The Top Ten

1. Michelangelo (1475-1564)
   Italian sculptor, painter and architect. Michelangelo's output in every field during his long life was prodigious. Two of his best known works, "The Pieta" and "The David" are monumental masterpieces in sculpture. Despite his low opinion of painting, he created two of the most influential works, in fresco, in the history of western art. The scenes from the "Genesis" and "The Last Judgment" in the Sistine Chapel. He later designed the dome of St. Peters and revolutionized classical architecture with his invention of the giant order of pilasters. His works are priceless and untouchable.

2. Rembrandt (1606-1669)
   Dutch painter and etcher. He is generally considered one of the greatest painters and printmakers in art history. Rembrandt's greatest creative works are his portraits of his contemporaries, his self-portraits (90 paintings in all) and illustrations of scenes from the Bible. Among his 300 paintings are some of the greatest masterpieces in "Chiaroscuro", dramatic use of light and shadow, most notable are "Nightwatch", "The Anatomy Lesson", "The Blinding of Samson", and "The Syndics". His painting and etchings, when found, fetch tens of millions at major art auctions. A Dutch museum recently paid over $80 million dollars for one of his portraits. The most expensive work of art ever acquired by a Dutch museum.

3. Pablo Picasso (1881-1973)
   Spanish painter and sculptor. One of the most recognized figures in 20th century art, best known as co-founder with Braque, of cubism. Most prolific and influential of all modern artists, Picasso's most famous work, "Guernica", is one of the greatest statements against the inhumanity, brutality and hopelessness of war. His "Demoiselles D'Avignon", inspired by African artifacts, caused a revolution in the art world and led to cubism, one of the greatest artistic movements. His works are regularly in the top ten most expensive paintings ever sold. Tow of them are currently on the top ten, totaling over $200 million dollars.

4. Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890)
   Dutch post-impressionist artist. His paintings and drawings include some of the world's best known, most popular and most expensive pieces. Three of his works are currently on the top ten list of most expensive paintings ever. "Portrait of Dr. Gachet" (far from one of his best), sold for $116.8 million, "Portrait of the artist without beard" fetched $71.7 million, "Irises" sold for 78.4 million. Not bad for an artist who was mentally ill and died in poverty. He produced more than 2,000 works, including 900 paintings and 1,100 drawings and sketches, a prolific amount considering he lived only 37 years.

5. Leonardo Da Vinci (1452-1519)
   Italian painter, sculptor, scientist, engineer, and inventor. The archetype of the Renaissance man or universal genius. Although he produced few works of art, he is widely considered to be on of greatest artists of all time and perhaps the most-diversely talented person ever to have lived. Two of his works, "Mona Lisa", and "The Last Supper" are perhaps the most famous, most reproduced and most parodied portrait and religious painting of all time. They are priceless and untouchable. One drawing, a study for the "Adoration of the Magi" sold for $11.4 million. Billionaire Bill Gates paid $30 million for his Codex Leicester (one of his notebooks).

6. Claude Monet (1840-1926)
   French impressionist painter. Monet was a founder of French Impressionism, the most consistent and prolific artist of this major art movement. The term impressionism is derived from the title of one of his paintings. He has produced more masterpieces than any other artist of his time. In his eighties, he was selling paintings faster than he could produce them. A painting from his "Water Lilies" series recently sold for $36.6 million, one of his numerous pieces that have sold in the millions.

7. Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640)
   Flemish painter and proponent of a Baroque style that emphasized movement, color and sensuality. He is well known for his alter pieces, portraits, landscapes and history paintings of mythological and allegorical subjects. His famous painting "The Raising of the Cross" is held as the prime example of Baroque religious art. A recent discovered painting "Massacre of the Innocents" sold for $76.2 million. It is the current record for an old master painting.

8. Henri Matisse (1869-1954)
   French painter, printmaker and sculptor. He is one of the best known artists of the 20th century, noted for his use of color and his fluid, brilliant and original draughtsmanship. Although labeled as a Fauvist (wild beast), by the 1920's, he was increasingly hailed as an upholder of the classical tradition in French painting. His mastery of the expressive language of color and drawing is apparent in a body of work spanning over a half century and won him recognition as a leading figure of modern art. A 1937 painting "L'Odalisque, Harmonie Bleue", sold for $33.6 million.

9. Joseph Turner (1775-1851)
   English painter, watercolorist and printmaker known as the painter of light, his style can be said to have laid the foundation for the major art movement called impressionism. He is now regarded as the artist who elevated landscape painting to an eminence rivaling history painting. Although renowned for his oils, Turner is also one of the greatest masters of watercolor landscape painting. In 2006, one of his paintings sold for $35.8 million, an auction record for a work by a British artist.

10. Diego Velasquez (1599-1660)
    Spanish painter. He was an individualistic artist of the contemporary Baroque period, important as a portrait artist. Many modern artists, including Picasso and Dali have paid tribute to him by recreating several of his famous works. His masterpiece "Las Meninas", called the perfect painting, is on of the most important and famous paintings in European art history and a classic of 17th century art. His painting "Saint Ruffina" sold for $17 million, the most expensive old master painting by a Spanish artist ever sold at auction.

Who do you think is the greatest artist of all time?

Michelangelo
Rembrandt
Picasso
Van Gogh
Da Vinci
Monet
Rubens
Matisse
Turner
Velasquez
 

artist
j. a. lauretta