50 greatest artists

50 World’sGreatest Artists

A personal selection of artists in the western tradition from the early Renaissance onwards.

1 Giotto

The Virgin and Child with Saints and Allegorical Figures (1315–20)

Giotto di Bondone (1266–1337)

Famous for frescos and tempera

Story telling with dramatic scenes

New three dimensionality to art

The move away from stylized scenes had begun.

2 Botticelli

La Primavera (Spring) (1478)

Sandro Botticelli (1445 - 1510)

Great colourist and line drawing

Less academic and more poetic art

3 Leonardo da Vinci

Mona Lisa (1503 - 1505)

Leonardo Da Vinci (1452 - 1519)

The Renaissance Man

Incorporated all previous elements of painting including the psychological connection with the viewer.

4 Raphael

Philosophy School of Athens (1509 - 1511)

Raphael (1483 - 1520)

High Renaissance master

5 Michaelangelo

The Creation of Adam (1511)

Michaelangelo (1475 - 1564)

The greatest Renaissance master?

The Pieta (1498-1500)

6 Titian

Venus of Urbino (1538)

Titian (1490 - 1576)

Meeting of Bacchus and Ariadne (1522)

7 Caravaggio

Conversion of St Paul (1601)

Caravaggio (1573 - 1610)

Dramatic, human realism.

Greatly influential artist.

Calling of St Matthew (1597)

8 Velazquez

Las Meninas (1656)

Diego Velazquez (1599 - 1660)

Greatest Spanish painter?

Real humanity, dramatic use of light and dark

9 Rubens

The Consequences of War (1638 - 1639)

Peter Paul Rubens (1577 - 1640)

Flemish Master synthesised Renaissance art into a European style

10 Rembrandt

Night Watch (1642)

Rembrandt Van Rijn (1606 - 1669)

The Dutch master!

Depicted light and the soul in a new way.

11 Vermeer

The Milkmaid

Jan Vermeer (1632 - 1675)

Everyday people and interiors in reverent detail

12 Poussin

Et in Arcadia Ego (1655)

Nicolas Poussin (1594 - 1665)

The leading classical painter of the 17th century. Grand themes.

13 Gainsborough

The Blue Boy (1770)

Thomas Gainsborough (1727 - 1788)

Rococo style of naturalism and romance. British art stakes it’s claim.

14 Corot

The Bridge at Narni(1826)

Jean Baptiste Camille Corot (1796 - 1875)

Paved the way for plein air painting and impressionism

15 David

Oath of the Horatii (1784)

Jacques-Louis David

The leading neo-classical painter of the 18th century. Heroic and patriotic.

16 Ingres

Valpincon Bather

Jean-Auguste-Dominic Ingres (1780 – 1867)

Neo-classical idealist. Consumate draftsman.

17 Goya

Third of May (1808)

Francisco Goya (1746-1828)

Rejected neo-classical art. More emotion and imagination.

18 Constable

The Haywain (1821)

John Consable (1776-1837)

Painted real landscapes. Nostalgia influenced by new industrial revolution.

19 Turner

The Slave Ship (1840)

Joseph Turner (1775-1851)

Turbulent, atmospheric and emotive colour

20 Courbet

The Stone Breakers (1849)

Gustave Courbet (1819-1877)

Realist movement. The farmer and labourer were now worthy subjects.

21 Millet

The Gleaners (1857)

Jean Francois Millet (1814-1878)

Painted real landscapes and people with respect.

22 Manet

Le Dejeuber sur l’Herbe (1863)

Edouard Manet (1832-1883)

The realist who started the impressionist movement.

23 Homer

Veteran in a New Field (1865)

Winslow Homer (1836-1910)

American realist. Influenced by the Civil War. Labour and hard times.

24 Sargent

Morning Walk (1888)

John Singer Sargent (1856-1925)

American realist influenced by impressionism in Europe. Loose, painterly style.

25 Sorolla

Maria Watching the Fish

Joaquin Sorolla (1863-1923)

Spanish painter in the painterly style. Profound understanding of light and colour.

26 Monet

The Cliffs at Etretat After the Storm (1885)

Claude Monet (1840-1926)

The giant of Impressionism. True to impressionistic theory and adapted it over time. Impressionism had changed art forever.

