Saturday, January 21, 2012

The Infinite Art Tournament, Round 1: Giovanni Bellini v. Bellmer

Giovanni Bellini
c.1434 - 1516
Venetian




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Hans Bellmer
1902 - 1975
Polish; worked in France



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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.

16 comments:

Christine M. said...

I saw a show of Hans Belmer and Louise Bourgeois at the Wexner Center in C-bus last year, and I had to go look at the gorgeous and soothing Pippilotti Rist show up the hall to recover. Disturbing and powerful, but sometimes art is like that, you know?

Morgan said...

I like the first Bellmer and dislike the second, while I'm ambivalent about Bellini. Abstain.

Chuckdaddy said...

Bellini

dhkendall said...

Like Morgan, my vote is based on the works shown - also like Morgan I like the first Bellmer and dislike the second (creepy as all get out!), but I'm comfortable enough with supporting Bellini to vote for him.

pfly said...

Another ridiculous pairing! Had to look up additional examples and info, after which, despite finding the dolls fun in a perverse way, I'm voting Bellini.

Elizabeth said...

Bellmer. I really like the first picture and when I looked for other examples, while some of it's seriously weird I actually like it, the line drawings mostly.

Jenners said...

Bellmer … even though that stuff is very very creepy and weird.

mrs.5000 said...

Hey, I already voted for Bellini!--but apparently Giovanni is considered the "greater" of the Great Bellini Brothers. And just look at the landscape in the first painting, the glass vase, and the way her drapery happens to continue the folds of the landscape--yum. Anyway, Beckmann decidedly>Bellmer and Giovanni probably even>Gentile, therefore my vote must be for Giovanni Bellini.

lamanyana said...

What Morgan and dhkendall said, but I think I reluctantly come down on the Bellmer side.

Nichim said...

Bellini. I really like that first one. Nice snood, and reflection to show the fancy pearls on the back of the snood. The lady's wearing nothing but a snood and a sheet, sitting by an open window. What is in that note she was reading? Also I like the hair and facial hair on the Jesus-y one.

Voron X said...

Like always, I Google image search their wider works, and look at their wiki pages.
Bellmer! No contest. Bellini is booooring to me. Yet another Rennaissance painter painting Jesus and the Virgin Mary over and over again. Snoozer!
Bellmer's work, OTOH looks like it may have inspired that of H.R. Giger both heavily emphasizing themes of explicit dark sexuality. I like the bio-mech aspects of the first. It's very graphic, yes, disturbing, definitely, but it is certainly neither boring nor easily forgettable.

(on a side note, where is the line between fine art and alternative art???)

Tauna X. said...

Definitely Bellmer.

Michael5000 said...

Christine M: Is there a vote in there?

Mr. X: "Where is the line between fine art and alternative art?" You're asking me? I dunno! Is there a line?

Regarding Bellmer: the first image looks a bit like a... well... a doodle. The reassembled bodies thing seems a bit more powerful to me, and I can salute the craftsmanship involved, but it's a bit gimmicky too, innit.

Whereas G. Bellini certainly knows his way around the human form, and face, and has the quirky background landscapes going for him too.

Bellini by a length.

Michael5000 said...

Here's a mail-in vote for Bellini.

Christine M. said...

yeah, Bellmer.

Michael5000 said...

Voting is closed in this pairing.