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Getting in didactic mode here, I pose the rhetorical question: Who are the greatest artists in the world and how do you make that call?

For starters, there is no way I can list the greatest artists of all time without leaving out a lot who deserve to be listed, and there is no way I can do it in the space allowed. So I'm going to make this a two-part article. I think the basic answer to how to make that call must revolve around (1) the artist's immediate and lasting impact (does his work elevate the human spirit or change lives for the better?), and (2) his influence on other artists or future generations.

I'm going to list my choices for the greatest artists in chronological order. That means I have to start with unknown artists because nobody knows who created most of the earliest know art in the world. Prior to the classical Greek period individual artists were not considered important and many works of art may have been group efforts.

The oldest work of art to have a lasting influence is The Venus of Willendorf, a statue of a woman by an unknown artist or artists circa 30,000-25,000 B.C. It's a tiny little figure of a naked woman with huge breasts and belly. It can be held in the palm of the hand, yet it looks monumental. This ancient artifact has influenced such modern artists as Picasso, Brancusi, Henry Moore and Willem de Kooning (see de Kooning's Woman I).

Other ancient works of art that remain breathtakingly powerful today are the Easter Island monoliths and the Sphinx in Egypt circa 2500 B.C. These were definitely not done by individuals. Their visual impact rivals some of the largest and most ambitious of modern earthworks and environmental installations.

Perhaps the first sculptures to foretell modern art were those of classical Greece. Among the best of those epitomizing the era was Diskobolos, aka the Discus Thrower, created in 450 B.C. The Contrapposto contortions of the body convey strength and elegance and movement at rest by capturing a momentary pause in action, something a later artist, Michelangelo Buonarroti, borrowed from the Greeks.

From unknown ancient artists let's skip ahead to the early and late Renaissance when artists became rock stars. Among the earliest and greatest of these was Netherlandish painter Jan Van Eyck. Van Eyck and other Northern Renaissance artists were known for their stiffly posed figures, amazing detail and flawless brushwork. They were among the first artists to depict the actual world in a realistic manner. Van Eyck's paintings shone a brilliant light on the everyday world of the Netherlands. Of course by today's standards everything in his paintings was contrived. His world was prettified, everything just so, meaning in many ways he was among the first painters to compose and not just depict figures and objects. Paintings such as The Arnolfini Marriage and The Madonna of Chancellor Rolin are just as beautiful today as they were almost 600 years ago.

Moving ahead to the 16th century, none can compare with Michelangelo. The stupendous achievement of the Sistine Chapel ceiling and The Last Judgment fresco on the end wall are among the greatest works of art ever created by anyone, and his sculptures are breathtaking. I remember an art teacher not too long ago comparing the linear composition of Michelangelo's David to works by Picasso and other moderns. Strictly speaking there can't be linear structure in a sculpture in the round, and yet it is there and thoroughly modern in every contour from every angle.

By the way, I am omitting some of the most popular Renaissance artists, notably Botticelli and Raphael, and the great Leonardo da Vinci, because I personally find the former two too sweetly romantic and because da Vinci's greatness rests on many things in addition to his art. Frankly I was never too impressed by his most famous works, The Last Supper and Mona Lisa.

Finally, before coming to the modern era (coming soon), I have to mention two of my favorite post-Renaissance painters, Caravaggio and Rembrandt. You can't beat them for stark and unflinching realism, dramatic play of light and dark, the strength of their images (particularly Rembrandt's warts-and-all self-portraits and Caravaggio's extreme foreshortening of muscular, Michelangelo-like men).

Unless you can afford to travel, you can't see work by many of the artists mentioned here. Fortunately you can see them on the World Wide Web, and I encourage you to take some time to do so.