Dead Famous

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Factual: Arts, Culture & the Media: Arts

Rosie Millard looks at three artists whose reputations were transformed after their deaths

Rosie Millard analyses the legacy of three artists, all of whom rose to global fame many years after they died.

Rosie Millard analyses the legacy of these three artists, all of whom rose to global fame many years after they died. Stepping back in time, she finds the key moments in history that transformed these artists from just dead to Dead Famous.

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Dead Famous: Episode One - Vermeer

Episode One - Vermeer

BBC Radio 4 - Dead Famous, Episode One - Vermeer

Rosie Millard uncovers Vermeer’s rise to superstardom.

How did Vermeer become a global star? Rosie Millard explores how the reputation of this celebrated artist was transformed after his death.

In the first episode of this series, we look at the work of Johannes Vermeer. His paintings, owned by state and royalty, are possibly the rarest in the world. They have no estimated price tag, because they so rarely come up for auction. There are only around 35 in existence. 

Yet this artist, whose blockbuster show in Amsterdam last year was one of the fastest selling in history, died bankrupt and unheralded. Collected only by one family in his hometown of Delft, Vermeer’s work fell into obscurity, where it remained for 200 years until rediscovered by a French art critic in the 19th century. 

Slowly, via critical acclaim and artistic fashion, the profile of Vermeer rose.  Later, the arrival of photography meant his quiet portraits could be appreciated by a public whose ways of seeing had changed. American flamboyance, scandal and a best-selling novel ensured that 350 years after his death, the “Sphinx of Delft” is now the standard against which all Old Masters are measured. 

Vermeer. Van Gogh. Frida Kahlo. Three of the best-known artists in the world.  Their work is reproduced on everything from umbrellas to jigsaw puzzles to fridge magnets. They command record prices in the auction houses and deliver blockbuster shows which sell out immediately. 

It wasn’t always this way, however.  Each died with no idea that their work would become so hugely valuable or that it would inspire Hollywood movies and many future generations of artists and fans. Their work was not globally renowned when they were alive. How did they manage to market themselves so well after death? How did their status rise from zero to hero? 

In this three-part series, Rosie Millard analyses the legacy of these three artists, all of whom rose to global fame many years after they died. Stepping back in time, she finds the key moments in history that transformed these artists from just dead to Dead Famous. 


Presented by Rosie Millard
Producer: Tom Woolfenden 
Executive Producer: Kirsten Lass
A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4

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Dead Famous

Episode One - Vermeer

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