Explore Your Artistic Archetype
Archetypes don’t put you into a box - they open up the box,
bringing insight to all stages of your creative journey.
We all have certain tendencies and ways of working in our art. Whether influenced from our environment, what we’ve been taught, or our innate style and voice, it is worthwhile to take a look at some of those patterns which may provide a deeper understanding of our own creative processes.
If you haven’t taken my Artistic Archetype Quiz, take it here - it’s free!
The word archetype, "original pattern from which copies are made," first entered into English usage in the 1540s.
Psychologist Carl Jung based his concept of archetypes on Plato’s eidos, calling it "… a primordial image … represented symbolically."
Plato's eidos, or ideas, were pure mental forms that he believed were imprinted in the soul before it was born into the world. Jung said the archetype is a tendency to form such representations of a motif—representations that can vary a great deal in detail without losing their basic pattern. (Source: Wiki)
Below are the 12 Artistic Archetypes and some of their basic tendencies.
We all have more than one at work, depending on where we are on our artistic journey, as well.
We may begin as The Idealist, and change drastically into The Rebel as we go along our path.
No archetype is “more advanced” or “better” than another. They all contribute to an individual, and are all needed to be whole and complete.
Remember: You can take the test as many times as you want!
On the 2nd time, try answering with your “2nd choice” answers - you will end up with another archetype that is perhaps less dominant, but still important to see a full picture of your artistic tendencies.
The Idealist
You value the simple things in life, and art. A simple black line can create so much joy. You like to your art focused on what matters to you, happiness, sharing and simple inspiration. You are idealistic and value art that can share a positive message.
Noted Idealist Artists and Styles: Keith Haring, Myra Kalman, Wayne Thiebaud’s cakes, Japanese sumi-e ink paintings, the Japanese enso
The Realist
For you, Realist, art is a tool to let people look at the world as it is. Whether it is a well-rendered shoe, or a historic battle, you value the way art can help us see what is right in front of our eyes. You don’t shy away from difficult emotions, and embrace loss as a part of life.
Noted Realist Artists and Styles: Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, Frida Kahlo, Francisco Goya, Edvard Munch, Lucien Freud, Jenny Saville, the poems of Robert Burns, The Ashcan School
The Hero
You set and meet your goals, and as the Hero, you love a mission. You like to actively challenge yourself in your art, and want others to as well, counting victory after victory as a win for everyone. You value skills, and continue to grow as a part of your creative process.
Noted Hero Artists and Styles: The American Western landscapes of Albert Bierstadt and Thomas Moran, the monumental sculptures of Michaelangelo, Faith Ringgold
The Caretaker
Your art is a give to the world, to show how life can be - and is - when we care for each other. Whether it is the combinations of colors you choose, or the beauty of a landscape, or a lovingly rendered portrait, you share your caring when you share your art. You are willing to donate your art and skills to a great cause.
Noted Caregiver Artists and Styles: Mary Cassatt, Marc Chagall, William-Adolphe Bouguereau, the pet portrait, family portraits
The Rebel
You want to shake things up with your art, whether it is the social norm, or personal status quo, you seek to challenge the rules. You can feel fenced in by too many rules, and you have the courage to let go of limiting beliefs, because you know your art and your community can be better if we stretch and shift our ideas and behaviors.
Noted Seeker Artists and Styles: Banksy, Abstract Expressionism, Franz Kline and the avant garde calligraphy of Morita Shiryu, early Impressionism
The Seeker
You are on a quest to find yourself through your art, and you are more than willing to take on new adventures in skill-building, color choices or subject matter along the way. You are an adaptable risk-taker who loves to find the next peak, but only if it will bring you personal insight as well. You go farther to go deeper, and this makes you a complex artist and exciting to be around.
Noted Seeker Artists and Styles: Caspar David Friedrich, Georgia O’Keeffe, Mark Rothko, the Japanese paintings of the Kano School, Western American art of the 19th Century, the Nabis group
The Creator
You love to just get into the studio and MAKE. You love color for color’s sake, and every art-making session brings new possibilities through the use of your materials. Nothing makes you happier than a tube of a new pigment you’ve never used, or a session with colored paper and scissors. You discover in the doing, and that takes you to the next level of enjoyment and connection with your community.
