminate paintings at museums are required to be dimmer than in the morning when brighter lights are used.

Art has a lot to educate children and adults alike teaching us to appreciate different perspectives and create one’s own interpretation of the world. Inducing creativity is possible if students are made to do so just like subjects of Math and English.