On the same line, I was greatly surprised by Fridtjof Nansen's artwork, explorer of the North Pole, scientist, diplomat, winner of the Peace Nobel Price, and artist.
It seems that painting and calligraphy were part of the average education for the upper classes or the educated in the past. I’ve seen painting by authors such as Edgar Allen Poe and Victoria Hugo and they could easily be accepted into most art schools from the last 100 years.