Portrait Artist Forum - View Single Post - What distinguishes the Great from the very technically accomplished?

Richard Monro · 05-20-2006, 05:08 PM

I think we should change the question slightly to, What makes the great painter Great?

Jeff, you hit on something very important to the discussion. Great painter's works appeal to a wide audience over many generations. So now we have two characteristics of great:

1 - Distinctive style
2 - Wide appeal over time

I'm wondering if we shouldn't add retina burn factor to the list as I can think of many artists who meet the above two criteria, but would not be considered great.

Marina, indeed the great artists can change styles and still be brilliant. The new style however still meets the distinctive style criteria.

So again the challenge thrown out to all is to define the qualities or characteristics that define what makes an artist great. We know great when we see it, but what is it?

05-20-2006, 05:08 PM	#4
Richard Monro Juried Member Joined: Dec 2004 Location: Scottsdale, AZ Posts: 388	Change of question. What makes the great painter Great? I think we should change the question slightly to, What makes the great painter Great? Jeff, you hit on something very important to the discussion. Great painter's works appeal to a wide audience over many generations. So now we have two characteristics of great: 1 - Distinctive style 2 - Wide appeal over time I'm wondering if we shouldn't add retina burn factor to the list as I can think of many artists who meet the above two criteria, but would not be considered great. Marina, indeed the great artists can change styles and still be brilliant. The new style however still meets the distinctive style criteria. So again the challenge thrown out to all is to define the qualities or characteristics that define what makes an artist great. We know great when we see it, but what is it?