Two of the greatest artists in history?

Thanks for leaving some room for an argument...

 

I love the famous ones, like Starry Night:

And there's the more unusual Blooming Plum Tree, influenced by Oriental Art ('after Hiroshige'):

It's his use of colour and the boldness & energy of his designs & brushwork.
Each picture is an Epiphany.

 

Vincent all the way. Although I'd pick Franz Marc over either of them.

 

I prefer van Gogh. I find his use of colour very expressive. Few painters could make a wooden chair or a pair of shoes so striking. I enjoy the whole "post-impressionist" style (i.e. Cezanne, Gauguin...) because of the highly personal aspect; you can often get a real sense of how the artist was feeling.

 

Picasso is one of my all time favorites.

But I like more abstract expressionism in general.

 

I'm not so sure about abstract expressionism. I enjoy some Pollock, but I find painters like Rothko to be a little bland. The complete lack of figuration leaves me feeling rather cold, to be honest.

 

I love Rothko, but reproductions don't work (though same could be said for Pollock). Once when I went to a Rothko exhibition many of the paintings were covered in glass. Completely ruined the effect.

I prefer Picasso to Van Gogh, maybe because I've seen more of his paintings. Anyone been to the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam? It was closed when I was there.

 

Always loved VG.............
There's a spirituality there that appeals to and moves me.

 

VAN GOGH!!!

No need to elaborate.

 

Pablo Ruiz Picasso.

For me he was an outstanding and highly talented artist; a genius.

Along with him, Klee, Kandinsky, Miró & Chagall. Also some -not all- of Boccioni and Ernst.

 

Pablo Ruiz Picasso.

For me he was an outstanding and highly talented artist; a genius.

I would never argue that, I just think Van Gogh was that too +1.

Picasso had a strange fascination with goats.

 

My avatar is by Klee.

I also quite like Mondrian.

 

My avatar is by Klee.

Ups! I could not recognize it

I also quite like Mondrian.

Sure! Another one of my favourites, @aleazk

 

I have no doubt that Picasso is the greater artist... the giant of Modernism and one of the few towering figures to clearly stand along side Rembrandt, Rubens, and the giants of the Renaissance. Having said that... I would rather have any number of paintings by Van Gogh hanging on my wall than those by Picasso. But then I'm a colorist... and Van Gogh was a master of color while color was rarely a major concern in Picasso.

While I love any number of Van Gogh's portraits and interiors/still life paintings such as:

the Room at Arles:



and the Night Cafe:



It's the landscapes that are especially stunning:



*****

 

 

Van Gogh - crazy, genius, lived at poverty, died virtually unknown at his lifetime

I'm surprised nobody's commented on how immoral it is to take pleasure in the art of such a man.

http://www.theonion.com/articles/heartless-dutch-curators-put-deranged-scrawlings-o,33803/

 

:lol:

Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (See how neatly Picasso's full name fills up the 25 characters requirement?)

 

This is an Apples vs. Oranges thing, IMO. A better would have been van Gogh vs. Monet or van Gogh vs. Cézanne , now those would have made me tear my hair out, but I'll play along and pick van Gogh. Here's one of my favorites. This painting had a stunning frame around it, the last time I saw it. Sometimes I enjoy admiring the fames around great paintings, as well as the paintings themselves.

 

Klee, Kandinsky, Miró & Chagall... Mondrian...

Klee most of all of all these Modernists. Mondrian I can live without. Bores me to tears... but then my art school professors were heirs of his Bauhaus heir, Joseph Albers.

Along with Klee...

My favorite Modernists are Pierre Bonnard...



Matisse...



... and Max Beckmann...

 

If we consider that Monet and Degas lived well into the 20th century and produced some of their most innovative works then, I would also have to include them:





As I've already mentioned I'm a colorist, I am enamored of many of the German and French (Fauves) Expressionists beyond Matisse... including:

Andre Derain...

 

Vlaminck...



Rouault...



E.L. Kirchner...

 

Emil Nolde...



A few others from the so-called School of Paris that I greatly admire are...

Henri Rousseau...



... Balthus...

 

... and Modigliani...



A few others among the great Modernists that I most admire are those who fall under the rubric of Expressionists, Symbolists, Post-Impressionists, or Art Nouveau. These include...

Gustav Klimt...



Egon Schiele...

 

Alphonse Mucha...



Edouard Vuillard...



... and Odilon Redon...



Honestly, I suspect that the period of Modernism (c. 1870-1935) represents the greatest shift in Western art since the Renaissance... and only the Renaissance can rival it in terms of the sheer wealth of great art produced.

 

I prefer van Gogh. Many of Picasso's pieces look like he ran a few quick brushstrokes, almost sloppy like to finish the piece in a day, although I know that may well be part of the intention of the art itself. A lot of Picasso's pieces are very easy to reproduce as well. No much skill needed. This piece for exmple, Girl Before Mirror has all those features I am talking about. It's a nice colourful piece nonetheless.

 

Actually I find this piece stunning, and conceptually - brilliant. I'm changing my vote, its a tie.

 

I prefer Munch, if we are "mainstream"

However, slightly off the beaten track, I adore Valette, who painted impressionist scenes from my local city

 

I prefer Munch, if we are "mainstream"

He's mainstream, but I found his landscape paintings to be a revelation recently. I'd recommend an image search to anyone interested.

As for the op, I'd probably say Van Gogh--and then regret it every time I encountered a favorite masterpiece by Picasso in a museum. It's hard to think of the latter's work as a totality and some of his worst work is oddly memorable (to me), so I sometimes forget what a genius he was.

 

Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Martyr Patricio Clito Ruíz y Picasso.

 

I love both. I think both were great artists. I'm glad Picasso was recognized in his lifetime, but I feel really bad for Van Gogh. I wish I could give him a hug.

 

I feel really bad for Van Gogh. I wish I could give him a hug.

Yes, but be careful: he might accidentally cut off your ear...

 

Van Gogh no doubt!

I also really like Monet and Salvadore Dali