Scottish painter Jack Vettriano dies aged 73 | Artwork

The self-taught Scottish painter Jack Vettriano, who grew to become vastly fashionable regardless of being shunned by critics, has been discovered useless at his condominium in Good within the south of France, his publicist has mentioned.

Vettriano, who was born Jack Hoggan on 17 November 1951 in Methil, Fife, was discovered on Saturday, the publicist mentioned.

Vettriano left faculty at 15 to turn into a mining engineer however took up portray after a girlfriend gave him a field of watercolours for his twenty first birthday.

Vettriano drew inspiration from works at Kirkcaldy Galleries, learning work from artists equivalent to Samuel Peploe and William McTaggart so intently that he feared arousing the suspicions of gallery employees. His breakthrough got here in 1998 when he submitted two work to the Royal Scottish Academy’s annual present and each offered on the primary day, inspiring him to turn into a full-time artist.

A 2009 self-portrait was posted on his official Instagram web page alongside a message saying his demise, which acknowledged:

“It’s with nice disappointment that we share the information of Jack’s passing over the weekend.

“He was not solely a rare artist but additionally a deeply non-public and humble man who was endlessly grateful for the assist and admiration of those that liked his work. His work – capturing moments of intrigue, romance, and nostalgia –touched the hearts of so many world wide, and his legacy will reside on by way of them.

Right now, we ask for privateness as his family members come to phrases with this loss. Thanks for all the sort messages and tributes already shared – your assist means a lot.”

It’s understood there aren’t any suspicious circumstances across the 73-year-old’s demise.

His works acquired worldwide acclaim, resulting in exhibitions in cities equivalent to Edinburgh, London, Hong Kong, Johannesburg and New York.

However Vettriano drew scorn from critics, a lot of whom thought of his work spinoff. Jonathan Jones known as him “emotionally trite and technically drab”, whereas one other author mentioned he was like “Hopper with out the emotion, and sleazy in addition” whereas warning “we should always not make the error of classing him as a serious – and even first rate – artist” regardless of his industrial success.

His 1992 portray the The Singing Butler is amongst his most famed works and exhibits a chic couple dancing on a storm-swept seashore accompanied by their butler and maid, changing into a bestselling picture in Britain.

Reproductions of the portray offered of their 1000’s however critics did not be gained over. In 2005, when Vettriano was in comparison with Dalí, Bacon and Picasso, Jonathan Jones wrote:

“These are all nice artists. Vettriano just isn’t even an artist. He simply occurs to be fashionable, with “abnormal individuals” who purchase reproductions of his pseudo-Thirties scenes of high-heeled girls and monkey-suited males, and celebrities who fork out for the originals of those toneless, textureless, brainless slick corpses of work. I urge you to go to the Nationwide Gallery. Have a look at nice work for a couple of hours. Now check out Vettriano. I’m not arguing with you; I’m telling you. I have a look at artwork every single day and I do know what I don’t like.”

Whereas some critics hated his work, Vettriano gained over a number of superstar followers, together with Jack Nicholson, Alex Ferguson, Tim Rice and Robbie Coltrane.

Three years in the past, the artist revealed he’d been hooked on cocaine, describing himself as residing like “Jack Nicholson in The Shining”. “I by no means wished to attempt the rest like heroin or ecstasy, as a result of cocaine simply hit the spot,” he instructed the Day by day Mail. “It arouses your sexual urge for food, however sadly it doesn’t provide the energy to do something about it.”

He additionally grew to become depressed and abused alcohol when an harm to his shoulder in 2015 left him briefly unable to color.

His publicist mentioned: “Jack Vettriano’s passing marks the top of an period for up to date Scottish artwork. His evocative and timeless works will proceed to captivate and encourage future generations.”