# Who was the most talented artist: Hitler, Stalin or Mao **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 4, 2013, 9:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-most-talented-artist-hitler-stalin-or-mao/646042 "2013-01-04T09:35:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Namkcalb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c89c15/32.png) [@Namkcalb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Namkcalb)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 9:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-most-talented-artist-hitler-stalin-or-mao/646042/1 "2013-01-04T09:35:08Z")
Three men Three tyrants Three killers of tens of millions Three artists. [Hitler the painter](http://www.hitler.org/art/),(warning, nazi link Mao the [poet](http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/mao/selected-works/poems/index.htm)(warning, hard-left link) Stalin the [sketchartist](http://apm65.blogspot.com.au/2010/06/joseph-stalin-sketches.html). Who do you think was the most talented artist? ---
**Author:** ![Nunzio\_Tavulari](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Nunzio\_Tavulari](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nunzio_Tavulari)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-most-talented-artist-hitler-stalin-or-mao/646042/2 "2013-01-04T10:36:31Z")
I don’t enjoy poetry, so that’s straight out. Of the two artists, Stalin seems much better to me. Hitler is more impressionistic, which makes it harder to judge whether he can actually draw. I initially thought that his buildings were good, but closer studying reveals some perspective problems. He’s poor at drawing living things. Given that humans are harder to get right than the angles and flat surfaces of architecture, I give to Uncle Joe. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-most-talented-artist-hitler-stalin-or-mao/646042/3 "2013-01-04T12:07:36Z")
Kinda hard to judge poetry, especially when translated. Hitler seems to have a lot of trouble with lighting. And like **Nunzio** says, he has a lot of problems drawing living things—he’s better at dogs that people, it seems. I admit to being a fan of imposing, megalomaniacal architecture and furnishings though. But Stalin has to be the overall winner. And he’s certainly not bashful about depicting the human body, I’ll give him that. ---
**Author:** ![Reno\_Nevada](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Reno\_Nevada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reno_Nevada)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-most-talented-artist-hitler-stalin-or-mao/646042/4 "2013-01-04T14:36:57Z")
Hitler… there was a painter! He could paint an entire apartment in ONE afternoon! TWO coats! ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-most-talented-artist-hitler-stalin-or-mao/646042/5 "2013-01-04T15:59:07Z")
> [@Reno\_Nevada](#): > > Hitler… there was a painter! He could paint an entire apartment in ONE afternoon! TWO coats! What can I say, except: **“Yay, RENO NEVADA!!!”** ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2013, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-most-talented-artist-hitler-stalin-or-mao/646042/6 "2013-01-05T03:19:42Z")
Yeah, I gotta go with Joe. ---
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2013, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-most-talented-artist-hitler-stalin-or-mao/646042/7 "2013-01-05T03:29:37Z")
If those studies are really by Stalin (and I’d never heard before that Stalin was known for his artistic prowess), they’re pretty darn good. I do have to wonder, though, if Stalin’s propaganda machine (like Kim Jong-Il’s) made him out to be a man of superhuman talents – and the pictures attributed to him were actually made by someone else. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2013, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-most-talented-artist-hitler-stalin-or-mao/646042/8 "2013-01-05T03:43:19Z")
Nah. While Stalinist Russia was pretty involved in erasing or heavy handedly editing anything from history that might lead the uninformed viewer that the man could possibly have been wrong about anything at any time in his life, I’m not aware of any actual self-aggrandizing slant, certainly nowhere near Kim “I drive a hole in one every morning and am better at basketball than the entire NBA” Jong Il. For better or worse, that was Dear Leader’s special snowflake brand of cray-cray. And we, all of us, are made richer for it. ---
**Author:** ![Namkcalb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c89c15/32.png) [@Namkcalb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Namkcalb)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2013, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-most-talented-artist-hitler-stalin-or-mao/646042/9 "2013-01-05T04:44:26Z")
> [@Sal\_Ammoniac](#): > > If those studies are really by Stalin (and I’d never heard before that Stalin was known for his artistic prowess), they’re pretty darn good. I do have to wonder, though, if Stalin’s propaganda machine (like Kim Jong-Il’s) made him out to be a man of superhuman talents – and the pictures attributed to him were actually made by someone else. They are all of naked men… There’s nothing wrong with that, but it might be amusing to the public at large. It’s not something that would have been fabricated for propaganda purposes. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2013, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-most-talented-artist-hitler-stalin-or-mao/646042/10 "2013-01-05T04:48:13Z")
I gotta go with Stalin here. Hitler’s paintings are about what one would expect from a hobby artist, and Mao’s poems, even allowing for translation, seem pedestrian. (Admittedly, I only read one at random.) If those are indeed Joe Stalin’s sketches, the man had artistic talent, no question. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Lurker\_Above](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dc4da7/32.png) [@The\_Lurker\_Above](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Lurker_Above)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2013, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-most-talented-artist-hitler-stalin-or-mao/646042/11 "2013-01-05T04:50:23Z")
