When aRT inspires

Sonali Shah takes a look at four great artists and works that have birthed other forms of art

- Sonali Shah

MUSIC

As Tupac Shakur lay in the hospital battling for life in 1996, he drew comfort from the strains of singer-songwriter Don McLean's 'Vincent'. An ode to van Gogh's life, the emotional elegy seeks to comfort the misunderstood artist.

Along with artworks, McLean had devoured several books on van Gogh's life, and wanted to set the record straight for him; that van Gogh suffered heavily from mental illnesses. He wrote the massively popular song Vincent, with a direct nod to the masterpiece The Starry Night.

He related with and understood the pain of the artist, and through Vincent, he says as much. 'This world was never meant for one as beautiful as you,' he sings.

TIMEPIECE

Crash is a model so cherished by horology connoisseurs that at an auction in May 2022, an exceptionally rare 18-carat yellow gold Crash sold for $1.65 million, setting a new record for Crash timepieces.