One Hundred Great Artists: Part Eight - Esther

I pick the list. You agree or disagree. It’s all fine.

71. Abigail Larson (USA, 1988-): Skelemoon, ?

One of the artists I first encountered online, Abigail Larson has one of the most distinctive hands in contemporary illustration. Her work follows a particular aesthetic, one that I appreciate deeply: bound up in Victoriana, dark themes & a limited palette. She does a mighty fine skull & her highly stylised linework is immaculate. Despite some of the shadowy subject matter, she always manages to achieve a lighter, romantic touch, as well as bringing out a modern sensibility & human element to her figures.

72. Georges de la Tour (France, 1593-1652): Joseph the Carpenter, 1642

I recall seeing Joseph the Carpenter in a falling-apart art book inherited from my grandfather. It was a fairly bad reproduction but that couldn’t mask de la Tour’s astonishing ability to depict realistic light. I found it thrilling that someone could portray the candlelight through the young Jesus’ hand so delicately & truthfully. Only later did I connect the symbolism in the picture. As with Wright of Derby later on, de la Tour remains one of the great masters of chiaroscuro.

73. Diego Rivera (Mexico, 1886-1957): Street in Ávila (Ávila Landscape), 1908

Rivera is remembered as an almost unparalleled muralist & to an extent for putting Mexico on the map of international art. His great murals combine political, industrial & social concerns & his simplified figures remind me of those of Stanley Spencer. Unlike Spencer however, Rivera openly & refreshingly eschewed religious subjects. In this beautiful street painting, we feel the heat of the Mexico in the colour & warm tones.

74. Brad Kunkle (USA, 1978-): The Gilded Wilderness, 2012

Again, I first saw the work of Brad Kunkle online. In the spirit of Klimt he has developed a highly individual style, using hyper real portraiture, embellished with silver & gold leaf. Many of his works feel as if they have the weight of art history behind them as he uses allegory & magic realism as underlying influences but the figures have a contemporary, dreamlike feeling. Like many old masters’ images before his, The Gilded Wilderness even contains a brilliant self-portrait on the far right of the painting. 

75. James Guthrie (Scotland, 1859-1930): Lady E. M. Gardiner, 1914

Contrary to the en plein air works he is best known for, Guthrie nevertheless was a successful society painter, taking commissions from a wide range of celebrities of the day. This is a lively portrait of its time, the sitter depicted as a rascally woman with a twinkle in her eye & a vaguely amused gaze towards us. Despite the hint of informality, it is an accomplished work with other common affectations of portrait painting – the cloth behind, the fashionable if formal clothing for a woman of her age & what we can assume was a good likeness.

76. Alberto Giacometti (Switzerland, 1901-1966): Bust of Annette, 1954

Giacometti made many busts of his wife Annette & as the sculptures were heavily worked, so is this deeply layered painting. It has been hinted – not least by himself – that her features would get lost in the overworking, but if you look at enough of the busts (& this painting) in quick succession, it’s not hard to form an image of her. His style here is to give the impression of a quick, even gestural appearance of the model, whereas in fact many sittings were required to build up the final work.

77. Graham Sutherland (England, 1903-1980): Pastoral, 1930

Another celebrated (& sometime controversial) portraitist, Graham Sutherland was also known as a war artist & working in a wide range of media. Many of his landscape, wartime & industrial works achieve almost surrealist levels of abstraction. At first glance, this wonderful etching shows a scene of rural idyll but on closer inspection, the dramatic shadows seem perhaps darker than necessary & create a claustrophobic atmosphere. The trees appear twisted & malformed, suggesting decay & impending doom. 

78. Frans Hals (Netherlands, c.1582-1666): Young Man Holding a Skull, c. 1626

As Dutch Golden Age paintings go, those of Frans Hals are perhaps some of the more relatable to the modern eye. He was extremely accomplished in the art of the group portrait, with rich patrons commissioning large canvasses stuffed with the great & the good of the day. Today he is just as well known for his portraits of cheerful ordinary people with their weird, discoloured teeth, unguarded expressions & good-time vibe. His loose painting style was a key influence amongst Impressionists & post-Impressionists such as van Gogh & gave a lively, present feel to the likenesses. In many ways & especially in terms of style, he predated photography with these paintings, mimicking movement & gesture with animated brushstrokes & creating snapshots of times, places & people.

79. Edward Hopper (USA, 1882-1967): Soir Bleu, 1914

In modern times, we also relate to the images of Edward Hopper but in a different way. Whereas Hals was reflecting life, Hopper depicted the isolation & existential human, often alone or detached from others. His paintings are the embodiment of one’s internal life; the idea that no-one can connect with what goes on in our heads is poured onto canvas. He is painting a concept. As with his more well-known city paintings, Soir Bleu highlights people’s disassociation with each other. Although it is clearly a group portrait, nevertheless no-one is relating to any other. That clown has to be one of my favourite figures in art… 

80. Frank Quitely (Scotland, 1968-): Batman, 2019

Frank Quitely readily admits that Dudley D. Watkins was an enormous influence on his cartooning style & asserts it is likely every cartooning artist in Scotland would say the same. Watkins (who was apparently listed by the Nazis as an enemy, hooray!) created comic strips in Scotland such as The Broons & Oor Wullie, but further afield in The Beano & The Dandy. This is significant for this particular work – Frank stresses that his superheroes somehow acquire the same jaw Watkins gave Desperate Dan. When you see it, it can’t be unseen. Batman here or Superman elsewhere, Frank develops the characters not only into more human individuals but into older men, rather battered by life & a little flabbier here & there. But no matter what, there’s always that amazing square jawline. Aside from his exquisite draughtsmanship, it’s one of my favourite things about Frank: that he knows his history, gives it a significant nod then subverts the whole thing, like the maxim about learning the rules in order to break them.