Globalisation, caused by the development of the World Wide Web has changed the way we operate in society. Some good, some bad… No longer do we have to face the tiresome task of queing at supermarkets for our weekly groceries. A mere click of the button and our bread and milk is on our doorstep (within 48hrs of course) The changes we face as a society is also reflected in the art world. WWW. has created a forum for artists to share their work, skills and expertiese, well their paintings or canvas art and create online businesses that can be availble on the open market to millions of potential cyber space boffs.

With this in mind, Michelle Gibbs continues her ‘Top Ten’ trial… this time in finding the worlds most famous artists, and she soon discovers that this task is not as easy as it sounds, when trying to browse the internet.

A search like this is problematic for many reasons; one being it can simply come down to ones personal preference, whilst I may rank Pablo Picasso as my number 1, others might despise his work and rank him at Number 10, if not at all… With this in mind My Top Ten is a culmination of personal preference, historical research and of course the World Wide Web.

1: Pablo Picasso; Recognised as one of the most poignant artists of the 20th century, Pablo Picasso is most famous for his wide variety of styles emodied in his work. He is also one of the most recognisable figures in co-founding the cubist movement.

Stats: He was born on October 25 1881 in Malaga, Spain and died in 1973.

Most famous for: ‘The Blue Period’ (1901 – 1904) The Rose Period (1905 – 1907) and the African Influenced Period (1908 -1909) The Analytic Cubism (1909 – 1912) and the Synthetic Cubism period (1912 -1919)

2: Vincent Van Gogh; Van Gogh has been a huge inspiration to my work on many levels… Notedly the admiration I have for his creative use of colour as a form of expression has impacted my own personal style hence the reason why I have nominated him as my Number 2.

Vincent Willem Van Gogh was a Dutch post-impressionist artist whose paintings and drawings include some of the world’s most expensive pieces (See article Top Ten Most Expensive Paintings)

Vincent was highly emotional and lacked in self-confidence having gone through two painful relationships. This experience is evident in many of his masterpieces.

Stats: He was born in 1853 and died in 1890

Most famous for: Cutting his left ear lobe off during some sort of seizure on 24th December 1888.

3: Leonardo Da Vinci comes in at Number 3.

I find his life fascinating, here was a man who wanted to know everything. Not content with just painting, Da Vinci tried his hand at several things, including science, architecture, mathematics and engineering.

Leonardo is widely renowned for being the archetype of the Renaissance Man.

Stats: He was born on April 15th, 1452 and died May 2nd 1519.

Most Famous for: Mona Lisa and The Last Supper painting

4: This spot goes to Claude Oscar Monet, a French impressionist painter who was born in Paris. His use of light in his paintings is what he is most famous for, and the term ‘Impressionism’ comes directly from the title of his painting Impression, Sunrise.

Stats: He was born on November 14th 1840 and died on December 5th in 1926

Most Famous For: Impressionist masterpieces such as The Water lily Pond

5: Salvador Dali secures this middle post at Number 5.

Renowned for his flamboyant personality which never escaped his paintings, Salvador Dali is highly recognised as being the greatest surrealist of all time. I visited his gallery in Barcelona during the summer of 2007 and was astounded by the theatrical nature of this museum. No detail left astray his work hugely impacted me on both a personal and professional level and I would recommend a visit to anyone interested in surrealism.

Stats: He was born on May 11th 1904 and died on January 23rd 1989

Most famous for: The Persistence Of Memory painting

6: At number 6 Henri Matisse raises the post towards the midway scorer. He was the most important French painter of the 20th century. Some even say he rivalled the work of Picasso.

Again, Matisse was another painter who tried his work at other things including becoming a draughtsman, printmaker and scultor. However he is renowned principally for this and is regarded as one of the best known artists of the 20th century.

Stats: He was born on December 31st 1869 and died on 3rd November 1954.

Most Famous For: Odalisque with Raised Arms painting

7: Andy Warhol.

Born in Pennsylvania, USA Andrew Warhol is most commonly known for his Pop Art masterpieces. The famous Campbells soup cans depict how he succeeded in transforming basic images into iconic art. Also an experimentor in media such as film, sculpture, paint and silkscreen his talents were not confined to just pop art. In fact he is best known for his invention of himself as an international celebrity and pop culture icon.

Stats: He was born on August 6th, 1928 and died January 23rd, 1989

Most famous for: Campbell’s soup adverts and some media commericals including work with Walt Disney.

8: At number 8 spot is Edgar Degas. Sitting comfortably at Number 8 this French impressionist painter and sculptor is widely regarded as one of the founders of impressionism, although Degas rejected this term describing it instead as Realism.

Like many of the other artists of him time, Edgar tried several things including drawing, sculpting and printmaking. He was also a superb draughtman. He spent a huge amount of time working with dancers and liked to depict the art of movement.

Stats: He was born on 19th July 1834 and died on 27th September 1917.

Most Famous for: His paintings of dancers, nudists and motion.

9: Georgia O’Keeffe narrowly scrapes the bottom spot with this Number 9 position. An American artist, she has been a major figure in American art since the 1920’s.

Renowned wholly for her representation of flowers, rocks, shells, animal bones and landscapes. Her use of varying colours and tones transforms her subject matter into powerful abstract images.

Stats: Born on November 15th, 1887 she died on March 6th, 1986

Most Famous For: Oversized floral paintings

…and finally at Number 10 is Jackson Pollock

This American abstract painter made his mark during the 20th century and is notedly known as being a major force in the Expressionist Movement. He was married to abstract painter Lee Krasner.

His unusual techniques brought him world-wide acclaim; Pollock used to spread his canvases on the floor, dribble paint, sand and broken glass on them, smear and scratch and would often name them with numbers.

Stats: He was born on January 28th, 1912 and died on August 11th, 1956

Most Famous For: In 2006 Pollock’s his 4’8 painting sold to media mogul David Geffen for a reported $140 Million making this the most expensive painting ever sold… However the painting was sold off the record meaning it cant officially go down as the most expensive painting.

So here you have it, this is my Top Ten of Worlds most famous artists… What’s yours?

 Images have been obtained from: http://en.wikipedia.org
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