The greatest painter in history?

Questions like these are, to me, along the lines of "who's the best musician?" and so forth.
There are no decent criteria for "best" in fields that are largely subjective, so they tend to be actually "what artist (or musician, or whatever) do I like the most?"
 
The question is a bit broad, and I would be hard-pressed to pick a single artist out of the entire history of art as a favorite.

Plus, being involved with art most of my life, there are different reasons for liking different artists, whether it's technique, subject matter, composition, color or simply social commentary.

I know it's not according to the OP, but choosing a favorite artist out of so many is like choosing which limb is your favorite.

I'd have to go with Vermeer for lighting

Seurat, Monet, Renoir for their technique

Degas, Latrec, and Goya for their subject matter and social commentary

and for composition and color (and social commentary) I'll have to go with artists that aren't even in common knowledge yet - yep; they're contemporary artists whom I admire:

H.R. Giger
http://www.hrgiger.com/

Carlos Solorzano Smith
http://members.tripod.com/solark/

and

Demetrios Vakras
http://www.vakras.com/demetrios/directory.html

If anyone wants to discuss the last three artists after looking at the links, PM me or drop a note here. :)
 
Gotta be Michelangelo. You have to love an artist whose women look like men with grapefruits glued to their chests.

Course there's also Donatello...Raphael... and who's that fourth ninja turtle?
 
I like early works. Very early works. Anonymous has to be my favorite painter. Not to mention composer. Seriously.

If I had to pick someone modern, probably Rembrandt.

CT
 
I have a soft spot for Paul Klee and another one for Turner, though I cannot explain exactly what attracts me to either of them. Most of the paintings I own, however, are by Robert (Kent) Bergman, my grandfather, or his father, Robert Bergman. Neither of them are very famous, though.
 
Bikewer said:
Questions like these are, to me, along the lines of "who's the best musician?" and so forth.
There are no decent criteria for "best" in fields that are largely subjective, so they tend to be actually "what artist (or musician, or whatever) do I like the most?"
Click to expand...

Well, yes and no. Art history is the discipline of study which aims to reconcile aesthetic sensibilities within a historical framework so, while you're right that art is a somewhat subjective matter, there is still an academic aspect to art that is mostly objective, and can be used to determine what artists are, in fact, better than others.
 
Mephisto said:
The question is a bit broad, and I would be hard-pressed to pick a single artist out of the entire history of art as a favorite.

Plus, being involved with art most of my life, there are different reasons for liking different artists, whether it's technique, subject matter, composition, color or simply social commentary.

I know it's not according to the OP, but choosing a favorite artist out of so many is like choosing which limb is your favorite.

I'd have to go with Vermeer for lighting

Seurat, Monet, Renoir for their technique

Degas, Latrec, and Goya for their subject matter and social commentary

and for composition and color (and social commentary) I'll have to go with artists that aren't even in common knowledge yet - yep; they're contemporary artists whom I admire:

H.R. Giger
http://www.hrgiger.com/

Carlos Solorzano Smith
http://members.tripod.com/solark/

and

Demetrios Vakras
http://www.vakras.com/demetrios/directory.html

If anyone wants to discuss the last three artists after looking at the links, PM me or drop a note here. :)
Click to expand...


OK with the above, but RENOIR!!! Oh, he was so sloppy. Bad technical skills all the way. But he had a good knack for subject matter, and his paintings make you feel happy. But he's taught as an example of someone with poor skills, that was still a success.
 
I know lots of really GOOD artists, skill wise, that are total failures with that elusive quality known as expression. A really bad artist can insufe a painting with emotion and soul. Then he/she is not just a good artist, the word genius comes to mind. Because a computer can now draw and paint better than any human. But if you have seen these works...zzzzzzzz.....

Look at photography. Surely anyone can point and shoot. It's the vision that leads to the result that counts.
 
My daddy. He wasn't famous, but I have several of his paintings and drawings, and he was extremely talented. He was also the first Jew to attend the Maryland Institute of Art on full scholarship.
 
Bob Ross. He was able to paint a beautiful landscape in under 30 minutes. Plus, he was really, really nice.
 
I'm well aware of academic "criteria", but I don't normally approach art that way. I can appreciate technique, having dabbled a bit myself, but I tend to go for the visceral experience. If I don't get some emotional impact...

Currently, I find a lot of great stuff in the Fantasy/Sci-fi vein. Each year, my wife buys me the current issue of Spectrum, the annual awards book in this genre. Some of the genre 3-dimensional stuff is absolutely wonderful.
 
Bikewer said:
I'm well aware of academic "criteria", but I don't normally approach art that way. I can appreciate technique, having dabbled a bit myself, but I tend to go for the visceral experience. If I don't get some emotional impact...

Currently, I find a lot of great stuff in the Fantasy/Sci-fi vein. Each year, my wife buys me the current issue of Spectrum, the annual awards book in this genre. Some of the genre 3-dimensional stuff is absolutely wonderful.
Click to expand...

I agree with you, that art should elicit a reaction, regardless if that reaction is a favourable one. And, also having tried out a few of art technique myself (fresco, woodworking, and mosaic, to name three... although, the mosaic one almost led to a hand being practically amputated but, no matter :p ), I do have an appreciation for it. I just tend to think that, sometimes, outside mitigating factors, such as society, politics, etc., can and does influence which artists tend to be considered "better" than others.
 
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