Saturday, December 30, 2017

The Infinite Art Tournament, Round 3 Semi-Tiebreak: Metsu v. Zorn!



As the tournament enters its later stages, if it appears that there will be an unresolved tie in a particular round, the final match of that round will not be held, but will be treated as if it were a tie, and its artists played against the artists from the unresolved tie...
And oh my, it's actually happening!  It seems like years since I formulated that rule, mostly because I did it in 2012.  And now, older and wiser, we stand at the brink of what would have been the last Third Round match -- Zorn v. Valázquez -- if it weren't for the Metsu v. Michelangelo match that has been, perhaps counterintuitively, snarled up in a tie since September 2015.

You've read the rule, you know the situation, so let's get cracking!  Today we're kicking off the Metsu/Zorn contest; next Tuesday we'll move on to Michelangelo v. Valázquez.  There is never a dull moment in the Infinite Art Tournament.  Never.



Gabriel Metsu
1629 - 1667
Dutch

Defeated Mario Merz in Round 1.
Defeated Play-In Tournament artist Jean Baptiste Oudry in Round 2.
Tied with Michaelangelo(!) in his first try at Round 3.








Anders Zorn
1860 - 1920
Swedish

Defeated Johann Zoffany in Round 1.
Outpolled Victor Vasarely in Round 2.







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.

Thursday, December 28, 2017

The Infinite Art Tournament, Left Bracket Second Round: Wright v. Witz!

Joseph Wright of Derby
1734 - 1797
British

Tied for Fifth in Phase 1, Flight 5 of the Play-In Tournament, with a voting score of .385.
Won back his spot in the Main Tournament Brackets in the second "Fight for Their Right" Contest.
Lost to Grant Wood in Round 1.
Gave Jack Butler Yeats a right drubbing in First Round Elimination.






Konrad Witz
1410ish - 1446
German

Defeated Richard Wilson in Round 1.
Lost to Frederic Lord Leighton in Round 2 by a single vote. YOUR VOTE COUNTS!!!






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, but likely much longer.

Tuesday, December 26, 2017

The Infinite Art Tournament, Left Bracket Second Round: Wilson v. Wood!

The contest from earlier in the day was a horrible distortion of the Tournament brackets, and was doubtless posted by anti-Tournament saboteurs. The IAT staff has worked tirelessly throughout the day in sub-freezing conditions to bring you this, the correct contest for December 26, 2017.

Richard Wilson
1713 - 1782
British

Lost to Konrad Witz in Round 1 by a single vote. YOUR VOTE COUNTS!!!
Beat Antoni Tàpies easily in First Round Elimination.






Grant Wood
1892 - 1942
American

Beat Wright of Derby in Round 1
Crushed by Andrew Wyeth in Round 2.






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, but likely much longer.

Saturday, December 23, 2017

The Infinite Art Tournament, Third Round: Leighton v. Wyeth!

Frederic Leighton
1830 - 1896
British

Tied with Fernand Léger in his first try at Round One.
Tied with Paula Modersohn-Becker in his second try at Round One.
Tied with Adriaen van Ostade in his third try at the First Round.
Beat Spain's Antoni Tàpies in a fourth try at Round 1.
Held off fifteenth century German Konrad Witz in Round 2 by a single vote. YOUR VOTE COUNTS!!!








Andrew Wyeth
1917 - 2009
American

Defeated Jack Butler Yeats in Round 1.
Crushed fellow American Grant Wood in Round 2.







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.

Thursday, December 21, 2017

The Infinite Art Tournament Left Bracket Second-Round Elimination: Stella v. Stubbs!

Frank Stella
born 1936
American

Lost to Dutch master Jan Steen in Round 1 by a two-vote swing. YOUR VOTE COUNTS!!!
Skunked -- Skunked! -- Canadian painter Jean-Paul Riopelle in First Round Elimination.
Snuck by Clyfford Still in the Second Round by a two-vote swing. YOUR VOTE COUNTS!!!






George Stubbs
1724 - 1806
British

Made short work of by Graham Sutherland in Round 1.
Beat Gilbert Stuart in First Round Elimination by a two-vote swing. YOUR VOTE COUNTS!!!
Walloped Adriaen van Ostade in Round 2.






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, but likely much longer.

Tuesday, December 19, 2017

The Infinite Art Tournament, First Elimination Round TIEBREAK!



Faceoff #1: Thiebaud v. Tatlin

Wayne Thiebaud
Born 1920
American

Lost to Hendrick Terbrugghen in Round 1 by a two-vote swing. YOUR VOTE COUNTS!!!
Tied with Tiepolo in First Round Elimination.




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Vladimir Tatlin
1885 - 1953
Russian

Tied with Antoni Tàpies in his first shot at Round One.
Lost to Victor Vasarely in Round 1.
Tied with Johann Zoffany in First Round Elimination.







Faceoff #2: Tiepolo v. Zoffany

Giovanni Battista Tiepolo
1696 - 1770
Venetian

Deafeated by Jean Tinguely in Round 1.
Tied with Wayne Thiebaud in First Round Elimination.






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Johann Zoffany
1733 - 1810
German; worked in Britain and India

Lost to Anders Zorn in Round 1.
Tied with Vladimir Tatlin in First Round Elimination.






Vote for the two artists of your choice! Votes generally go in the comments, but have been known to arrive by email, by postcard, or in a sealed envelope.

Please note that you may vote only once in each face-off.  Opining that both of the artists in one of the two face-offs is superior to the other is fine, but casting your votes for two artists in the same face-off is not permissible.

Saturday, December 16, 2017

The Infinite Art Tournament Left Bracket Third-Round Elimination: Sisley v. van Ruisdael!

Jacob van Ruisdael lost his first Tournament contest to Rachel Ruysch, but he didn't throw down his paintbrushes; he's won four in a row to make it to Third Round Elimination. He'll face a challenge here against Alfred Sisley, however, who has struggled through to a 4-1-1 record of his own, with his most recent win coming against -- wait for it! -- Rachel Ruysch. Does that mean Sisley will win? OF COURSE IT DOESN'T!!! We have to find out! That's why we vote!

Leaving us this week with excellent 2-2 records are Ruysch (19 vf, 23 va, .452) and Dante Gabriel Rossetti (24-21, .533).



Alfred Sisley
1839 - 1899
French






Jacob van Ruisdael
1628 - 1682
Dutch





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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.