Saturday, October 22, 2011

The Infinite Art Tournament, Round 1: Andrea del Sarto v. Fra Angelico

Andrea del Sarto
1486-1530
Italian



-----

Fra Angelico
c.1387 - 1455
Italian



----

Vote for the artist of your choice!  Votes go in the comments.  Commentary and links to additional work are welcome.  Polls open for one month past posting.

13 comments:

Christine M. said...

Make it hard, why dontcha?

Love them both, but I've seen del Sartos in person and felt like I could just sink into those colors.

Andrea del Sarto by a hair.

Elizabeth said...

I like the first del Sarto where the guy's telling his friends about his weird dream: "So, I was a woman all of a sudden, and there were these creepy little naked guys with wings running around trying to get under my skirt ..." but the second one is too preachy, if well-executed.

I'm going to have to go with the Fra Angelico, because of its smooth hazelnut flavor and hints of cocoa and vanilla ... oh wait, that's the liqueur. Well, I still like the architectural annunciations and the tie-dyed angel wings, so Fra Angelico it is.

Elaine said...

Simplicity trumps froufrou.

Fra Angelico

Morgan said...

Angelico gets my vote, because the cracked paint looks cool and the angel's wings are awesome. Also del Sarto's art is kinda boring.

dhkendall said...

Sarto, for similar reasons of Gringissima (although it's not as close)

DrSchnell said...

Cherubs annoy me. And what's with the angels with the dry heaves? I vote for neither, or for that gal with the iron spike in the last installment that I just read, even though that's not really the way the rules work.

Candida said...

Fra Angelico ftw. Did you notice the angel/saint who's bleeding from having been scalped? And the little flame coming up from the archangel's forehead? In addition, at least according to wikipedia, "In The Annunciation, the interior reproduces that of the cell in which it is located." That's pretty excellent. Plus, a little google work reveals more loveliness.

Nichim said...

Fra Angelico for the awesome wings.

lamanyana said...

Definitely Fra Angelico, for all the things mentioned above: the color palette, the wings, the architecture, the lack of froufrou, etc.

karmaSartre said...

del Sarto 'cause they're better paintings.

mrs.5000 said...

Hey, where's my vote? I said Fra Angelico, natch, and not just because I have a thing for annunciations. OK, mostly for that. Love the spare, gestural quality, the way the figures inhabit the spaces. The fresco v. oil painting matchup really does show off what you can do with oils, at least if you're Andrea del Sarto, just a century or so down the road.

Michael5000 said...

Brutal first-round match-up, but I can't go against da Fra.

Voron X said...

Hmm... I thought I voted, but apparently not. I'm going to go with Andrea del Sarto, because of the pathos of his subjects and skill of execution, but its close.