Cy Twombly

The greatest American painter of the 20th century. He was able to give form to Abstract Expressionism via the mannerist style of the Ecole de Fontainebleau while at the same time absorbing what it meant to a Roman. Twombly’s likeness permeates the Aeneid or more accurately vice versa. Greatness comes from the ability to absorb rather than some other more prosaic quality like talent. Picasso’s ability to absorb African Art for example - tied to his polytheistic temperament - created greatness. This goes well beyond copying. Parenthetically it shows why the Ecole des Cubistes was so mediocre.