The Good, the Bad, and the Melty: An Arbitrary Romp through Art History

Exfanded by Neko-chan

How many people today could identify the work of a famous artist without needing to phone a friend or check Wikipedia? Sadly, I fear, relatively few. Sure, most people can recognize a melting clock as the handiwork of Salvador Dali, and many Americans can see The Saturday Evening Post and think of Norman Rockwell, but several influential artists fall by the wayside and credit is not given where it is due.

Therefore, to rectify the gross injustice of under-education, I present you with “Neko-chan’s Completely Biased Guide to Art History for Saavy People.” I am not including names I think everyone knows, such as Van Gogh, Picasso, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, or the rest of the TMNT, instead choosing to focus on artists who are less-often publicized.

1. Botticelli (1445-1510) Italian Renaissance
Best known for: Painting Venus on the half shell
Example work:The Birth of Venus

2. Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528) Northern Renaissance
Best known for: Biblical paintings and one very bold rhinoceros
Example work:Rhinoceras

3. El Greco (1541-1614) Mannerism
Best known for: Making all the subjects of his art appear plasticized
Example work:View of Toledo

4. Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) Baroque
Best known for: His appreciation of curves (hence the term “Rubenesque”)
Example work:Infante Isabella Clara Eugenia

5. Rembrandt (1606 – 1669) Dutch Golden Age
Best known for: Single-handedly creating the Dutch Golden Age
Example work:Belshazzar’s Feast

6. Jan Vermeer (1632-1675) Baroque
Best known for: Girls with pearls
Example work:The Girl with a Pearl Earring

7. Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858) Ukiyo-e
Best known for: Bridges over troubled water
Example work:One Hundred Famous views of Edo: 58

8. Dante Gabriel Rosseti (1828-1882) Pre-Raphaelite
Best known for: Being on the cover of every modern historical fiction novel
Example work:Proserpine

9. Arthur Hughes (1832-1915) Pre-Raphaelite
Best known for: His paintings of Ophelia
Example work:Ophelia and He Will Not Come Again

10. Edgar Degas (1834-1917) Impressionism
Best known for: Ballerinas and backstage passes
Example work:Das Ballett

11. Winslow Homer (1836-1910) Realism
Best known for: Calming the angry sea
Example work:Sunlight on the Coast

12. Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919) Impressionism
Best known for: Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes
Example work:The Swing

13. Emile Galle (1846-1904) Art Nouveau
Best known for: Putting flowers outside of vases
Example work:Assorted Vases

14. Georges Seurat (1859-1891) Neo-Impressionist Chromoluminarism
Best known for: Original pixel art
Example work:Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte

15. Alphonse Mucha (1860-1939) Art Nouveau
Best known for: Being in every calendar
Example work:The Seasons

16. Gustav Klimt (1862-1918) Symbolism / Art Nouveau
Best known for: Adding the Midas touch
Example work:Adele Bloch-Bauer's Portrait

17. Edvard Munch (1863-1944) Expressionism
Best known for: Inspiring a horror movie franchise
Example work:The Scream

18. Piet Mondrian (1872-1944) De Stijl / Neo-Plasticism
Best known for: Laying the foundations of 1960’s fashion
Example work:Composition II in Red, Blue, and Yellow

19. Charles Demuth (1883-1935) Precisionism
Best known for: Making Lancaster look trendy
Example work:The Figure 5 in Gold

20. Wassily Kandinsky (1886 – 1944) Abstract
Best known for: Being the father of musical abstraction
Example work:On White II

21. Georgia O’Keefe (1887-1986) American Modernist
Best known for: Using more flowers and skulls than a rockstar tattoo
Example work:Ram's Head White Hollyhock and Little Hills

22. Joan Miro (1893-1983) Surrealism
Best known for: Assassinating painting
Example work:La Leçon de Ski

23. Alexander Calder (1898-1976) Surrealism
Best known for: Mobiles for adults
Example work:Crinkly avec disc rouge

24. Louise Nevelson (1899-1988) Abstract Expressionist
Best known for: Monochrome fixed-installation garage sales
Example work:Untitled (1968)

25. Frida Kahlo (1907-1954) Surrealism
Best known for: Eyebrows that rival Dr. Wily’s
Example work:Self-Portrait with Necklace

26. Jackson Pollock (1912-1956) Abstract Expressionist
Best known for: Making splatter-paint a viable art form
Example work:No. 5, 1948

27. Jacob Lawrence (1917-2000) Dynamic Cubism
Best known for: Putting Harlem on canvas
Example work:Bar-b-que

28. Roy Lichtenstein (1923-1997) American Pop Art
Best known for: Making comic art mainstream
Example work:Whaam!

29. Claes Oldenburg (1929-Present) Pop Art
Best known for: Giant squishable food
Example work:Floor Cake

30. Christo (1935-Present) Nouveau Réalisme
Best known for: Wrapping obscenely large things in fabric
Example work:Wrapped Coast

31. Keith Haring (1958-1990) American Pop Art / Graffiti Art
Best known for: Rainbow-variety Mr. Game and Watch
Example work:Joy and Movements

“And why,” you might ask, “would I ever need to know such artistic trivia?” Well not only will it make you a more cultured and well-rounded intellectual, but you can further enjoy geekery such as this: Wolverine Fine Art Variant Covers.