Let’s be honest, the average artist doesn’t have a penny to their name. For most, this won’t matter much, because being an artist is a way of life and a conscious choice, even if family, friends and society are against it. For most, when they say at school that they want to become an artist, this is strongly discouraged by teachers. I personally find this a sad development. In schools in the Netherlands, art and craft are given very low priority, unlike when I was at school.

Hm… I see it this way. Being an artist is not a right, but a privilege. Art is an activity that only the privileged (read: the wealthy) can pursue without suffering financial hardship. I think Leonardo da Vinci was very fortunate when Francis I of France gave him room and board, because even a genius like him experienced financial difficulties.

Strictly speaking, art is economically unproductive. It carries intangible benefits for society that indirectly help sustain the economy, but those effects are difficult to pinpoint with a purely practical eye.