Noted Creator Artists or Styles: Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Louise Nevelson, Joan Mitchell
The Lover
You are passionate and sensuous about your art and your life. You see your surroundings as a chance to bring love and passion to the world. You let your heart lead, whether it is covering a large canvas with bright color, or lovingly rendering a friend’s portrait. Connection is where it is at for you, with friends, collectors, and your favorite artists who inspire your path.
Noted Lover Artists or Styles: Edgar Degas, Pierre-Philippe Renoir, Gustav Klimt, the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, Evelyn de Morgan, Tamara de Lempicka, Vincent Van Gogh
The Trickster
You like to mix things up, bringing fun and humor to your life and art, because it makes people look at the world in a new way. You may love collage, mixed-media or bold abstract art for their ability to shift perspective and jolt us out of traditional ways of seeing. But you’re not the class clown, you see your humor and fun as a way to inspire others and shake us out of the status quo.
Noted Trickster Artists or Styles: Andy Warhol, Salvador Dali, Henri Magritte, Meret Oppenheim, Marcel DuChamp, Kay Sage, Dada
The Sage
You seek Truth (with a capital T), O Sage. Art is a way to find the deeper meaning in life, whether it is the sacred geometry behind DaVinci’s drawings, or the hidden meanings in a 17th-century Dutch still life. You like to research history, form, color and techniques, and then apply what you have learned and help others grow as well. You are a natural teacher, and feel you have a tendency to be a know-it-all. Embrace your gifts with humility, Sage. The world needs your wisdom.
Noted Sage Artists and Styles: Leonardo DaVinci, Johannes Vermeer, Fillipo Brunelleschi, Berthe Morisot, Nicolas Poussin
The Magician
For you, Magician, art is transformation. You value all its aspects and forms, from drawing to sculpture, film to dance, for their individual abilities to change us in the experience. You are on a path towards mastery and transformation, and you are willing to take risks along the way, because you know the outcome will be beyond your wildest dreams. You want this transformation for others, too, and they come to you for wisdom when they see the sparks fly!
Noted Sage Artists and Styles: Yayoi Kusama, Surrealism, Hilda af Klimt, Georgiana Houghton, Laurie Anderson, Edouard Monet, Wassily Kandinsky
The Ruler
For you, Royal Ruler, art is a way to take part in a tradition and practice that is the cornerstone of a successful society. You love to wander through the Metropolitan Museum to look at the Old Masters, and try to emulate their techniques or subject matters. Your art brings people together for a bigger purpose, and you love the luxury and abundance of a prosperous artistic community; even if the value is not monetary, you see the richness of a working artist’s life as gold.
Noted Ruler Artists and Styles: Diego Velasquez, the royal portraits of Artemisia Gentileschi, the New York Society portraits of John Singer Sargent
The 12 Artistic Archetypes represented here and in my Artistic Archetypes Quiz are based on a few different sources, including:
Carl Jung’s book Man and His Symbols, with his concept of primordial images, include the anima/animus, the self, the shadow, and the persona.
Joseph Campbell’s Hero with a Thousand Faces, from which we get the famous Hero’s Journey and all its stages and characters, based on Campbell’s research of myths from around the world, and of Jung’s archetype model.
Carol Pearson’s Pearson-Marr Archetype Indicator (PMAI), a test you can take online, which assigns your score for all 12 archetypes, and her books, mostly Awakening the Hero Within, where she encourages the use of her model in psychology, commerce and the arts for greater insight into motivations and identity.
Kaye Putnam (the Psychology-driven Brand Strategist), whose Brand Archetypes Quiz turned a lot of lights on for me for my own business, and especially coaching model.
Archetype specialist Carol Pearson suggests in her book Awakening the Heroes Within that each archetype is important for us to acknowledge so we can move through different stages of our creative journey.
I hope this quiz helps you to do that. If you would like to explore archetypes more deeply and apply them to your own creative journey and process, consider these next steps:
Find out more about Artistic Archetypes in my blog post, What are Your Artistic Archetypes?
To learn more about how coaching can help you as an artist, schedule a FREE 50-minute Consultation Call:
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