How do artists address aspects of becoming and being an artist in their works? What connects Wilhelm Busch with Pablo Picasso? How have artists immortalized their role models in their artworks? How is the studio situation, the daily work life, in short: the artist's existence reflected in images? Swiss art historian Juerg Albrecht explores these questions in a collection of essays. The result is an enjoyable history of painted artist stories, written in a vivid and inspiring manner, with excursions into theoretical discussions. His wandering gaze lingers on themes such as 'Nobility', 'The Misery of the Artist', 'The Artist and His Critics', 'Daumier's Perspective on the Art World of His Time', and there is also a dedicated chapter on the artist's biography in fiction and film. A book that illuminates the production conditions of the artistic.