Michelangelo was great, but Bernini far surpassed him as a sculptor. His “Rape of Prosperina” (among countless others) is a powerful work. This detail alone shows his mastery of the medium. Compare it to Mary’s hand in Michelangelo’s Pieta.
Bernini’s David is another example of his mastery of capturing motion in marble. While Michelangelo preferred the classic Greek form for his figures, Bernini tried to show a story and the emotion within.
I’ve seen all of the above.
When my wife and I visited Paris last summer, we planned to visit the major art musuems, because, come on, it’s Paris. I enjoyed what we saw, but I was unexpectedly effected by “The Waterlilies” by Claude Monet at l’Orangerie.
Something about the setting, the scale, the paintings themselves just filled me with joy.
Bal du moulin de la Galette - Renoir
http://allart.biz/photos/image/Pierre_Auguste_Renoir_1_Bal_du_moulin_de_la_Galette.html
Albert Bierstadt Sunset over the River
http://allart.biz/photos/image/Bierstadt_Sunset_River.html
Andreas Achenbach Leuchtturm bei Ostende
http://allart.biz/photos/image/Leuchtturm.html
Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema Bluebells
http://allart.biz/photos/image/Bluebells.html
Gauguin - Ansteigender
http://www.leninimports.com/paul_gauguin_ansteigender_canvas_print_24.jpg
Well, that’s, like, just your opinion, man.
Although the pieces you linked to are pretty awesome. But so is the work of Michelangelo.
I can certainly see someone liking Bernini more than Michelangelo but the “far surpassed” did seem a bit extreme.
Up thread, “The Luncheon of the Boating Party” is a Renoir (as the linked image shows), not Seurat as the post stated.
Maybe not the greatest but in terms of the entire effect of how it is displayed in the gallery, etc., Rembrant’s “The Night Watch” is high on my list.
I stop and look at this Bierstadt probably a dozen times a year or more (the museum is across from the Verizon Center so I usually park and browse the museum waiting for hockey to start)
It’s not just my opinion, which counts for pretty much nothing. The consensus of most art experts is that Bernini was the undisputed grand master of marble sculpture in the Renaissance. If we’re talking about fresco painting, then Michelangelo was his counterpart in that particular art form, and was the inspiration for most of those who came after him. The Pieta was certainly Michelangelo’s masterpiece, and people of the time doubted that he had in fact carved it. That’s why he went back and signed it.
:smack: Yes, I do know the correct artist – not sure how I managed to type Seurat.
I like George Stubbs work. He’s one of the best English painters. IMHO
I have this print in my bedroom
http://www.art.com/products/p14195653-sa-i2946293/george-stubbs-two-shafto-mares-and-a-foal-1774.htm
For Impressionist painting, I like the works of Caillebotte, particularly, Paris, A Rainy Day. The man sure knew how to use a vanishing point. I’m also a real fan of Genre painting, particularly the German and Dutch artists (like this Vermeer) who really captured the everyday lives of people of the time. Of course, Hitler was also a fan of Genre, so there’s that.
I have seen the Sistine Chapel in person, I agree that it is perhaps the greatest, followed closely by the Lacoon Group.
But my favorite is the drawing my then 3-year old nephew did for me. It has never left my refrigerator door. About 5 years now.
Me too, & I second all of this. Bernini blew my mind. The link you posted with his hand is amazing in the photo and in person. The level of craftsmanship is astounding. You can’t overstate how much he makes you think it isn’t actually marble. Villa Borguese is a must visit if you go to Rome. I liked it more than anything else I saw. Michaelangelo’s David is more spectacular in person than in any photo I saw, though.
It seems that what is dispute is that Bernini “far surpassed” Michelangelo as a sculptor.
Michelangelo is more famous than Bernini (ask 100 people and see how many know anything about Bernini compared to Michelangelo) and two of his three best statues are very famous: The Pietà and David, with Moses being relatively obscure. All three are great, but compare them with Bernini’s work, up close and personal. You’ll need to go to the Galleria Borghese in Rome (make sure you buy tickets before your trip) to see his David, Apollo and Daphne, Truth unveiled by Time, and especially The Rape of Prosperina, which Chefguy has already commented on, and which I think is one of the most amazing works of art that I’ve had the opportunity to see in person. I’ll repeat Chefguy’s link and point out that even Prosperina’s toes express her anguish. (Sorry, no link for that detail.)
Next, check out his Bust of Scipione Borghese. There are two of them, identical except for one small detail. When Bernini finished the first one, he noticed a small defect in the marble, at the forehead. He made the second one from a flawless piece of marble in just fifteen days.
Then take a half-hour walk to the church Santa Maria della Vittoria to see The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa. Take a close look.
Michelangelo may have freed the figure from the confines of the marble block, but what remained lacked the vitality of Bernini’s finest work.
ETA: Oh, I see I got distracted by some of my links. **HoboStew **echoed my sentiments about Galleria Borghese.
Sandro Botticelli’s Birth of Venus. She’s one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever seen.
I’ve been to Florence before I knew the painting existed, but I’m definitely gonna go back to see it sometime.
This past spring I got to see Rembrandt’s Night Watch. Because it was the Queen’s birthday the museum’s hours were restricted so I only had a half hour to stare at it but they let me in without and admission charge.
First, the painting is huge despite the fact that part of it was cut off. Second, it just glows, as if the painting was internally illuminated. It was just magnificent. Saw Vermeer’s Delft landscape, too. It was impressive but it can’t hold a candle to Rembrandt’s piece.
Two of my favorites are New York Movie by Edward Hopper and The Corn Poppy by Kees van Dongen.
Most of the works people have posted are greater works of art, but these two comparatively minor works really affected me.
A lot of great art mentioned already (I love the Waterhouse and Bierstadt selections, and I agree that Bernini as a sculptor was, as they say in art crit class, “the tits”) but for me, DuChamp’s Nude Descending a Staircase No.2 will always have a special place in my heart. It was the first painting that ever really gave me the impression that a mere image could convincingly convey depth and movement while telling a story of sorts. I want to get a full-sized reproduction of it for my wall.
Well said. “The Ecstasy of St. Theresa” is one of the more sensual works in the art world. Ostensibly depicting a woman in the throes of religious passion, it’s a brilliant depiction of a woman having an orgasm. He repeats that face in another sculpture, “The Death of Ludovica”. I wanted to hide out in a closet in the Borghese and just live there on tourist scraps.
