The GOAT

(All this talk about who is the greatest of all time- Federer or Nadal, led me to do some research!)

The contenders:

Leonardo Da Vinci

Ranked top painter for the maximum number of weeks. Used to paint with the back of a single hand, also known as single handed backhand. Was excellent at his peak (see for eg Mona Lisa). However, painted in a weak era. Only significant competition was Raphael and Michael Angelo. Doubtful how we would have adapted to a stronger era.

Raphael

Left- handed Italian painter. Used to paint a lot with a top spinning leftie forehand action. Very good on canvas, but not as proficient on the other surfaces. Holds the record for maximum number of great paintings on canvas and was unbeaten on this surface for many years. However, he was poor when painting indoors particularly when sitting on an indoors carpet or even an indoor hard surface. Also, did not do great work in the last 6 months of the year and sometimes took a long time between brush strokes. When attacked, was adequately defensive in style. Mentally very strong under pressure from his contemporaries.

Michelangelo

Very good painter on all surfaces without being the best on any. Once went on an unbeaten painting spree of 43 paintings at the beginning of a year. Matched up well against Raphael because he used to paint with the back of two hands. Left a lot of work incomplete possibly because of medical time outs. Returned to work pretty quickly after each of his breaks and hence called the best returner of his era. Very good at caricaturing fellow painters, earning the nickname “The Joker”. Or something like that.

Edward Munch

Technically very good, but mentally weak, as evidenced by his state of mind on paintings like “The Scream”. Disqualifies him as the greatest.

Vincent Van Gogh

Strong contender for greatest of all time. However, had a bad head-to-head with Paul Gauguin, a contemporary painter and fellow contender for greatest of all time. When they painted together, Van Gogh went nuts and cut off his ear. How can he be considered the greatest of all time if he is not the greatest even in his own era?

( Read this book for more details. “The Yellow House: Van Gogh, Gauguin, and Nine Turbulent Weeks in Arles”. Short excerpt: “… Paul Gauguin and Vincent Van Gogh ate, drank, talked, argued, slept and painted in one of the most intense and astonishing creative outpourings in history. Yet as the weeks passed Van Gogh buckled under the strain, fought with his companion and committed an act of violence on himself that prompted Gauguin to flee without saying goodbye to his friend…")

Paul Gauguin

Holds the record for the maximum number of great paintings. In addition, he holds the record for painting for the most weeks in a row. Very graceful and elegant painter. Has all the strokes. Also an aggressive painter. Strong contender for greatest of all time, but had a bad head to head with contemporary Vincent Van Gogh. As mentioned in the book above, lost his mind when painting with Van Gogh and fled. But had all the shots and could paint on all surfaces. But then again, how can he be considered the greatest of all time if he is not the greatest even in his own era? (Note that both Van Gogh and Gauguin had atrocious head to heads against each other, a rarity).

Rembrandt

Very good painting style. But painted only religious figures for the most. Thus, considered limited in style, although he was good at this and unbeaten at this for several years. But critics are unsure how he would have coped when the equipment changed. The painting brushes and surfaces have evolved over the years. Painting has become slower over the years, but he was a fast surface painter, leading many to think that he would have struggled in the modern era. Also, had a high ego, as shown by a self-portrait.

So who is the greatest?

THE Greatest Of All Time

Since none of the above can be the greatest, the greatest of all time is not a human being, but an animal of the species capra hircus. Also known as GOAT after having been conferred the title of GREATEST OF ALL TIME.

For reasons mentioned below, the GOAT is the GOAT.

(a) Very athletic and quick
(b) Good stamina
(c) Aggressive style, particularly when cornered. Can also defend well.
(d) Mentally very strong
(e) Very consistent
(f) Elegant and graceful in movement
(g) Has performed well across eras
(h) Comfortable on all surfaces, including grass, clay and outdoor hard courts. Moves equally well and quickly on these, adapting to each surface easily. Very good on carpet and pretty adequate indoors, though the GOAT does get upset if left indoors for very long.
(i) Good head to head against nearest rival the cow.

Of course, the GOAT can’t paint, but you will agree that actually being good at being painting is but a peripheral factor in determining the greatest painter of all time …

What about Monet - glaring omission from the GOAT list. Admitedly, although he looked great from a distance, when studied in detail there were flaws in his technique.

Rembrandt was the great technician, but was overpowered by the more modern guys, and would have faired less well in the era of the impressionists.

Great article - proving you certainly can't kid a GOAT.

:run1:

Salavador Dali?

The persistence of time? Awesome, and actually wonderful to look at, without being pretentious.

Awesome article by the way,

very aptly creative.

Thank you, JHM and emancipator! Glad you guys liked it! :P

I am pleased with your choice for Michaelangelo, mainly as he painted heavenly, biblical themes....His work is eternal and for all times.
And like any true Christian, was not appreciated by the masses who preferred the more earthly themes such as a woman's smile
which explains why he is so popular in Paris....

Surprised, no room for Titian, the master of colour and passion....

noleisthebest wrote:I am pleased with your choice for Michaelangelo, mainly as he painted heavenly, biblical themes....His work is eternal and for all times.
And like any true Christian, was not appreciated by the masses who preferred the more earthly themes such as a woman's smile
which explains why he is so popular in Paris....

Interesting point NITB. I also prefer MIchelangelo to Leonard's art but they are complementary!

Forget these artists - personally my vote is for llamas. If Djokovic is a goat (after all he was eating the grass ) then Del Potro is a llama - bigger, more powerful and all the way from South America.

I had a Tibetan llama. It was very slow. I kept saying "Don't dally llama".

Ronnie Wood is a decent artist

So was Grandma Moses but I don't see her name mentioned here

Julius
That one's being reported to the Mods on the grounds of taste

Sorry d_h, it really was a load of Jackson Pollocks.