First of all, I want to say, don't look down on painters, and don't look down on artists. However, it must be pointed out that a painter cannot draw an equal sign with an artist.
The painter has created extraordinary achievements in his post and can be called a great painter. Because the word "greatness" is not a celebrity's patent, anyone who makes extraordinary achievements in an ordinary post can be praised and called by greatness. But a great painter cannot be called a great artist, because it is not an equivalent concept and cannot be confused.
The reason why an artist is an artist is that he must not only have certain practical ability, but also have independent creative ideas, not only practical experience, but also sufficient cultural and artistic theories as support. It is far from enough to be called a great artist, but he must also have pioneering spirit and innovative consciousness, be unique in art and have an important and far-reaching influence.
For example, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Bei Lini, giorgione, Titian, Rubens, the founder of Baroque painting, Rembrandt, the representative of neoclassicism, bouguereau, the master of realistic painting, and Courbet, the founder and important representative of Impressionism. The important representatives of post-impressionism are Van Gogh, Gauguin, Cezanne, Matisse, the founder of Fauvism, Picasso, the founder of Abstraction, Dali, the master of surrealist painting, Sergey Mashnikov and so on. These people are great artists, because they not only created classic works handed down from generation to generation, but also influenced or led the development of painting history.
Of course, painters can also be transformed into painters, artists and even great artists. There are also many such precedents in the art history of ancient and modern China and foreign countries. Giorgione and Titian in the European Renaissance started out as painters, and then constantly improved their artistic accomplishment and explored painting methods, eventually becoming a generation of masters. Rubens entered the teaching at the age of 6, and grew up as a painter while studying painting with painters. There are many such examples. However, if a painter is only satisfied with his established works and does not constantly learn to improve and innovate, then no matter how well he does, he is still a painter, at best, a great painter.
In fact, many things in the world are based on this principle.