geniuses of the past

for a change, i read up on some of my favorite painters/sculptors these few nights when the boys are in dreamland (rather than chasing episodes!).
and i fall in love once again.
and i try hard to recall the moment when i set eyes on the real thing in all the museums which I've visited in the past:
uffizi in florence
borghese in rome
lourve in paris
vatican in rome
prado in madrid
alte pinakothek in munich 
dorsay in paris
van gogh in amsterdam
and sadly, i remember the rush of amazement at seeing masterpieces rather than the paintings/sculptures  themselves....

if you ask me, i think the relationship form between an art piece and the viewer is always personal and unique.
that is why viewing the same painting, one person will fall for it while another may find it mediocre at best.
and 2 persons liking the same painting will most probably than not dish out different reasons for liking it.
that is why i find browsing through a museum can be a particularly emotional draining and lonely experience.
but i relish the moment when an art piece reaches out to me and take away my breath.
im not an art expert so i do not know how to explain the techniques employed by the artist, the allegory behind the picture or even the period the art piece is from.

and the reasons for liking them are all different.
it can be how lifelike the painting seems.
it can be how wonderfully the story seems to spring out from the composition.
it can be the emotions evoked from me just from seeing the work.
and the list goes on.
but such a joy.

sharing my favorite favorite artists (like all times favorite, really!):
1) Botticelli (Renaissance, Italy, painter)
2) Caravaggio (Baroque, Italy, painter)
3) Bernini (Baroque, Italy, sculptor) 
4) Van gosh ((Post?) Impressionism, Netherlands, painter)
Artists which some of their works left an everlasting impression on me:
1) Albrecht Durer (Renaissance (?), German, painter)
2) Johannes Vermeer (Baroque, Netherlands, painter)
3) Hieronymus Bosh (Netherlands, painter)
4) Edgar Degas (Impressionism, French, painter)

and i must say modern art is totally lost on me.
and i dont understand picasso most of the time, especially his cubism works!