A little artistic education wouldn't hurt anyone right... get ready to be impressed (har har har), get into a surreal state (har har har), and admire the hairy expression (har har har) of these fine artists with beards. ANYway... Below is our ranking, based on clout as well as facial fuzz goodness... if you have something better (i.e. more accurate), please please let us know.
1. LEONARDO DA VINCI (1452-1519) – For better or for worse, Leonardo will be forever known as the author of the most famous painting of all time, the "Gioconda" or "Mona Lisa". But he is more, much more. His humanist, almost scientific gaze, entered the art of the quattrocento and revoluted it with his sfumetto that nobody was ever able to imitate.
B-a-B take: The Sang Real Beardo
2. TITIAN (c.1476-1576) – After the premature death of Giorgione, Titian became the leading figure of the Venetian painting of his time. His use of color and the taste for mythological themes defined the main features of the Venetian Art of the 16th century. His influence on later artists -Rubens, Velázquez- is extremely important.
B-a-B take: Venetian Beardo
3. CLAUDE MONET (1840-1926) – The importance of Monet in the history of art is sometimes "forgotten" by the fact that Art lovers tend to see only the overwhelming beauty that emanates from the canvas, ignoring the complex technique and composition of the work ( a "defect" somehow caused by Monet himself, when he declared "I do not understand why people want to understand my paintings, when it is enough to enjoy them). However, Monet's experiments, including studies on the changes caused by the daylight on an object at different hours of the day, and the almost abstract quality of their "water lilies" are clearly a prologue to the art of the twentieth century.
B-a-B take: Impressive Beardo
4. ÉDOUARD MANET (1832-1883) – Manet was the origin of Impressionism, a revolutionary in a time of great artistic revolutions. The "Olympia" or "Déjeuner sur l'Herbe" opened the way for the great figures of the Impressionism.
B-a-B take: Always confused with Monet Beardo
5. EL GRECO (1541-1614) – One of the most original and fascinating artists of his era, with a very personal technique that would be admired, three centuries later, by the impressionist painters
B-a-B take: Dark Pallet Beardo
6. VINCENT VAN GOGH (1853-1890) – Few names in the history of painting are now as famous as Van Gogh, despite the complete neglect he suffered in life. His works, strong and personal, are one of the greatest influences in the painting of the twentieth century, especially in the German Expressionism.
B-a-B take: Troubled Beardo
7. PAUL CÉZANNE (1839-1906) – "Cezanne is the father of us all." This lapidary phrase has been attributed to both Picasso and Matisse, and certainly it doesn't matter who actually said it, because in either case is true. While he exhibited with the Impressionist painters, Cézanne left behind the whole group to develop a style of painting never seen so far, which opened the door for the arrival of Cubism and the rest of the vanguards of the twentieth century.
B-a-B take: The Father of all other Artist Beardos
8. PIERRE-AUGUSTE RENOIR (1841-1919) – One of the key figures of the Impressionism, he soon left the movement to pursue a more personal, academic painting.
B-a-B take: Pretty Eyes Beardo
9. REMBRANDT VAN RIJN (1606-1669) – The fascinating use of the light and shadows of his works seem to reflect his own life, moving from fame into oblivion. Rembrandt is the great master of the Dutch painting, and along with Velázquez the main figure of the 17 th century Painting. He is, in addition, the great master of the self-portrait of all times, an artist that had never show mercy at the time of depicting himself.
B-a-B take: Needs More Facial Fuzz Beardo
10. ROBERT NORMAN ROSS (1942-1995) – An American painter, art instructor, and television host. With his calm, patient demeanor, Ross came to prominence as the creator and host of The Joy of Painting, a television program that ran for twelve years on PBS stations in the United States. He parlayed this success into a commercial "Bob Ross" brand: an industry of art books and supplies. He died of lymphoma in 1995 at the age of 52.
B-a-B take: Happy Trees Beardo (aka Gone Too Soon Afro)
Ok Ok OK! Fine! These artists should have been renamed to Painters... we get that art comes in many forms and is a very broad definition... apologies, didn't mean to leave anyone out, surely we'll subcategorize from now on.
Best,
Build-a-Beard