Ever since I was a teenager Amedeo Modigliani has been my favorite artist. His story is romantic and tragic and he died much too young. This is my favorite portrait of his:

He was the youngest child of Jewish parents from Italy. When he moved to Florence he studied in the Free School of the Nude. In Venice he also studied at an academy for the nude and started in a lifelong adventure with drugs and alcohol. But he really came into his own when he moved to Paris. Unfortunately he did not have much success until shortly before his untimely death at age 35. In the mean time he had experience as a sculptor under the tutelage of Brancusi and was strongly influenced by African masks. A few years in Montemarte left him longing for Paris and while there avoided the lure of the Mediterranean landscape and concentrated on portraits which eventually brought him notice. He had met a nineteen year old girl in Paris named Jeanne Heubuterne with whom he had a tempestuous relationship. She bore him a child and on the way to register his daughter's birth he got drunk and the child was officially fatherless. She was nine months pregnant with their second child when his health deteriorated to the point that he was bedridden and unconscious. She sat by his side for days but never called a doctor. Finally his art dealer found him and summoned a doctor but by then it was too late. He died of tubercular meningitis in 1920 just as his artwork was becoming widely known. Jeanne was sent to her parents' home but she disconsolately threw herself out the fifth floor window, killing herself and her unborn child.

I have many other favorite artists as I am sure many of you here do also. As with many subjects, our preferences for art is very subjective and it always makes it easier for others to understand what it is you appreciate about an artist's work when you explain your background interest and some information about the artist. Plus, it makes it more informative for everyone else to learn about different artists! Please post pictures from your favorite artists and I promise to bite my tongue if anyone posts Thomas Kinkade pictures despite my intense dislike of him and his mediocre hogwash.