GREATEST IDEAS AND CREATIVE MINDS IN THE GLOBAL ART

 

                     

 

GREATEST IDEAS AND CREATIVE MINDS IN THE GLOBAL ART 

The writer is an ardent art and literature lover and an enthusiast of creative ideas around him from history to the contemporary world.

While on the subject let me begin with the Mona Lisa of Leonardo Da Vinci.  There are numerous behind Mona Lisa’s enduring fame, and when all of them are combined, they create a fascinating story that has lasted through the ages. 

                            

                                                    Mona Lisa  by Leanardo Da Vinci

                                                                                                         

The smile of the Mona Lisa captivated human hearts since Da Vinci portrayed it on his canvas.  It is priceless.  You can see the "Mona Lisa" in French Art Gallery or Museum.  This piece of art cannot be auctioned as per the rules of the French government and thus it is priceless and belongs to the Louvre Museum in Paris, France. 

The Mona Lisa is a half-length portrait painting by Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. Considered an archetypal masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance, it has been described as "the best known, the most visited, the most written about, the most sung about, [and] the most parodied work of art in the world".

 

The Mona Lisa was a real woman who with a smile initiated a dialogue with the viewer that had not existed before; it changed the very nature of the relationship between art and audience. With that one smile, Leonardo had imbued a work of art with a conceptual stroke of what's now called “genius”.

 

 

Since I wish to write about the famous sculptures of the world too in this Blog, there is no space to go into detail about all the best works of art.  

 

To name the most famous artists or painters in the world hitherto I would like to narrate their names if not all of their works. 

 

 

The top ten artists of the world history -

1 )  Leonardo da Vinci -

A famous Renaissance painter, Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) is famous all over the world for his works and especially his most famous painting, The Mona Lisa.  A true scientist, da Vinci studied everything from the environment to the human body in order to be as accurate as possible.


In addition to being a great painter, Leonardo da Vinci was also an engineer, botanist, inventor, writer, sculptor, architect, urbanist, musician, poet, and philosopher.

 

  2)  Vincent van Gogh -

The Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh was a world-famous artist during the 19th century. He was famous for his still lifes and landscapes and made history by bringing the pointillism technique to the forefront of art. Born in 1853, he died in 1890 in a field after painting a canvas. The painter is now thought of as one of the greatest of all time even though he was relatively unknown whilst alive.

Many believe he was the world's best painter and his connection with colors was considered an art.



 

3) Michaelangelo -

Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni was born in Caprese in 1475 and died in 1564 in Rome and was an Italian High Renaissance artist. He’s famous for his religious works and above all, for having painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. His technique and style led to the Mannerism movement.

In addition to painting, he was also an accomplished sculptor and is very famous for "David,", a marble carving that is currently housed in the Galleria dell'Accademia, Florence, Italy.

 

4) Francisco Goya -

The famous Spanish Rococo painter, Francisco Goya (1746-1828), brought with him the arrival of contemporary painting in Europe. He’s famous for painting what life was like in Spain at the time. He was a critic of war and injustice and he loved creating work on Spanish life.

 

5)  Gustave Courbet -

Gustave Courbet, a French Realist painter, was born in 1819 and died in 1877. Throughout his career, he sought to reproduce life at the time and his contemporaries were shocked to see his piece “L'Origine du Monde” (The Origin of the World) in 1866 which is a close-up view of a woman’s genitals and stomach. He quickly moved away from Romantic pieces in order to turn the art world upside-down.

Art historians were recently thought to have discovered who the model in "L'Origine du Monde" was, just 152 years after it was painted. It was thought to be a painting of Courbet's lover and model, Joanna Hiffernan.

 6) Salvador Dalí -

Famous for his psychedelic style, Salvador Dali, or Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí Domènech, was born in 1904 and died in 1989. The art world was enamored by the Surrealist movement. His canvases portrayed dream-like scenes.

