Who the greatest

Discussion in 'Art & Architecture' started by johan neeskens, Mar 1, 2007.

  1. johan neeskens Member

    Member Since:
    Jan 14, 2004
    I'm not talking about boxing, I'm talking about high art, painters to be exact.

    I was just told by a friendly Belgian poster that he thinks Rembrandt is overrated as he 'didn't add anyting to the art' (pah!), but I reckon that he's the greatest Dutch painter ever. He put forward Breughel de Oude as the finest painter ever which is a fair point.

    Who in your view is the greatest of all time, of all continents?
          
  2. Matt in the Hat Moderator

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    Da Vinci by a mile. The man was the king in multiple diciplines; He was a scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, painter, sculptor, architect, musician, and writer. Someone beat that.
  3. johan neeskens Member

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    Let's keep this discussion restricted to greatness in painting only!
  4. Matt in the Hat Moderator

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    Well his paintings certainly didn't suck and his anatomical studies are amazing. Are we limited to brush artists? If not, I'm sticking with Leonardo.
  5. malby Member

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    Either Rolf Harris or Tony Hart. It's too close to call.
  6. johan neeskens Member

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    Jan 14, 2004
    We should probably set a couple of criteria to judge the painters fairly. How about:

    1. How prominent was the painter of your choice in his own lifetime, compared to other painters of their time;
    2. How is the painter of your choice rated now in the art world (you could probably judge this on the number of exhibitions dedicated to them)
    3. For how much did the painter’s most expensive work sell;
    4. What is the painter’s innovating ability, in other words did he add anything new to art, in terms of subject matter, technique or other;
    5. Last but not least, why does the painter have an impact on you, i.e. the emotional factor.
  7. johan neeskens Member

    Member Since:
    Jan 14, 2004
    Hehehe. "Can Mal see what it is yet?"
  8. quentinc New Member

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    I think Bruegel is great.

    But I submit Goya:

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  9. Midorit Member

    Member Since:
    Dec 20, 2004
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    Tokyo
    Francis Bacon

    [IMG]

    [IMG]

    Probably not "the greatest" but the painter whose work moves me the most.
  10. StiltonFC The clone replacing you

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    I know it's probably not a sophisticated choice, but I'm very partial to Vermeer. Having been to Den Haag to Mauritshuis to see View of Delft and the Girl with the Pearl Earring and to the Rijksmuseum to see Woman in Blue Reading a Letter, The Milkmaid, and The Loveletter, I can only say that his work is very powerful in person.

    I also like Caravaggio, especially Supper at Emmaus.
  11. GringoTex Member

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    Vermeer and Velazquez are my personal favorites.

    [IMG]
  12. StiltonFC The clone replacing you

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    from a purely technical viewpoint, this is my favorite. that's real milk.

    [IMG]
  13. johan neeskens Member

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    Jan 14, 2004
    So Johannes Vermeer is the greatest?
  14. StiltonFC The clone replacing you

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    objectively or subjectively...???

    you from Delft, BTW? :)
  15. Alex_K Member

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    Bob Ross
  16. StiltonFC The clone replacing you

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    your quote attribution is incorrect: i don't have the album Spectres anymore, but Godzilla didn't speak English.:)

    Daishkyu hinan shite kudasai!

    as far as Bob Ross is concerned, his is probably the best hair/beard combination of any modern artist. he's clearly the best televangelartist!
  17. Alex_K Member

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    It's actually just supposed to be the chorus (so "Godzilla" is part of that and not a quote attribution) - I thought it would fit my avatar nicely (which shows a Tyrannosaurus rather than Godzilla, but I chose to ignore this ;)).

    They show his show in the middle of the night undubbed on German TV. As someone who suffers from sleeplessness from time to time, I consider this a gift :D.
  18. StiltonFC The clone replacing you

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    but do you paint.

    you could change your sig and put a comma instead of a dash between "men" and "Godzilla". a lot of work to get jokers like me off your back, nicht Wahr?
  19. Alex_K Member

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    Painting? Not yet :D.

    And hey, I actually thought that it would look like a quote myself, so I consider this to be a valid complaint :D.
  20. johan neeskens Member

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    Jan 14, 2004
    No, I'm not from Delft. It's just that Vermeer got the most votes in this thread so that scientifically proves that he's the greatest.
  21. StiltonFC The clone replacing you

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    fine by me.
  22. saosebastiao New Member

    Member Since:
    May 22, 2005
    Picasso. His range of styles and mastery of all of them can not be duplicated.
  23. Midorit Member

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    Vermeer exhibition is coming to Tokyo with this painting as a centre piece...
  24. StiltonFC The clone replacing you

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    the painting isn't very large, about 46 x 41 cm. but the colors are stunning. The Girl with the Pearl Earring is breathtaking, at least to me.
  25. murtaugh Member

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    interesting discussion but totally impossible to judge with the generalities given. is this best grasp of realism? or use of light? or control over paint? or trueness to the medium? because those are all different categories, and all with several valid answers.

    was never a huge van gogh fan but after seeing so much this summer i have developed a real affinity. and nowadays someone like sarah morris is really keeping modernism current.

    but if forced to choose a living artist, it's probably richter, as far as total mastery in painting and concept. anyway, return to your regularly scheduled discussion.

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