The "Final" Four: Bruegel v. van Gogh

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There are sixteen artists left as of right now, but in Round 8 there will only be four left who have never been beaten.  That makes them a super-elite corps, but they are only "quote Final unquote" because, of course, there is still the seething cauldron of art excellence that is the Left Brackets!

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Pieter Bruegel (the Elder)
c.1525 - 1569
Dutch

A number of Bruegel’s paintings focus on the lives of Flemish commoners.... But while these works demonstrate the artist’s attentive eye for detail and attest to his direct observation of village settings, they are far from simple re-creations of everyday life. The powerful compositions, brilliantly organized and controlled, reflect a sophisticated artistic design.... Bruegel’s use of landscape also defies easy interpretation, and demonstrates perhaps the artist’s greatest innovation.... These panoramic compositions suggest an insightful and universal vision of the world — a vision that distinguishes all the work of their remarkable creator.

- The Met's Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History

• Trounced his own son, Jan Bruegel the Elder, in Round 1.
• Won easily against living artist Daniel Buren in Round 2.
• Scorched respectable Victorian Ford Maddox Brown in Round 3.
• Made it past Botticelli in Round 4.
• Beat Gianlorenzo Bernini in Round 5 by a single vote. YOUR VOTE COUNTS!!!
• Beat Albrecht Altdorfer easily in Round 6.
• Pulled away from Degas eventually in Round 7.

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Vincent van Gogh
1853 - 1890
Dutch; worked in France

Over the course of his decade-long career (1880–90), he produced nearly 900 paintings and more than 1,100 works on paper. Ironically, in 1890, he modestly assessed his artistic legacy as of “very secondary” importance.... By the outbreak of World War I, with the discovery of his genius by the Fauves and German Expressionists, Vincent van Gogh had already come to be regarded as a vanguard figure in the history of modern art.

- The Met's Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History

• Beat up on Hugo van der Goes in Round 1.
• Got past Natalia Gontcharova in Round 2.
• Gave El Greco a real drubbing in Round 3.
• Lambasted Giotto in a Round 4 13-1 blowout.
• Beat Atkinson Grimshaw in Round 5.
• Beat Thomas Eakins in a spirited Round 6 match.
• Beat Remedios Varo by a wide margain, but with a lot of torn voters, in Round 7 match.

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