 

7)  Paul Gauguin -

Born in Paris in 1848, Paul Gauguin is probably one of the most exotic French painters. He lived in French Polynesia where he died and was one of the greatest painters of the Pont-Aven School. He was inspired by Impressionism and Japanese prints and you can now find his works in the famous Musée d’Orsay in Paris. He died in 1903.

 

 

  8)  Claude Monet -

Monet is most famous for his “Impression, Sunrise” piece and was part of the Impressionist movement in the 19th century. He was arguably the first of the impressionist painters.

He was born in Paris in 1840 and died in 1926 in Giverny. Claude Monet cut his teeth as an artist in Paris. He studied in the Académie Suisse at Paris. Throughout his career, Monet rubbed shoulders with the famous painters of the time including Pissarro and Eugène Boudin.

The painter even said of himself:

“Everyone discusses my art and pretends to understand as if it were necessary to understand when it is simply necessary to love.” 

 

 

9)  Pablo Picasso -

Picasso is a complete artist who was born in Malaga, Spain, in 1881 and died in Mougins, France. He was a painter, sculptor, engraver, and ceramist who’s known for helping spark the surrealist movement. After studying art at the School of Fine Arts in Barcelona, he moved to Paris at the age of 23.

It was in the French capital with the help of George Braque that he’d invent Cubism, for which he was probably more famous.

 

10) Sandro Botticelli -

Alessandro di Mariano Filipepi, also known as Botticelli, was an Italian painter who lived between 1445 and 1510. He was originally a beater-out of gold lead before learning to paint in Italian painting workshops.

He was eventually tasked with painting the Sistine Chapel by Sixtus IV in 1481. With help from Cosmo Rosselli, Domenico Ghirlandaio, and Pietro Perugino, Botticelli made his mark on Italian art history with his works that are still enjoyed today.

 

 

There are many more to include in this post, however, due to the paucity of space regret my inability to accommodate them. 

You may differ from the chosen ten, but it is apt. However, the remaining greats also merit mention, and I am at a loss not to do the same. The above artists have "Genius" written on their faces and work.

The top ten sculptures  -

The David by Michaelangelo is my first choice.

  

From a discarded piece of marble, Michaelangelo created a masterpiece with "David". Even after centuries, this work is appreciated by art lovers across the globe.

 

                          

                                               "DAVID" by Michaelangelo

 

 

                       

                                                 The Statue of Liberty, USA

The Statue of Liberty is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor in New York City, in the United States. The copper statue, a gift from the people of France, was designed by French sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi and its metal framework was built by Gustave Eiffel.

 

 

 

                           

                                 Christ the Redeemer, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

 

 

Christ The Redeemer is an Art Deco statue of Jesus Christ in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil created by French sculptor Paul Landowski and built by Brazilian engineer Haiter da Silva Costa, in collaboration with French engineer Albert Couquet.

Constructed between 1922 and 1931, the statue is 30 meters (98 ft) high, excluding its 8-meter (26 ft) pedestal. The arms stretch 28 meters (92 ft) wide. It is made of reinforced concrete and soapstone.   

The statue weighs 635 metric tons (625 long, 700 short tons), and is located at the peak of the 700-meter (2,300 ft) Corcovado mountain in the Tijuca National Park overlooking the city of Rio de Janeiro. A symbol of Christianity around the world, the statue has also become a cultural icon of both Rio de Janeiro and Brazil and was voted one of the New Seven Wonders of the World.

  

 

The top ten Sculptors  -

 1)  David  - Michaelangelo

 2)  Pieta - Michaelangelo

 3)  Venus de Milo - Alexandros of Antioch 

 4)  The Thinker - Auguste Rodin 

 5)  Winged Victory of Samothrace

 6)  Statue of Liberty - Designed by French sculptor Frederic Auguste                       Bartholdi and its metal framework was built by Gustave Eiffel. 

7) Christ the Redeemer was designed by French sculptor Paul Landowsky and built by  Haitor da Silva Costa and his assistants.

8)  Great Spinx of Giza was created by ancient Egyptians of the old Kingdom. The face of the Sphinx appears to represent the pharaoh Khafre.

