Famous art critics throughout history

Hello, dear readers! Welcome to another edition of my blog, where I share my thoughts on all things art-related. Today, I want to talk about some of the most famous art critics throughout history, and how they influenced our perception of art. 

You might think that art critics are boring people who just write long essays full of jargon and obscure references, but you'd be wrong! Art critics are actually very interesting and sometimes hilarious characters who have shaped the way we look at art for centuries. Let me introduce you to some of them:

Pliny the Elder

1. Pliny the Elder: He was a Roman naturalist who wrote a book called Natural History, which covered everything from zoology to astrology to art. He was one of the first people to trace the origin of painting, and he also gave us some juicy gossip about ancient artists. For example, he claimed that Apelles, a famous painter of Alexander the Great, was so jealous of his rival Protogenes that he secretly visited his studio and left a single line on his unfinished canvas, which Protogenes could not surpass. Pliny also died in a very dramatic way: He was killed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius while trying to rescue his friends.

Xie He

2. Xie He: He was a Chinese artist and critic who lived in the 6th century. He developed a set of six principles to rank painters according to merit. These principles included things like "spirit resonance", "bone method", and "adherence to originals". Sounds pretty serious, right? Well, not really. Xie He was also known for being very sarcastic and witty in his criticism. For instance, he once said that one painter's work looked like "a pile of hemp soaked in ink", and another painter's work looked like "a monkey's scratching". Ouch!

Giorgio Vasari

3. Giorgio Vasari: He was an Italian painter and architect who wrote a book called Lives of the Most Eminent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects, which is considered the first history of art. He was also very biased and exaggerated in his accounts. He praised his friends and patrons (like Michelangelo) as geniuses who could do no wrong, while he criticized his enemies (like Leonardo da Vinci) as lazy and incompetent. He also made up some stories that were completely false or inaccurate. For example, he said that Giotto painted so realistically that birds tried to peck at his fruits; that Botticelli became a fanatic follower of Savonarola; and that Raphael died because he had too much sex.

Denis Diderot

4. Denis Diderot: He was a French philosopher and writer who co-founded the Encyclopédie, which was banned for questioning religion. He was also one of the first modern art critics who wrote reviews of contemporary exhibitions for newspapers. He had a very lively and expressive style of writing that captured his emotions and impressions as he viewed different artworks. Sometimes he would praise an artwork with enthusiasm; other times he would mock it with sarcasm or irony; or even insult it with vulgar language.

John Ruskin

5. John Ruskin: He was an English critic and social reformer who was influential in the Victorian era. He had very strong opinions about what constituted good art and a good society. He championed Romanticism over Classicism; Gothic over Renaissance; nature over industry; morality over materialism; etcetera etcetera etcetera...He also had some personal issues that affected his judgment: For example, he hated James Whistler so much that he sued him for libel after Whistler painted Nocturne in Black and Gold – The Falling Rocket (1875), which Ruskin called "a pot of paint flung in the public's face". Ruskin also had an unhappy marriage with Effie Gray, who left him for another painter (John Everett Millais) because Ruskin was allegedly disgusted by her body.

I hope you enjoyed this brief introduction to some of the most famous art critics throughout history. They were not only influential but also entertaining in their own ways. Stay tuned for more posts on this topic, and feel free to leave your comments below!