Thursday, August 8, 2013

The Infinite Art Tournament, Round Two: Gainsborough v. Gauguin!

Thomas Gainsborough
1727 - 1788
English

Beat Renaissance Florentine Taddeo Gaddi in an amazing come-from-behind victory in Round 1. YOUR VOTE COUNTS!!!







Paul Gauguin
1848 - 1903
French; worked in France and Tahiti

Took care of business versus Henri Gaudier-Brzeska 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.

23 comments:

Elizabeth said...

At first I was going to vote for Gauguin, but then I kept looking back at the Gainsborough works, and so I think I'm going to vote for Gainsborough. Maybe I'd better look up some more representatives pieces from both first - hang on a minute ...

Nope, still Gainsborough.

Christine M. said...

Gauguin

Chuckdaddy said...

Gauguin will be a tough call for me in certain matchups. I'm surprised by how little I like some of his paintings and how blah I find others. What's interesting (at least to me) is it doesn't even seem to be a period of his I'm into. Many of the Tahiti paintings I don't like, but then Midday Nap ranks pretty up there for me. And some of his symbolist (or is Synthetist or is it Cloissonism...) paintings don't do it for me, but Yellow Christ does.

So yeah, do I go for the technically superior and consistent Gainsborough or the occasionally home run hitting Gauguin? I'll take Hack Wilson this round, but I'm not sure how far Gauguin will go for me.

pfly said...

I'm not a huge Gauguin fan, but enough to vote Gauguin this time.

Chance said...

Chuckdaddy said it all. "So yeah, do I go for the technically superior and consistent Gainsborough or the occasionally home run hitting Gauguin?" is a perfect assessment of both painters. Still... I am going to vote Gainsborough for the Blue Boy alone. Once I owned a three-foot-tall ceramic Blue Boy. But I swapped it to the dean of Wacky Portland College for my diploma, as part of a time-honored graduation ritual.

Michael5000 said...

Chuck, you're going to have to clarify "Hack Wilson" for me; I'm not sure whom you're voting for.

Chance, I didn't know you went to Wacky Portland. How's the football team looking this year?

Candida said...

Gainsborough isn't my favorite ever, but I like him better than Gauguin, who usually leaves me cold.

Ben said...

Although I like the use of color and light in the first two Gauguins, the third one really does nothing for me. And the more I look at it, the perspective in the first one (especially the arm of the figure on the left) kind of bothers me. So, with a nod to Chuckdaddy, I, too, am going to go for the "technically superior and consistent" Thomas Gainsborough.

Chance said...

They don't have a football team.

Michael5000 said...

That's why I asked!

Michael5000 said...

Nevertheless, a WPU alumnus friend and I will on occasion amuse ourselves by making up cheers for the (non-existent) team. GO BIG MAROON!

Chance said...

Who are you calling a maroon? We're not maroons! Some of us are highly qualified baristas.

Anonymous said...

gauguin. his colors are so-o beautiful, sue

Chance said...

I wish I still had that ceramic Blue Boy.

mrs.5000 said...

Gaugin is not someone I'd invite over for dinner, but I really love his yummy blocks of color. Unlike Ben, my favorite here is the bottom picture, because of the landscape, and because I'm just less squeamish about his cultural voyeurism in Brittany than in Tahiti. He definitely gets my vote over Gainsborough.

Maria Ontiveros said...

Gaugin - lively colors; Gainsborough is just too stuffy.
Ridna

Morgan said...

Gainsborough, and Alison votes for the same

Michael5000 said...

Call me old-fashioned, but I'm going to keep rolling with Gainsborough. Having seen some Gaugin in person, I no longer think of him as "bad." But I haven't been convinced he's up to Gainsborough's snuff, either.

lamanyana said...

Gauguin

Michael5000 said...

Here's a postcard vote for Gauguin.

Wildrover said...

Gainsborough for me - he's a bit of a one trick pony but he's good at his one trick. Gauguin has never excited me.

Chuckdaddy said...

Wow this one is close, so I should probably clarify my vote. I'm not sure why giving obscure baseball references and saying "how little I like" when I meant "how much I like" would throw you off (or the 2 other voters who used me as a reference to vote differently than me). But yeah. Hack Wilson was a baseball player who had a couple of the greatest baseball seasons ever, with records not broken until the steroid era, but also some very bad seasons. And that's who gets my vote, Guaguin that is.

Michael5000 said...

And it's a TIE, ladies and gentlemen, a TIE, as Gauguin and Gainsborough pile up votes -- eight apiece -- but are never quite able to shake off the other guy!

There's an earlier Round 2 tie sitting around waiting for resolution, so we will move immediately into tiebreak action on Tuesday. Maybe they'll both play through! Maybe... not!

Thanks as always for your superb voting.