 9)  Apollo and Daphne - Gian Lorenzo Bemini.

10) Laocoon and his Sons - Famous ancient Roman sculpture.

 

 

Let us also examine some of our own countrymen who are famous painters and sculptors.

 

The most famous Indian painters -

 

1) Amrita Sher-Gil (1913-1941)

2) Tyeb Mehta (1925-2009)

3) M.F. Husain (1915-2011) 

4) Francis Newton Souza (1924-2002)

5) Raja Ravi Varma (1848-1906)

6) S.H. Raza (1922-2016)

7) Jamini Roy (1887-1972)

8) Vasudeo S. Gaitonde  (1924-2001)

9) Abanindranath Tagore (1871-1951)

10)Satish Gujral (1925-2020)

 

 

Raja Ravi Varma :

Raja Ravi Varma was an Indian painter and artist, considered one of the greatest painters in the history of Indian art.  He hails from the Indian state of Kerala.

Raja Ravi Varma  through his paintings gave an image to worship Hindu Gods and Goddesses.

 

                                               Goddess Saraswati

                                          

                                                     Goddess Laxmi

The most famous Indian sculptors -

 

1) Ramkinkar Baij (1906-1980)

2) Meera Mukherjee (1923-1998)

3) Tyeb Mehta (1925-2009)

4) Satish Gujral (1925-2020)

5) Kanai Kunhiraman (1937-present - Age: 86 years)

6) Namboothiri (1925-2023)

7) Pilloo Pochkhanawala (1923-1986)

8) Neeraj Gupta (1969-Age:  54 years)

9) Anish Kapoor (1954-Age: 69 years)

10)Paris Vishwanathan (1940-Age : 83 years)

 

Kanai Kunhiraman :

Kanai Kunhiraman born 25 July 1937 is an Indian sculptor, best known for his outsize sculptures such as Yakshi of Malampuzha Dam Gardens, Sagarakanyaka at Shanmugham Beach, and Mukkola Perumal trinity in Kochi.  Kanai is a former chairman of the Lalit Kala Academy, India's national academy of fine arts.  The Government of Kerala awarded him the inaugural Raja Ravi Varma Award in 2005.  He is also a recipient of the Thikkurissy Award and the inaugural MS Nanjunda Rao National Award of the Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath.  In 2022, he was honored with The Kerala Sree Award, third-highest civilian award given by the Government of Kerala.

 

                              

                             

                                           Kanai Kunhiraman and Malampuzha Yakshi, Kerala, India

 

 

 

The Yakshi Statue is one of the most popular sculptures of Kerala which is regarded as an artistic wonder by lovers of art. The statue is located in the Malampuzha Gardens and attracts millions of visitors every year. The statue, placed at the backdrop of mountain ranges and lush green gardens, offers a visual treat to the spectator.

Kanai had a model for the Statue a blond foreign lady for the upper part and Nafeesa a young native girl for the legs.  Nafeesa lifted her skirt up to her knee and did not display nudity and the rest was Kanai's imagination.  Malampuzha Yakshi is Kanai's masterpiece.  The statue has completed 50 years.

 

Kanai received a scholarship for studies in London, UK and spent 3 years in London.

 

 

 

The Triumph of Labour, also known as the Labour statue, is a statue at the Marina Beach, Chennai, India. Erected at the northern end of the beach at the Anna Square opposite University of Madras, it is an important landmark of Chennai.  The sculptor of Labour statue is Debi Prasad Roy Choudhary.

 

                             

                                          

                                              

                                               The Statue of Labour, Marina Beach,  Chennai, India

               

 

 

There are volumes to write about the  famous artists and sculptors.  As stated above it is not possible to write within the scope of one single Blog.  At least a separate Blog of Painters and Sculptors is required.

 

I wanted to write more about Pieta and The Last Supper.  Also, artwork of the Sistine Chapel ceiling and Venus de Milo.

If I missed out something or someone please excuse me, it would have been a delightful experience to cover all that famed personalities and their works in the arts and fine arts world.