Favorite painter and why

I would say the following:

Van Gogh, early Mondrian, Caspar David Friedrich, Albert Pinkham Ryder, Hokusai, Hiroshige, Vermeer, Prince Eugen.

 

Van Eyke. I love "Arnolfini and Bride."

 

Dali, because he has the most twisted surrealist paintings I've ever seen.

 

Dali because of the above stated reason, Warhol, and one of my personal favorites is Roy Lichtenstein

 

Here's another vote for Dali. I have a print of The Persistance of Memory hanging in my living room.

Love those soft watches!

 

Salvador Dali and Roger Garland. I really like dream-imagery. Most of my artwork is based on my dreams. Roger Garland painted scenes from The Lord Of The Rings in a surreal way.

 

Dali. Also for the reasons said above.

The Persistance of Memory is a masterpiece. His other works are just as great, IMHO.

 

Dali's paintings are amazing in the fact that they are so different, but different in a good way.

 

Gustav Klimpt, he epitomizes the way I see the world.

Bougerrou, his stuff is really beautiful. Many of you might recognize "The First Kiss" which is two angel babies planting one on each other. The female has butterfly wings.

I love many of the expressionists, german or otherwise.

Dewing is the only collectable impressionist, IMO.

~PAd

 

I've always been partial to MC Esher. I think I find the combination of surrealism and order in his work very appealing.

 

Ver Meer, because his paintings are always so pleasant to look at. The domestic settings, coupled with the lighting and colors Ver Meer uses, provides a very warm and comforting feeling to me.

 

WOW! so many Dali fans. I need to start looking at more of his work. I don't know what I am missing.

As for Escher...to be honest with you, I only really liked one of his paintings. All of his work is quite intriguing, but only one seems to endure for me. The Cycle. If it doesn't sound familiar, look it up on the net or in one of his books. To me, it has the most meaning of all his work (i.e. many seem to concentrate on illusion more than meaning).

I either LOVE Gustav Klimt or find him totally inaccessible. I absolutely adore his nature paintings. His forest scenes are remarkable. And the scene with the island and the lake (i.e. the island positioned at the top of the frame) is magnificent. His portraitures (usually of women), on the other hand, never made a lasting impression on me.

I will always like Vermeer..."view of Delft" is so magical. The way the light changes from light to dark instantaneously.

THREAD TOPIC EXPANSION: PHOTOGRAPHERS ARE ACCEPTED TOO!!

 

Van Gogh. I love his work because it conveys such energy and feeling into the scene or object he painted. I also enjoy the vibrant colors. His yellows are absolutly amazing!

 

Edward Stiechen is a marvellous photographer. His work has such a dreamy/sumptuous quality to it.

~PAd

 

Jean-Leon Gerome- His near photorealistic depictions of Africa and the Middle East are breath taking. While technical brilliance usually detracts from style, form and emotional sense, Gerome's brilliance shines through all of that, and his characatures are so full of life, their facial expressions convey often what other artists might miss.

Check out a very large coffee table sized book entitled 'The Life and Work of Jean-Leon Gerome' by Gerald M. Ackerman.

 

Picasso
John Biggers
Balthus
John Singer Sargent
J. W. Waterhouse
Francis Bacon
Wesley Kimler
Max Beckmann
Pierre Bonnard
The Wyeths
Ben Shahn
Frida Kahlo
Paula Rego
Paul Delvaux
Caravaggio
Ivan Albright
Giacometti
Cezanne
Philip Pearlstein
Jasper Johns
Paul Klee
Fernand Leger
Kathe Kollwitz
Frantisek Kupka
Edvard Munch
Rene Magritte
Jose Clemente Orozco
Robert Rauschenberg
Albrecht Durer
Tobie Simmons
Larry Rivers
Henri Rousseau
David Salle
Egon Schiele
Paul Gauguin
Mark Tansey
Victor Vaserely
Grant Wood
M. C. Escher
Al Held

 

I love Gerome too. "Unfloding the holy Flag," is my favorite and it can be seen in a museum just a few miles from my house.

To make this thread a little more interesting, lets talk about the types of visual art that we like...so we dont just give names that many people might not recognize (though names should be quite important as well).

I tend to favor late the 19th century art of Van Gogh. The point between academic claccism and abstract expressionism. I also love the early impressionists (not so much the picturesque French impressionists) but the early gestural painters like Corot and Daubigney (spelling questionable).

Late 19th century Scandinavian art is devestating. I am always blown away by Sohlberg, Prince Eugen, Janson and others. They paint with precise realism, but are very selective towards composition and lighting. Even when they are stylized, they achieve a remarkable fidelity to the perceived world, expressing it with the characteristic northern-European angst. Munch is the most well-known example.

And finally...I love the wood block prints of Japan (epitomized by Hokusai and Hiroshige).

 

I love some of the Northern Renaissance stuff. I love the near-photorealism in some of them ("Arnolfini Wedding").

Also, I'm a fan of Monet.

 

My favorite Gerome is 'Arab Girl with Waterpipe' I love her knowing expression and sly smile.

Hum, I guess I like paintings that look like things, that's why surrealists and PoMo stuff doesn't appeal to me.

I saw a painting on the British Antique Road Show by a French Renaissance (whose name eludes me) artist that took my breath away. It was a nude of this breathtakingly beautiful peaches n' cream redhead sitting under a willow tree. I would kill to have a picture of that painting. Incidentally, the painting blew the mind of the guy appraising it as well. Then he blew the mind of the woman who owned it, telling her that a conservative guess would put the price at 50,000 pounds.

 

wish I saw that.

 

Favourite British painter (although he wasn't limited to one medium): John Piper. Why? The atmosphere of his artwork is immense, powerful and dark especially the set designs for "Death in Venice". His use of media was also a great influence on me when I was studying my BA (hons).

Favourite foreign painter: Edvard Munch. Why? Simple, just look at his painting "Puberty".

There are many more but these two stand out from the crowd in my opinion.

 

Dali definetely.

I used to work in a hotel bar, where they had about 30 of his works on the walls. When we were not busy (ie most of the time), I used to just look at them all. I even wrote a little booklet for the hotel with info about all the pictures they had hanging. This is my favourite - the colours of the tigers are just so vibrant. I have this picture hanging over my fireplace

[image=http://www.backyardproductions.co.uk/mark/dali.jpg]

 

My favourite painter of all time has to be Alex & Son. They did an excellent job with my kitchen. We're having them back to do the upstairs bathroom. Their great!

 

Grand_Moff-Monkey,

lol. Im just not sure if you are joking all the way, or making a point.

Halibut and all the other Zali buffs:

I got a chance to see some of Zali's ouvre recently. I seriously looked at them all, after hearing how so many people in this thread are fans. I have to admit he has the wildest imagination. When it comes to surrealism, Zali's got to be the best.

I am just not too crazy about surrealism. It doesn't touch me near as much as a late Romantic Nordic landscape or a Chinese brush work from the Ming Dynasty. Nontheless, I can objectively appreciate Zali. He is genius. and his fame is well-earned.

 

A nicely put post, except Zali????