Art as a whole has been around ever since man was. Cave paintings that date back as far as 40000 years. This is a long time for a species to develop art and over the years, many new artists have emerged and renewed the scene, created new genres and in general, kept art moving and evolving.
It is, without a doubt, however, that these new artists had to learn their trade and get inspired by already existing art. Here are some of history’s most famous artists, ever:
· Leonardo da Vinci
This man was a polymath who is regarded as almost superhuman, given that his areas and depths of interests were very, very large. Apart from being an inventor and many other things, Leonardo was a painter. His two rather famous works of art are the Mona Lisa and the Last Supper.
The Mona Lisa is arguably the most famous painting in the world, but it wasn’t like that until its theft in 1911. It had a US tour in late 1962 and early 1963 and was exhibited in Moscow and Tokyo in 1974.
· Vincent van Gogh
He was a post-impressionist Dutch painter who committed suicide at the age of 37. He suffered from many disorders and spent lots of his short-lived life in an asylum. He did, however, paint some very influential paintings, some of which are the very notable Sunflowers, the Starry Night and the Wheatfield with Crows.
· Michelangelo Buonarroti
Michelangelo was a renaissance painter and sculptor who is famous for painting the entire ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. It took him four years to complete that painting, including working in some very odd positions.
His most famous sculpture is David, a full-size sculpture of David, made out of a block of marble. This is widely accepted as a masterpiece sculpture.
· Pablo Picasso
Pablo Picasso was a painter and sculptor, among other things, and is one of the most influential artists of the 20th century. He is considered a co-founder of Cubism. His works include the Weeping Woman, the Girl with a Mandolin, the Portrait of Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler and many, many more.
He remains one of the most influential artists of the 20th century and certainly one of the top artists who were famous during their lives, rather than later.
· Andy Warhol
Pop art has its place and Andy Warhol certainly helped influence and shape it into what it later became. Bringing art to advertisements was something Andy excelled at, which his Cambell’s Soup paintings show. His paintings of Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley are also notable, as well as his Chelsea Girls film. He remains influential to this day, reshaping art through his long career.
All of these artists helped shape today’s perception of art and their most famous works are familiar to a lot of people. Many will know either the artists’ names or their work, a lot even both. Even though there are many more artists who are famous and have influenced the world of art, these ones are the most notable and famous.
