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Who's your favorite painter and why?

I'm not very knowledgable about art, so I like threads like this as they introduce me to artists I didn't know about (so links would be nice where possible).
 
lionking said:
Sorry. That one is nearly 4 years old, but I'll ask the mods to merge if you want.
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Yes, that's the right thing to do because I have the thread title copyright. :D

Oh wait... you also asked "...and why"... Damn, I guess I don't have a case if this gets to court :D
 
El Greco said:
Yes, that's the right thing to do because I have the thread title copyright. :D

Oh wait... you also asked "...and why"... Damn, I guess I don't have a case if this gets to court :D
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That's fine. You will only be up for costs now. My solicitor is not too rapacious. ;)
 
Many of my favourites have already been mentioned. Just wanted to add a few.

Albrecht Dürer (his hare is absolutely wonderful) http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/durer/
Joos de Momper (think Breughel) http://www.artnet.com/artist/552489/joos-de-momper-the-younger.html
René Magritte http://www.magritte.com/
and Gustave Klimt (art noveau) http://www.expo-klimt.com/
I have a fondness for the Pre-Raphaelites as well, Holman Hunt, Millais, Rossetti.

Swedish 18th century painter Alexander Roslin is well worth a look, not least the way he paints fabrics: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Roslin
 
Somehow I can't name a single favourite outright.

I like a lot of the already mentioned, some of them with reservations. I like Mucha and Klimt, for instance, but they're also generally too, erm, decorative for me, on the whole. I love and adore their skill, esp. their figures. It's just the subject matter is like puffy cream-filled cakes. Nice for a bit, but hard to build a real diet on. (Incidentally, try his student Egon Schiele for a Klimt that left the gilded decorative style and really took off, IMO. All of the figure and none of the sugar).

Rembrandt hasn't been mentioned as far as I can see. For me it's a toss-up between his etchings and the paintings, but both are excellent.

I'm also fond of Vilhelm Hammershøi. And, with some reservations, but less than for e.g. Klimt, Lawrence Alma-Tadema has something going on with lighting that's quite spectacular.

A few more contemporary ones: Gerhard Richter is good. Look at the range of those! (Was lucky enough to catch a huge exhibition of his. The same place showed some of the very large Sigmar Polke paintings as well, glad I caught those. Really worth it in person.)

Peter Carlsen is another favourite. I like him for his humor and satire, but not least for his apparent joy of painting while not taking it too seriously. There's even a bar here in town that he decorated extensively, cool place.

Sorry for the messy post, but there it is. Worst part is, I'll probably think of a few more as soon as I hit submit.
 
Agreed on Salvidor Dali. Was fortunate enough to see some of his works in person at the Dali Museum in Paris.

Anybody willing to contribute 7 000 euros so I can buy one of his original prints? :p
 
I love the modern realists.
Chuck Close is way up in the list, however these new guys are fantastic:
Eric White
Alex Gross
Mark Ryden
and the Godfather of "Low-Brow" Robert Williams
 
I do like Alma-Tadema... In fact, I once dreamt I had an aunt called Alma Tadema. She didn't paint, however, she made a living from crocheting children, as far as I could tell. There seemed to be quite a market for them.

Richard Berg is worth a look, perhaps especially Nordic Summer Evening for the light. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Bergh

And Helene Schjerfbeck, Finno-Swedish artist: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helene_Schjerfbeck

Thanks for Egon Schiele and Gerhard Richter, they were new to me!
 
Francis Bacon (20th c. artist, not to be confused with his famous namesake of 16th/17th c.)

I never quite got it until viewing a large number of his paintings in person at a retrospective at the Met last year. I was staggered. Astonishingly beautiful, despite the apparent grotesqueness.
 
Tony99 said:
and the Godfather of "Low-Brow" Robert Williams
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Low-brow is not a problem for me, but those are, from what I can glance online, a bit too stiff for me.

Reminds me a bit of Jim Woodring, who really rings my bell though.
 
Boris Vallejo - an amazing painter with a realistic touch to mythological creatures. Very detailed, if you have any interest in dragons at all and you haven't heard of him you'll thank me for giving out his name :)
 
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