The German Artist Who Failed the Art College Entrance Exam

Adelheid von Bismarck.

Her life could truly be described as one marked by tragedy.

When she held her mother's hand tightly and went to the National Museum of Art in Berlin, Germany, to see Adolf Menzel's works.

She honestly told her mother that she wanted to become a painter like him.

Entering the art world... It wasn't as wonderful, free, or romantic as people might think.

Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that every day was a kind of survival. After all, it was a field where it was difficult to secure a livelihood.

There was even such a thing as the so-called "passion pay," so there was little more to say.

Could it really be possible in this day and age to worry about surviving every day and live as though you were starving for months at a time?

The likelihood of having such experiences when pursuing art was greater than one might expect.

There was a reason so many painters had heads full of gray hair...