Top Ten Favorite Painters

It started in college, a sudden admiration and fascination with the classical arts. From music, movies, literature, poetry, architecture, photography, and paintings; I was captured by the unique presentation, the emotional power, and especially it's utmost beauty. And it eventually became quite clear and obvious to see why these works of art, can be considered classics, even masterpieces. It is because they have endured the test of time and are still remembered and admired to this day. I can hardly consider myself as knowledgeable about painting, as say perhaps music or movies. However over the years, I have amassed somewhat of a collection and acquired a better understanding of many paintings. Here are my top ten favorite painters, who have inspired me through their unique style and artistic expression.


10. Caspar David Frederich

Years (1774-1840)
Nationality (German)
Style: (German Romantic Landscape)
Famous Works:

• The Monk by the Sea (1809)
• The Abbey in the Oakwood (1810)
• Mountain Landscape with Rainbow (1810)
• The Wanderer above the Mists (1817)
• Chalk Cliff on Rugen (1818)
• The Tree of Crows (1822)
• The Sea of Ice (1824)
• The Stages of Life (1835)

Artistic Legacy: Frederich's style of landscape painting has an artistic blend of natural beauty with a touch of metaphysical and surreal sentiment. Through the use of haziness, clouds, fog, or a sunset, he is able to create a mystical element that makes the painting all the more striking.







The Sea of Ice








9. Jean Leon Gerome

Years: (1824-1904)
Nationality: (French)
Style: (Academicism)
Famous Works:

• Turkish Prisoner and Turkish Butcher (1863)
• Prayer (1865)
• The Slave Market (1867)
• Exursion of the Harem (1869)
• Louis XIV and Moliere (1863)
• The Reception of the Siamese Ambassadors at Fountainbleau (1865)
• Death of Marshal Ney (1867)
• Pollice Verson (1872)
• Summer Afternoon on a Lake (1895)

Artistic Legacy: The paintings of Jean Leon Gerome, have a vivid historical and cultural significance to them. He displays an academic interpretation through themes of color, eroticism, and incredible cultural settings that illuminate their historical importance.






Summer Afternoon on a Lake










8. Georges Seurat

Years: (1859-1891)
Nationality: (French)
Style: (Pointillism, Post Impressionism)
Famous Works:

• The Suburbs (1882)
• Fishing in the Seine (1883)
• The Laborers (1883)
• A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte (1884)
• Bathers at Asnieres (1884)
• The Seine and la Grande Jatte (1888)
• The Models (1888)
• Gray Weather Grand Jatte (1888)
• The Eiffel Tower (1889)

Artistic Legacy: Georges Suerat created his own unique artistic sytle by branching from impressionism, and creating patterns of small distinct dots known as pointillism. Through this technique, Seurat establishes a unique and brilliant style of visualization. His unique style is best captured in his masterpiece, Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte.




Le Chahut
















7. Johannes Vermeer

Years: (1632-1675)
Nationality: (Dutch)
Style: (Genre works; interior and exterior scenes, still-life, portraits)
Famous Works:

• The Milkmaid (1658)
• The Girl with the Wineglass (1659)
• View of Delft (1660)
• The Music Lesson (1662)
• The Girl with a Pearl Earring (1665)
• The Astronomer (1668)

Artistic Legacy: Vermeer's defining style was his interior portraits of real-life people usually standing by the window. He achieved an incredible realism in his paintings, by a careful and defined use of light exposure. He captures the essence of Dutch society during the height of the Dutch Golden Age.








The Allegory of Painting












6. Pierre Auguste Renoir

Years: 1841-1919
Nationality: (French)
Style: Impressionism
Famous Works:

• La Grenouillere (1868)
• The Theater Box (1874)
• The Swing (1876)
• Dance at Le Moulin de la Galette (1876)
• On the Terrace (1881)
• By the Water (1880)
• Luncheon of the Boating Party (1880)
• Girls at the Piano (1892)

Artistic Legacy: Through his technique of saturated colors and vibrant light, Renoir creates an original style, of social gatherings and feminine beauty. In his masterpiece, Luncheon of the Boating Party, he blends both of his specialties, feminine beauty in a high-class social gathering.


