Let's talk about these famous paintings!

Favourite painting from the first post:

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dig - Retired Chief of Staff
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Hiya. You probably know these paintings due to their fame and are also widely celebrated within the art community.

The Birth of Venus
The Scream
Last Supper
The Starry Night
Mona Lisa
American Gothic
The Persistence of Memory
The Whistler's Mother
A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte
The Old Guitarist


What do we think of them? Are they actually good, is their acclaim justified?

I think that they're all great for wildly various reasons - each exhibit unique styles in art, like surrealism or celebration of Christianity. My least favourite of the bunch is probably The Whistler's Mother, but that's because the subject matter is a little too plain - the actual artwork is a fantastic display of realism and skill.
 
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I'm glad you gave the option of multiple choice - I picked both 'The Scream' and 'The Persistence of Memory'. Dali is one of my favourite artists of all time. I just love art that challenges the perceptions.

I kinda hate 'American Gothic'. Those people look miserable as sin, probably because they aren't "sinning" enough, if you catch my drift. But still, provocative of a strong reaction means it is more worthy of discussion than something boring.

Quick question, why these paintings? Two by Da Vinci and none by Picasso?
 
PickleMendip said:
Quick question, why these paintings? Two by Da Vinci and none by Picasso?
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Literally the ones that I felt anyone would know. Picasso, everyone knows his style but not everyone could tell you anything about Les Demoiselles d Avignon. However, I think loads of people would be familiar with The Old Guitarist, which I really love.

If anyone has a hugely famous painting that should be added to the poll, tell me and I'll consider it.
 
The Starry Night is my favourite... that's because my art taste is for scenery and landscapes and I do like the colours in The Starry Night.
 
I went for the The Starry Night as well. The others don't do anything for me but at least that has some mood to it. I think most of those artworks are very overrated in general though. I do like certain types of art but not really the traditionally famouse stuff.
 
The Birth of Venus. I love how it looks and the mythology behind it. In high school I took Latin and mythology so Ive always just been more interested in its art them some of the others on the list. Starry Night would be my second pick from the list. Probably the only one I don't like is The Scream.
 
The Starry Night is just beautiful. However, I love The Birth of Venus, too, because I'm a huge mythology fan in general.
 
"The Old Guitarrist" is a good one. The melancholy color scheme and the forlorn look on the man's face really convey a strong sense of sadness, and the age of the man also signals the end of life and brings with it the implication that everything will eventually end.

By contrast, the guitar represents music, which is eternal. However, due to the rest of the painting, the viewer will probably assume the song the man is playing to be a sad one, which combined with the longevity of music implies eternal sadness.
 
I think 'Guernica' would be the most famous by Picasso, but 'Guitarist' is something to which more people can easily relate.
 
Out of the options, Starry Night has my vote. Although the blue colors can be taken as gloomy, the landscape and the night sky view calm me down. As for others, I respect their values for they are all iconic paintings by famous painters as well, but it's different from liking.

Cheerful bright colored paintings are also lovely, like some works by Alphonse Mucha - I once visited an exhibition for a college report and I remember enjoying it more than I expected (consider that I am not much of an arts person xD).

Some of the Modern art are also interesting and iconic and could help an option in the poll, like Andy Warhol's pop art. :eek:
 
I love Dali, and surrealism in general. Gotta go with the Persistence of Memory. Of course, Van Gogh is a definite close second. The man had a sublime mastery of color.
 
I've had the honor of seeing the original canvas of The Persistence of Memory in person, because the Dali Museum is in St. Petersburg (Florida, not Russia). Although I reject the notion of "realism" (I accept it as an attempt to recreate an unembellished representation of the real world, but you can't tell that automatically from looking at a "realist" painting, so I don't consider it a "genre"), I have to say that usually I'm drawn to paintings that are "realistic", just because I love the sense of depth that I don't get from surrealist or abstract art. Usually, what sets a painting apart the most, however, is the color palette. For these two reasons, although I don't pretend to be an art connoisseur or whatever, I have to say that I adore Monet. His settings seem so peaceful and comfy. I get the same quality out of Norman Rockwell, too, so put him up there.

I also remember reading a magazine in my dentist's waiting room one day and seeing some pieces from a local (Tampa Bay area) artist whose name has escaped me ever since, but I fell in love with the warm and sunny way he depicts our little corner of the world and I've been obsessed with trying to find him again ever since. Help!
 
I like The Scream because of its abstract, unnerving, disturbing and unsettling theme which is still awesome to look at!
 
The Starry Night, because I like Van Gogh. Though my favourite painting of his is the Irises (my fave flower).
 
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