Creative people across all genres have this reputation for being mentally unstable and undone by their gifts. Not knowing if you can top your great success is one of the most painful reconciliations in a creative life.

Once artists produce a magnificent work, they are asked, "What if you'll...

In ancient Greece and Rome, people did not believe that creativity came from human beings. It was believed to be a divine attendant spirit that came to humans.

• The Greeks called these attendant spirits of creativity "daemons."
• The Romans called it a g...

During the Renaissance, the individual was placed at the centre of the universe. People started to believe that creativity came only from the self, not from mystical creatures that took dictation from the divine. It is the first time in history that people refer to certain artist...

The pressure of unmanageable expectations about performance is destroying artists.

As an artist, you may be full of anguish if believe that the most extraordinary aspects of your being came from you. But if you believe that a genius was on loan to you from another unimaginable sour...