Dance at Le Moulin












5. Pablo Picasso

Years: 1881- 1973
Nationality: (Spanish)
Style: Cubism
Famous Works:

• Portrait of Daniel-Henry Kahweiler (1906)
• Les Demoiselles d'Avignon (1907)
• Le Guitariste (1910)
• Three Musicians (1921)
• Guernica (1937)
• Dora Maar au Char (1941)
• Massacre in Korea (1951)

Artistic Legacy: The artwork of Pablo Picasso is an acquired taste that may not be for everybody. This is due to his abstract presentations, that mix political and social metaphors into extremely chaotic and powerful visuals. He helped develop the movement of cubism, by breaking up his artwork into abstract pieces. In some of his most famous works, such as Guernica, Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, and the Massacre in Korea, he managed to put forth an important message while creating awe-inspiring masterpieces.





Massacre in Korea







4. Claude Monet

Years: 1840-1926
Nationality: French
Style: Impressionism
Famous Works:

• On the Bank of the Seine (1868)
• Impression Sunrise (1872)
• Jardin a Sainte-Adresse (1867)
• Woman in a Garden (1867)
• Woman with a Parasol (1875)
• The Cliffs at Etretat (1885)
• Oat and Poppy Field (1890)
• Bridge Over a Pond of Water (1899)
• Water Lilies (1914)

Artistic Legacy: Claude Monet is regarded as the founder of impressionism. In each of his works, he creates a dreamlike effect, with a perfect balance of strong colors and soft faded colors. He especially had a magnificent perception of nature, which is demonstrated in many of his masterful landscapes, such as Impression Sunrise, Train in the Snow, and his series of Water Lilies.






Impression, Sunrise










3. Ilya Repin
Years: (1844-1930)
Nationality: Russian
Style: Realism
Famous Works:

• Religious Procession in Kursk Province (1880)
• Ivan the Terrible (1870)
• Barge Haulers on the Volga (1870)
• Party (1883)
• Portrait of Leo Tolstoy (1887)
• Saint Nicholas of Myra in Lycia (1889)
• Wedding of Nicholas II (1894)
• Ceremonial session of the State (1900)
• Painter's Daughter (1900)
• Pushkin Reciting his Poem Before Old Derzhavin (1911)
• October Manifesto (1906)

Artistic Legacy: The paintings of Ilya Repin vividly capture the history and culture of the Russian Empire before it's transition into the Soviet Union. His painting style of realism is extremely detailed, full of depth and amazing expression. He celebrates Russian culture through many of his masterpieces, such as his portraits of Leo Tolstoy, The Party, and especially his October Manifesto.






The Party







2. Edward Hopper

Years: 1882-1967
Nationality: American
Style: Realism
Famous Works:

• Summer Interior (1909)
• Road in Maine (1914)
• Girl at Sewing Machine (1921)
• New York Restaraunt (1922)
• Automat (1927)
• Chop Suey (1929)
• Early Sunday Morning (1930)
• Office at Night (1940)
• Nighthawks (1942)
• Hotel Lobby (1943)
• Office in a Small City (1953)

Artistic Legacy: The paintings of Edward Hopper have a distinctive and powerful color to them. He incorporates mixed themes of sexuality and loneliness. The thing I especially love about his work, is how he manages to capture that 1930s American culture, in a very noir-essence.






New York Restaurant











1. Vincent Van Gogh

Years: 1853- 1890
Nationality: Dutch
Style: Post-Impressionist
Famous Works:

• The Potato Eaters (1885)
• The Yellow House (1888)
• Bedroom in Arles (1888)
• The Night Cafe (1888)
• The Cafe Terrace (1888)
• The Postman (1888)
• The Starry Night (1889)
• L'Arlesienne (1890)
• Portrait of Dr. Gachet (1890)
• The Round of Prisoners (1890)
• Starry Night over the Rhone (1888)
• Wheatfield with Crows (1890)

Artistic Legacy: The paintings of Van Gogh truly stir up the imagination. They are full of such depth, darkness, and emotion. He brings his own style of impressionism, through a pattern of wavy lines or dashed lines, and creates a unique blend between realism and the abstract. His work is truly unique, original, and unmatchable. There is not a single painting, that I dislike. For this reason he is in my opinion, the greatest painter of all time.




The Night Cafe