| Abstract: |
Pablo Picasso was by far the greatest artist of the 20th century: textbooks of
art history contain more than twice as many illustrations of his work as of
that of his closest rival, Henri Matisse. A survey of textbooks also
identifies Jackson Pollock as the greatest American artist, by a narrow margin
over Andy Warhol. The 15 greatest artists of the century include nine
conceptual innovators, who made their greatest contributions early in their
lives, in their 20s and 30s, and six experimental innovators, who generally
did their greatest work in their 40s and 50s - and even, in the case of
Mondrian, in his 70s. Contrary to the belief of many humanists, the textbooks
show that in art, as in all intellectual activities, importance is determined
by innovation. |