The problem was that, for many centuries, artists' works were rarely well rewarded, except for the most ... ]]> Artists’ life has always been difficult and often frustrating, especially in the past centuries.

Many of them knew hunger, debts, misery, humiliations and exploitation not only at the beginning of their career (this occurs today too), but also for their whole life.

Many of us, maybe, know that W. A. MOZART (1756-91) knew misery and debts for the largest part of his life, also with a family to care and, when he died, he was thrown in a mass grave so that, today, the remains of this genius of music are lost and nobody can visit his grave.

Also ANTONIO VIVALDI, (1675-1740) died in misery in Paris and more recently, VINCENT VAN GOGH (1853-90) lived in poverty, nearly never selling some of his paintings, finding only occasional jobs and tormented by nervous stress and mind problems.

He remained nearly unknown during his life and only after his death (he committed suicide in 1890) his paintings were understood and appreciated for their great innovations in the use of colours and for the intensity of his pictures.

The same bitter destiny was shared also by most of Impressionist painters.

The problem was that, for many centuries, artists’ works were rarely well rewarded, except for the most famous of them, able or lucky in finding commitments from princes, kings, popes, high prelates and, later, rich merchants.

Most of other artists, instead, although appreciated already in their age and even considered genial today, had many problems to live normally for the largest part of their life.

They were treated like common manual workers and paid the same or little more.

Then, many of their buyers were really stingy and ignorant about art, used to buy a painting or whatever other artwork only for their personal prestige, to show them in their palaces.

Also the greatest artists had to experience it, like MICHELANGELO (1475-1564) in his relations with the “warrior” Pope GIULIO II.

Again, MOZART, when he worked for the Archbishop of Salzburg, Austria, had to eat his meals in the kitchen of the palace in which he worked, together with servants.

Their COPYRIGHTS weren’t recognized and their rewards were based only on the sensibility and generosity of their rich and powerful lords.

On the other hand, not all artists were good managers of their incomes.

REMBRANDT (1606-1669), among many examples possible, had become rich but his excessive expenses to buy and collect artworks, musical instruments and luxurious clothes led him to the financial ruin, adding