“A proclivity for reprehensible acts is built right into the mythos of the artistic genius — a designation rarely extended to women. This is what the historian Martin Jay calls “the aesthetic alibi”: The art excuses the crime. Mr. Jay writes that in the 19th century, artistic genius “was often construed as unbound by nonaesthetic considerations — cognitive, ethical, or whatever.” And often the ethical lapses afforded to artists have concerned the mistreatment of women.”
Amanda Hess, The New York Times, 2017
