Artist family
An artist family is characterized by the appearance of outstanding artists of the same or related direction (including artisans ) in certain families in several generations .
In addition to mostly high intellectual talent , the prerequisite for high artistic performance is a very specific talent in one direction, appropriate training and a social and societal framework.
In 1916, F. Maas examined the conditions of origin of 4421 famous personalities who had been listed in the Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (birth years 1700–1860). He writes: “Often the son is drawn into the father's professional milieu at an early stage, which arouses his interest, or at an early stage in the home environment is encouraged to do activities that make it easier for him to overcome the technical difficulties of his job , which is a problem for him from outside intruders to keep those troubles out gives a great advantage. In the case of musicians and painters , these circumstances, along with the inheritance of the musical and painterly sense, play quite a role. 38% of famous musicians come from professional musicians, 24% of painters from professional painters. "
The most remarkable of all musical families in history is certainly the Bach family . 48 of 55 male Bach in six generations were musicians.
As early as 1910, O. Feis attempted to record the ancestors and descendants of 285 famous musicians.
Individual studies by artist families of all kinds, including artisans and artists , are a popular and time and again rewarding subject of articles in genealogical journals and yearbooks.