Thursday, July 25, 2013

The Infinite Art Tournament, Round Two: Fragonard v. Frankenthaler!

Jean-Honoré Fragonard
1732 - 1806
French

Beat American Sam Francis without too much trouble in Round 1.







Helen Frankenthaler
1928 - 2011
American

Defeated Lucian Freud easily in Round 1.







Vote for the artist of your choice in the comments, or any other way that works for you. Commentary and links to additional work are welcome. Polls open for at least one month past posting.

17 comments:

Christine M. said...

Fragonard

Morgan said...

Fragonard is just too great to not vote for.

Kelley I. said...

The second of the Frankenthaler photos stood out the most to me of all 6 posted.

Ben said...

I vote for Fragonard. I like to colors employed by Frankenthaler, but the level of abstraction is just not speaking to me today.

Elizabeth said...

Fragonard! Though that cat is suddenly freaking me out a bit.

Unknown said...

Frankenthaler wins, aesthetic and otherwise. How do you compare a woman who competed successfully in the male-dominated period of abstract expressionism with a guy who paints goofy yet shallow fantasies of chubby women with impossibly small feet?

pfly said...

Um, Fragonard? Yes.

Chuckdaddy said...

Frankenthaler

Alison said...

Frankenthaler!

mrs.5000 said...

Gotta go with Fragonard.

Michael5000 said...

Fragonard brings sex, luminosity, and witty manipulation of the vocabulary of Western Art to the table (from its context, I read that kittycat as a deliberate quotation of the momento mori skull) along with, of course, shallow fantasies and small feet.

Frankenthaler brings dynamic use of color and abstraction that still tricks me into thinking I'm looking at something representational, which is cool. Like Kelley I, I think I'd choose her middle one of these six for my living room wall.

But all the same, I think my vote goes to the fussy Frenchman.

Michael5000 said...

Kelley and Rob, I think you're both new to the show. Welcome! Stick around! Democratic art criticism can be a cruel mistress, but it's a friendly crowd and we have plenty of matches decided by a single vote.

Nichim said...

Frankenthaler. Although the other guy is okay too.

Candida said...

Fragonard remains one of my favorites. Sometimes somewhat silly? Yes. That's what I like about it. But also, that woman reading....

Maria Ontiveros said...

Frankenthaler in a runaway. Fragonard makes me yawn.
Rinda

Michael5000 said...

A postcard vote for Fragonard.

Michael5000 said...

Fragonard wins a hotly contested contest by a margin of 9-6. He'll keep moving forward in the right bracket; Frankenthaler will get another shot at glory in the left brackets.

Thanks for voting!