Photographs don't do it justice, but the best painting I've seen (or at least the one that has most impressed and fascinated me) is Boccioni's The City Rises. Some of these are OK too.
I think this is true of most any painting.
I'll never forget my first trip to the National Museum of Art in the Smithsonian at age 23 where I saw a number of paintings that absolutely dropped my jaw despite having seen photographs of them before which failed to move me at all.
I was recently reminded of this phenomenon again at age 53 during my first trip to Paris. Of all the great museums in the central area, the Musee L'orangerie is the smallest and even smaller when you take out the Water Lilies. Yet I could spend hours in the small downstairs hall gazing at just a few of the particularly appealing (to me) works by Monet, Renoir, and Utrillo.
I'll never forget my first trip to the National Museum of Art in the Smithsonian at age 23 where I saw a number of paintings that absolutely dropped my jaw despite having seen photographs of them before which failed to move me at all.
I was recently reminded of this phenomenon again at age 53 during my first trip to Paris. Of all the great museums in the central area, the Musee L'orangerie is the smallest and even smaller when you take out the Water Lilies. Yet I could spend hours in the small downstairs hall gazing at just a few of the particularly appealing (to me) works by Monet, Renoir, and Utrillo.
Nice! Obviously an extensive list would be next to impossible unless maybe one travelled constantly to art galleries and such around the world. But even then, this would make repeat up close evaluations unlikely. Fortunately the quality of the best Art books is extremely high in most cases these days, and one can usually find HQ documentaries/videos and photos that show the real work from varying angles, up close and so forth. This usually suffices, and in some ways (for up close, detailed eval) is usually better than what is available to one in the actual art gallery ... but I am always looking for improved HQ pictures/videos when I work on this list/revisit works and do agree with your sentiment that "in-person" is special and certain works may not be done true justice otherwise. _________________ Best Classical Best Films Best Paintings
My knowledge of painting or its appreciation is less than a percent of that which you guys have, but Impression Sunrise by Claude Monet had me mesmerized when I saw it in Nashville. I must have stared at the detail of the sun’s reflection off the water for at least fifteen minutes. It took me several attempts to walk away from it!
My knowledge of painting or its appreciation is less than a percent of that which you guys have, but Impression Sunrise by Claude Monet had me mesmerized when I saw it in Nashville. I must have stared at the detail of the sun’s reflection off the water for at least fifteen minutes. It took me several attempts to walk away from it!
Spotlighting one of my favorite paintings, Holbein's The Ambassadors. Took me several revisits to get a grip on rating/ranking it and this video alludes to why...
(Note: If it says "Video Unavailable" just click on the hyperlink below that message)
If I painted a painting could it be on this thread next week or will I have to wait 100 years after I died to get posted?
I guess just read the full title? (Hinting to what's in parenthesis...)
...and scroll down below the first list to see the extended selections being revised and far from completion? (None of the lists are near completion)
...and if you want, check out my criteria page, which may help to understand why so strict/disciplined on the ratings, what they mean, and may also illuminate that ratings that might look low to you (most people?) are not necessarily low to me. Its relative and in comparison I try to take a very disciplined consideration into just how incredible the highest ratings really go.
7s and what-not are masterpieces by many standards; could be called "minor" masterpieces by mine (or maybe masterpieces "of a type" but not as overwhelmingly visionary or as endlessly profound or of the same development of emotional depth as the higher ones).
I would say that a good half of my current paintings ratings could still be very much in flux at this point. Even though Ive viewed roughly over 20,000 paintings from early art history to present, my evaluations of the essential or more important works are, in many cases, still in an intermediate stage. In general, Ive spent more time and effort on them parallel to how high the rating (and there are still hundreds waiting that I either havent rated yet or the rating is old and no longer applies so havent re-entered them onto my lists again until I re-eval). Therefore the lower one goes the more room for error, with a potential plus or minus of about 0.5 at this time. Ex: at any given time I still might think any of the 6.8s could be as high as 7.3 or sometimes as low as 6.3 and so on up or down ... The accuracy gets more assured (to me), less volatile, less plus-minus, the higher up.
And if you think some more modern stuff belongs alongside or above, for instance, any of the 7.3s -- Im all for recs -- just let me know and best if you can say why its deserving (in terms of what the work is expressing in its artistry/painting).
Lastly, did you see that #3 all time is from 1987 ...or Psicostasia from 2005 on the same list? Has there been anything close to Tubke's Panorama from the last 50 or so years? _________________ Best Classical Best Films Best Paintings
For anyone interested, Ive recently updated several "images and links" on this list.