27 Renoir

Moulin de la Galette (1876)

Pierre August Renoir (1841-1919)

An impressionist that went his own way. Depicted casual life in France filled with light and air.

28 Morisot

The Cradle (1873)

Berthe Morisot (1841-1895)

French impressionist painter depicting domestic scenes with truth and empathy.

29 Pissaro

The Stage Coach at Louveciennes (1870)

Camille Pissaro (1830-1903)

The father figure. Teacher and artist. Influenced Cezanne. Followed nature for truth in art.

30 Degas

The Rehearsal (1874)

Edgar Degas (1834-1917)

Light. Colour and photography influenced Degas’ approach to painting leisure activities. Advanced pastel painting.

31 Cassatt

The Boating Party

Mary Cassatt (1844-1926)

Impressionist painter depicting domestic and leisure scenes in unique manner. Influenced by Degas.

32 Van Gogh

Wheatfields with Cypresses

Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890)

The singular talent of Van Gogh set him apart from other impressionist artists.

33 Gauguin

Tahitian Women on the Beach (1891)

Paul Gauguin (1848-1903)

A unique departure from impressionist art. Symbolic in subject and expressionist colour.

34 Cezanne

The Card Players (1892)

Paul Cezanne (1839-1906)

From impressionism to new directions preparing the way for cubism

35 Klimpt

The Kiss (1908)

Gustave Klimpt (1863-1918)

Viennese artist. Modern themes and approach to materials

36 Matisse

Red Room (Harmony in Red) (1909)

Henri Matisse (1869-1954)

Leading member of the Fauve group. Used colour to create reaction and meaning.

37 Kandinsky

Improvisation 28 (second version) (1912)

Vassily Kandinsky (1866-1944)

Expressionist. Abstraction with themes based on new science, religion and social change in the world.

38 Picasso

Les Demoiselles d’ Avignon (1907)

Pablo Picasso (1881-1973)

Influenced by Cezanne. Represented deconstructed forms in two-dimensional space. Radical new art known as cubism . Most famous modern artist.

39 Du Champ

Nude Descending a Staircase No.2 (1912)

Marcel Duchanp (1887-1968)

Leader of the Dada group. World war and industrial chaos influenced their art. Cynical and witty. Man, machine and madness went together.

40 Dali

The Persistence of Memory (1933)

Salvador Dali (1904-1989)

Leading surrealist artist. The influence of psychiatry, Freud, dreams and new ideas about human nature.

41 Klee

The Twittering Machine (1922)

Paul Klee (1879-1940)

Depicted the unconscious mind. Inventive and fanciful.

42 Mondrian

Composition with Red, Blue and Yellow (1930)

Piet Mondrian (1872-1944)

Took abstraction to its conclusion – the removal of all reference to matter.

43 Hopper

Nighthawks (1942)

Edward Hopper (1882-1967)

Everyday city and country scenes. Underlying unease of depression era and modern life.

44 Wyeth

Christina’s World (1948)

Andrew Wyeth (1917-2009)

American realist painter. Regionalist art. Real people, country and small town scenes.

45 Pierneef

Hardekool Bome - Bosveld (1945)

Jacobus Pierneef (1886-1957)

South African landscape artist. A distinctive style and South African expression of the vast country.

46 Pollock

Number 1 (1948)

Jackson Pollock (1912-1956)

Abstract expressionism. Gestural art and a departure from easel painting.

47 Johns

Flag (1954)

Jasper Johns (1930)

Pop Art. Everyday objects, symbols and consumer culture.

48 Lichtenstein

Hopeless (1963)

Roy Lichtenstein (1923-1997)

Pop art matured. Popular culture images became iconic in monumental scale.

49 Warhol

Marilyn Diptych (1962)

Andy Warhol (1928-1987)

Epitomised pop art and commercial art. Mass media became art.

50 Hockney

A Bigger Splash (1967 )

David Hockney(1937)

Multi-media pop art

The Journey of Art

www.malcolmdeweyfineart,com

Art is one of the most important qualities of being human. An expression from within that may seem irrelevant at first, yet on reflection is critical to our humanity.

As schools struggle to fit art into curriculums it is vital that we do not lose our appreciation for art history.

Long may the journey continue.