Many artists toil their entire life without much recognition. But, through a combination of luck, graft, and inspiration, some attain near legendary status. Many in this latter group have had their work immortalized in museums dedicated solely to one artist.
Scroll on to discover the cream of the crop, from Bourdelle to Miro, who have been afforded the honor of a museum of their own...
Antoine Bourdelle was a prolific French sculptor and an important figure in Art Deco. As a student of Auguste Rodin and a teacher of Giacometti and Henri Matisse, he formed the link between the 19th and 20th centuries. His old studio has since become the Musée Bourdelle.
Located at 18, rue Antoine Bourdelle, in the 15th arrondissement of Paris, the Musée provides an example of Parisian ateliers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It holds more than 500 works including marble, plaster, and bronze statues, paintings, pastels, and sketches.
The artist Salvador Dalí was born in the town of Figueres, in Catalonia, Spain. The Dalí Theatre and Museum is dedicated to the work of this singular Surrealist. It is also his final resting place - Dalí is buried in a crypt below the theatre's stage.
The heart of the museum is the town's theatre that Dalí visited as a child. It was where one of the first public exhibitions of Dalí's art was held. The theatre was destroyed in the Spanish Civil War, and in 1969 was rebuilt as a monument to the town's most famous son.
Since opening in 1973, the Van Gogh Museum has welcomed millions of visitors to see the outstanding art of its namesake. The museum holds, without a doubt, the best collection of his works in the world, many of which had never left the Gogh family.
Inside, rooms are ordered by theme and location. Telling a story of his movement across Europe, and through genres and styles of art. The building itself is the work of another Dutch master of art, Gerrit Rietveld, one of the principle artists of De Stijl.
Frida Kahlo was born in this house, La Casa Azul, in the Colonia del Carmen neighborhood of Coyoacán in Mexico City - and later, would die here. In 1957, her former husband Diego Rivera donated the home and its contents in order to turn it into a museum in Kahlo's honour.
The house is preserved much like it appeared in the 1950s, filled with Kahlo and Rivera's collection of contemporary Mexican folk art, pre-Hispanic artefacts, and personal effects, including the wheelchair and adjustable easel Kahlo used in her final years.
Oslo's Munch Museum opened its doors in 1963 to commemorate what would have been Munch's 100th birthday. Its collection consists of works and articles by Edvard Munch, which he donated to the municipality of Oslo upon his death, as well as art by his sister, Inger Munch.
In 2008, the City of Oslo promoted an architectural competition for a new Munch Museum in the area of Bjørvika. After some politics, construction started in 2015, and the new Munch/Stenersen museum is expected to be open by the end of 2020.
The Fundació Joan Miró crowns the hill of Montjuïc in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The building's rough, breton-brut concrete forms, designed by Josep Lluís Sert, make a lasting impression, and seem to protect the delicate, colourful artworks within.
Miro died in 1975, and the building was expanded in 1986 to create an auditorium as well as a library containing some of the 10,000 items in the Foundation and Miró's collection. It also hosts a space named Espai 13, dedicated to the work of young, experimental artists.
Now step from the museums to the studios and discover where 9 famous artists created their best works.
Teetering on the edge of a cliff, and sheltered by a natural rock arch, Predjama Castle would be difficult to take in even the best circumstances. In the 15th Century the castle was besieged, after the cruel lord of the castle, Erasmus of Lueg, offended the Holy Roman Emperor.
During the long siege, Erasmus had a secret tunnel dug through the cave and out the other side. He used this to allow resupplies to reach the castle and his troops to pillage the local land. According to legend, the siege only ended when Erasmus was killed by his own men.
Often claimed to be the home of both Vlad the Impaler and Bram Stoker's Dracula, historians and literary critics aren't so sure, but everyone can agree that Bran Castle in Transylvania, Romania does look very haunting and dramatic, and it certainly holds secrets…
The twisting maze of rooms hides a secret passage from the first floor to the third floor, which would have allowed frightened officials to make a hasty exit in an emergency. The passageway was hidden behind a fake fireplace and was only discovered in the 1920s.
The Tudor mansion of Coughton Court in Warwickshire, England, was built by the Throckmorton family in the mid 1500s. The Throckmortons were Catholics in a newly Protestant country. They faced persecution for practising their faith, but they refused to abandon it.
Instead, they had a 'priest hole' built into Coughton Court; a secret room for hiding altars, crosses, and visiting priests, if they were raided by the authorities. Many rich Catholic families around England did the same, and many lives were saved by these secret chambers.
In the seaside village of Rye, England stands The Olde Bell. This quaint, historic pub is the perfect place for a pint of ale, but in the 1730s you might not find yourself welcome; the pub was used by the Hawkhurst Gang, and like any good outfit, they had a getaway plan…
A secret tunnel led from The Olde Bell under a street and a couple of houses, to The Mermaid Inn. If the long arm of the law came knocking, the Hawkhurst Gang could move themselves and their smuggled brandy and tobacco out of reach.
The high walls of the Passetto di Borgo mean it's hardly secret, but it has saved the life of at least two popes. This crenelated raised walkway runs for 1km from the Papal apartments in the Vatican City, to the Castel Sant'Angelo - the formidable fortress in the centre of Rome.
The Passetto was built in 1277 by Pope Nicholas III, though thankfully he didn't have to use it. It was however used by Pope Alexander VI in 1494 and later by Pope Clement VII, after his bodyguard were massacred during the 1527 Sack of Rome.
At the other end is the Castel Sant'Angelo. Originally an ancient Roman Mausoleum, this enormous stone structure was turned into a fortified Papal palace and prison. Today, this imposing building is a museum.
Not to be outdone by mere Popes, the Medici family of Florence had their own secret passage built in 1565 to connect their home in the Palazzo Pitti with the seat of government in the Palazzo Vecchio.
The architect Giorgio Vasari designed the raised and covered walkway, which is now known as the Vasari Corridor. The passage actually punches through several buildings on its winding way across the city, over the Arno river, and into the centre of Florence.
After taking a sharp right on the north bank and a detour via the Uffizi (then the offices of the city magistrates), the corridor takes one final leap over the Via Della Ninna and into the Palazzo Vecchio. With this elaborate passageway, the paranoid Medici could move safely.
Privacy was not an option at the Palace of Versailles. During the reign of the Bourbon Kings, between 3000 and 10,000 courtiers and staff present on any day - there were few places to hide from prying eyes. For pleasure-obsessed monarchs, this was a bit of a problem.
Perhaps its no surprise that many private rooms contained hidden passages to allow special guests discreet access at all hours of the day. Here, in the Queen's Bedchamber, is a secret doorway with a particularly special story…
To the left of the Queen's bed is the faint outline of a door. It's through this passage that Marie Antoinette escaped barefoot when the palace was stormed by a crowd of poor market women on the 5 October 1789, in the early days of the French Revolution.