> [@Namkcalb](#): > > They are all of naked men… There’s nothing wrong with that, but it might be amusing to the public at large. It’s not something that would have been fabricated for propaganda purposes. There was the one sketch of a(n unattractive) woman. But yeah, I’d expect a (straight) man with the kind of personal power Stalin wielded to have had more female models. ---
**Author:** ![Namkcalb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c89c15/32.png) [@Namkcalb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Namkcalb)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2013, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-most-talented-artist-hitler-stalin-or-mao/646042/12 "2013-01-05T05:27:53Z")
> [@The\_Lurker\_Above](#): > > There was the one sketch of a(n unattractive) woman. But yeah, I’d expect a (straight) man with the kind of personal power Stalin wielded to have had more female models. Could it be that he was just much better at drawing males. Kind of like Hitler sucking at humans so he focused on landscapes. I find it a lot harder to draw women, especially as you have to balance flatteringness and accuracy. Hitler’s dog pictures are a lot better than his human ones as well. I’m not sure who’s better, but I would give it to Stalin as both Mao and Hitler wanted to be artists and were rejected, whereas Stalin was a talented hobbyist. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2013, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-most-talented-artist-hitler-stalin-or-mao/646042/13 "2013-01-05T05:34:05Z")
> [@Namkcalb](#): > > Three men > Three tyrants > Three killers of tens of millions > Three artists. > > [Hitler the painter](http://www.hitler.org/art/),(warning, nazi link > Mao the [poet](http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/mao/selected-works/poems/index.htm)(warning, hard-left link) > Stalin the [sketchartist](http://apm65.blogspot.com.au/2010/06/joseph-stalin-sketches.html). > > Who do you think was the most talented artist? Hitler. For his architecture, not his landscapes. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2013, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-most-talented-artist-hitler-stalin-or-mao/646042/14 "2013-01-05T05:41:05Z")
> [@Reno\_Nevada](#): > > Hitler… there was a painter! He could paint an entire apartment in ONE afternoon! TWO coats! Not many people know it but the Fuhrer was a terrific dancer. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2013, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-most-talented-artist-hitler-stalin-or-mao/646042/15 "2013-01-05T05:49:02Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Not many people know it but the Fuhrer was a terrific dancer. And an even better [ice-skater.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybuKQf9p5jg) ---
**Author:** ![ZebraShaSha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/eada6e/32.png) [@ZebraShaSha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZebraShaSha)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2013, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-most-talented-artist-hitler-stalin-or-mao/646042/16 "2013-01-05T10:37:57Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Hitler. For his architecture, not his landscapes. I thought most people agreed his architecture was tortuous. ---
**Author:** ![jovan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/0ea827/32.png) [@jovan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jovan)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2013, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-most-talented-artist-hitler-stalin-or-mao/646042/17 "2013-01-05T13:55:25Z")
I thought the Stalin drawings were fishy and it [seems I was right](http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iP77Tu3W9UHACDODDDkHFy1tNdew): > [@](#): > > MOSCOW — An unprecedented exhibition opened in Moscow Friday of nude prints with scrawled comments apparently written by former Soviet leader Joseph Stalin that make ribald references to his party comrades. > Titled “Messages from the Great Leader: Stalin’s Autographs,” the week-long exhibition shows prints of 19th- and 20th-century art works that Stalin is said to have defaced with messages in coloured pencil. I guess you might try to count this as conceptual art, but considering Stalin’s relationship with art and culture during his reign, that would be quite a stretch. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2013, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-most-talented-artist-hitler-stalin-or-mao/646042/18 "2013-01-05T14:19:07Z")
> [@Namkcalb](#): > > They are all of naked men… There’s nothing wrong with that, but it might be amusing to the public at large. It’s not something that would have been fabricated for propaganda purposes. There were 2 nekkid women there. He had a thing about not doing mens genitalia - they got awful vague on that one dude that just had a sort of genital balloon down there. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2013, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-most-talented-artist-hitler-stalin-or-mao/646042/19 "2013-01-05T16:22:46Z")
Those are obviously prints from an art book or something. Still, Stalin’s graffiti (“If he wasn’t pissing in the wind, he’d still be alive”) is more creative than either Hitler’s paintings or Mao’s poetry. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2013, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-most-talented-artist-hitler-stalin-or-mao/646042/20 "2013-01-05T16:30:28Z")
BTW, at least one of the sketches is by [Vasily Surikov](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasily_Surikov) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-most-talented-artist-hitler-stalin-or-mao/646042.md?page=2)