Behind the lives and immortal works of the great masters of Western art lie complex and brilliant human bonds.

The author, Choi Yeon-wook, says: “Art has the power to heal wounds and to convey happiness.”

Why does art have such power? People grow through change, and change usually begins with bonds with others. In the process of colliding and merging with those who think, feel, and live differently from ourselves, we grow little by little.

The same is true for painters. Even when they found themselves in difficult circumstances, they continued to hold their brushes—because of the lovers who loved them, the rivals who pushed them, and the friends and patrons who quietly stood by them.

The works born from this are no longer mere paintings; they are records of emotions born from human relationships. Painting ultimately springs from the expression of the human heart—and perhaps that is why, when we look at paintings, we laugh, we cry, and we take comfort.

After reading this book, you will understand that whom painters spent their lives with matters just as much as what they painted. Creators grow and change through their relationships, and that growth directly affects their work.

Following the bonds between painters and their circles, and the stories behind the creation of their art, you will eventually encounter a work that quietly offers you encouragement and solace.

★ Love, betrayal, friendship, competition—an in-depth exploration of the human bonds behind the great masters of Western art. Through the lovers, friends, rivals, and patrons of the painters, this book reveals the real human warmth behind the artworks.

★ A Unique Perspective on Art History: Breaking away from the traditional framework centered on works, techniques, and styles, this book instead focuses on the interpersonal bonds between painters and the people around them—lovers, family members, close friends, rivals, and patrons—offering readers a fresh way of understanding art.

★ From the Renaissance to Symbolism, Spanning Centuries: Curating the most humanly resonant moments in Western art history, the book covers masters such as Monet, Vermeer, Renoir, Rembrandt, Cézanne, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and many others, with a broad chronological sweep.

★ Art Originates from the Human Heart; Paintings Are Records of Emotion: The core argument of this book is that painting ultimately springs from human expression. Painters grow and transform through their relationships, and that growth directly affects their work. When we look at paintings, we laugh, we cry, and we find comfort—precisely because those works carry real emotional bonds.

Love, betrayal, friendship, competition—what has always driven painters is never canvas and pigment, but the countless emotions left by human connections.

A brand-new work by Choi Yeon-wook, a Western art painter and influential art blogger, this book delves deep into the lives of the great masters of Western art, interpreting the hidden human relationships behind world-famous paintings. The People Around the Painter traces the people who shook and supported the artists’ lives, telling their stories with honesty. From the Renaissance to Symbolism, the book selects the most humanly resonant moments from masterpieces of Western art, narrated with warmth and sensitivity.

Behind the endlessly controversial The Origin of the World lies the tangled love triangle among Courbet, Whistler, and his lover Joanna Hiffernan; the famously libertine Renoir, lifelong guarded by his devoted wife; Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun, who sought to improve Marie Antoinette’s image yet ended up walking to the guillotine; the Impressionist partners Degas and Cassatt, entangled in ambiguity for a lifetime, both ultimately dying alone…

This book tells the comprehensive stories of the lovers, families, close friends, rivals, and patrons who surrounded the painters. Following the rich web of painters’ human bonds, we discover that those seemingly romantic and free-spirited artists were, after all, ordinary people just like us—and the masterpieces they left behind become all the more vivid and alive because of it. Through the artists’ outwardly glamorous yet inwardly turbulent lives—filled with love affairs, jealousies, and fierce rivalries—we come to see their true faces.

Choi Yeon-wook

Art Critic / Columnist.

He graduated from Marshall University (USA) with a degree in Fine Arts and Visual Design, minoring in Art History, and published a thesis titled “An Iconographic Analysis of the Virgin Mary in East Asian Art” (2002). After graduation, he worked as a graphic designer for three years before transitioning to a career as a professional painter.

He has served as the Executive Director of the Gangwon-do Chapter of the Korea Fine Arts Association and is currently the Chair of the Western Painting Division of the Sejong Metropolitan City Chapter of the Korea Fine Arts Association, as well as the representative of the Sejong Painting Exhibition. He has won numerous awards at various exhibitions and competitions.

Since 2007, he has visited museums and galleries in more than 30 countries, compiling materials, and runs the blog column “On the Road to the Museum,” which has recommended over 150 outstanding museums both in Korea and abroad. Since 2014, he has updated a daily blog titled “Art Stories Told by Western Painter Choi Yeon-wook,” sharing little-known stories behind Western art. As a well-known art blogger, he was named NAVER‘s 2024 Blogger of the Year in the art category.

He is the author of The Secret Museum, 32 Things Van Gogh Lovers Must Know, The Counterfeit Art History, Understanding Western Art History in Five Days, My First Art Lesson, and World Art Stories for Children.

Author’s Note – Remembering the People Who Made Me and My Work

Part One: Moving as a Painting – Love Behind the Art
Painting His Wife Until Her Death – Claude Monet with Camille Monet and Alice Hoschedé
The Sacrifice of the Wife Behind Girl with a Pearl Earring – Johannes Vermeer with Catharina Bolnes
Falling in Love with a Divorcée, Rewriting His Fate – James Tissot with Kathleen Irene Ashburnham Newton
Even If the World Tears Us Apart – Jacques-Louis David with Marguerite-Charlotte Pécoul
The Mad Genius and His Eternal Angel – William Blake with Catherine Boucher
The Impressionist Partners Entangled for a Lifetime – Edgar Degas with Mary Cassatt

Part Two: Blazing Love and Tangled Emotions
The Playboy and the Devoted Wife – Pierre-Auguste Renoir with Aline Charigot
The Maid Who Gave Everything to Protect a Bankrupt Widower – Rembrandt van Rijn with Hendrickje Stoffels
The Love Triangle Behind The Origin of the World – James McNeill Whistler, Gustave Courbet, and Joanna Hiffernan
A Spiritual Love with a Brilliant Libertine – Gustav Klimt with Emilie Louise Flöge
The Scandalous Extramarital Affair That Shook Rome – Gian Lorenzo Bernini with Costanza Bonarelli

Part Three: Between Friendship and Rivalry
The Close Friend Behind a Genius – Paul Cézanne with Émile Zola
A Friendship Forged Through Letters – Raffaello Sanzio with Albrecht Dürer
A Bond the Guillotine Could Not Sever – Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun with Marie Antoinette
A Deep Friendship That Fueled the Reformation – Lucas Cranach with Martin Luther
The Fierce Artistic Rivalry of Two Renaissance Geniuses – Leonardo da Vinci with Michelangelo Buonarroti

Part Four: Patrons Who Made Great Artists Possible
A Friendship That Survived Life and Death – Vincent van Gogh with Eugène Boch
The King Who Elevated a Profligate Youth to a Universal Genius – Leonardo da Vinci with François I
The King Who Personally Designed a Badge for His Beloved Painter – Diego Velázquez with Philip IV
The Greedy Cardinal Who Fought for a Murderer – Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio with Scipione Borghese

Index of Works
References