The Myth Of The (Male) Artistic Genius

Ugh: “A proclivity for reprehensible acts is built right into the mythos of the artistic genius — a designation rarely extended to women. This is what the historian Martin Jay calls ‘the aesthetic alibi’: The art excuses the crime. Mr. Jay writes that in the 19th century, artistic genius ‘was often construed as unbound by nonaesthetic considerations — cognitive, ethical, or whatever.’ And often the ethical lapses afforded to artists have concerned the mistreatment of women.”