Perhaps the crown jewel was FINALLY finding the highest quality VERY large/high resolution zoom function image for Bosch's Last Judgment. This is an image I had linked on this list years ago (on listology.com, now defunct) but was lost after its link no longer worked (due to website address change of the image I think). Ever since, a few times a year, I would go searching for it again but couldnt re-find it. This painting's representation on the interent is ridiculous. 99% of all images for it are low quality. Very frustrating that so many art websites cant seem to bother with such a masterpiece. It would be more understandable (if still annoying) if Bosch were some super obscure artist, but he is infact legendary and any art website worth their salt should absolutely be providing superior images of his work, especially with how intricately planned and detailed they are. Anyway, after years of frustration I finally found it on something like the 11th page of my latest search! Annoying but a relief that it still exists! Like most of my highest quality images on this page, this is of the highest resolution take directly onto the canvas by specially priveleged restorers/historians (meaning not taken through glass/plastic etc ... Directly onto the canvas). This is not a view you will ever be privy to in person (unless youre one of those people!). So thank you and youre welcome (especially to the websites providing them) but also the hours spent finding these over the years is ... ahem ... not something I want to think about too much.
Also updated images/links for:
Sistine Chapel - Michelangelo ... new "live" video with very small crowd early in the morning ... added a 2nd virtual tour link that seems to load more easily
Garden of Earthly Delights - Bosch ... Added a new ultra high resolution zoom function image (direct to canvas)
War Panorama - Tubke ... Added 360 degree rotating photo which is easier to access (though not as HQ) than the virtual tour, so is useful on devises that cant use the VT as easily
Last Supper - Leonardo ... Upgraded to 8.8/10 ... Added images of copy that is probably the most accurate to the original and may have been directly assisted by Da Vinci himself (still under review by art historians)
Stanza della Segnatura - Raphael ... New entry (except I previously had School of Athens separately which is 1 of its 5 parts) ... New 8.8/10 ... After thorough eval, determined that this is infact a "single" work ... Added Virtual Tour and Video
Beethoven Frieze - Klimt ... Added several better images (strangely like Bosch Last J this work is very difficult to find HQ images for) ... Added 2 videos including 360 degree VR
Ghent Altarpiece - Van Eyck ... Added ultra HQ zoom function images direct to canvas
Reminiscences of Judge Schulze - Tubke ... Added possible evidence of missing "Part V". Also came across literature (not included on this list) that mentions all 7 parts (though w/o images) so still unclear if they were infact completed
Europe After the Rain II - Ernst ... Another one that is almost impossible to find HQ large images on internet ... Added very large (but not HQ unfortunately) image -- still, is valuable resource to get up close to the work. ...Still searching for better...
Christ Entry into Brussels - Ensor ... Added ultra HQ direct to canvas zoom in image
Crucifixion - Dali ... Added video on 4th D and hypercube
Triumph of Death - Bruegel ... Added very HQ zoom in image (after the painting was restored ... Most internet images are beforr that happened thus mediocre quality)
Arena Chapel - Giotto ... Added 3D Virtual Tour
Night Watch - Rembrandt ... Added direct to canvas ultra HQ zoom in image
Mona Lisa - Leonardo ... Added updated images after restoration (which corrects Da Vinci's chiarascuro of the figure and differentiation of water and landscapes in the aerial perspective)
The Kiss - Klimt ... Added ultra HQ direct to canvas zoom in image
View of Toledo ... Upgraded to 7.3/10 ... Added ultra HQ direct to canvas zoom in image
That's great work here, i'm deeply impressed. But i was a bit shocked to see Las Meninas rated 7.0 and like to know your insight.
I highly recommend that you dive into Titian, without him, one simply cannot perceive the conception of renaissance.
And im sorry if you have posted about titian and/or velazques and i've missed it. It's a long and elaborate thread.
Thank you!
Ratings are still very much fluctuating. Especially any of the 7s (6.8-7.2). Almost moved Las Meninas among the 7.3s a few days ago (and I previously had it in that section for a few years).
Ill try and say a bit about Las Meninas soon.
Ive gone through many of Titian's works pretty extensively over the years but find him very difficult to rate/rank with confidence. Of course he is technically one of the greatest painters/colorists ever, presumably following in the footsteps of Michelangelo's Sistine Ceiling particularly in that sense of color, maybe in the sense of movement, gesture and characterization as well, but in a more detailed and "painterly" style (whereas Michelangelo was essentially doing sculpture and architecture in paint, and of course fresco itself being its own limitation). But Michelangelo's extraordinary, unique sense of color clearly had a major impact on Titian who probably used that as his basis and then developed his own unique blend and stylization from there (from Georgione too - probably).
Anyway, Titian will probably get multiple works onto here (whether 6.8-7.2 or 7.3+) eventually. He was hugely important in his own right (to the late period Raphael and of course to Rubens, Tintoretto, El Greco and several mannerist then Baroque painters who basically fused him and Michelangelo). At the same time, his style and works seem rather elusive emotionally (not necessarily a drawback) but this makes them kind of hard to pin down in a more personal or meaningful sense past their very impressive technique. They have an expressed mystique & mythic quality to them which Im sure contributes to this. _________________ Best Classical Best Films Best Paintings
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