How to identify favourite portrait painters

I want to create an opinion poll to find out which are your favourite portrait painters - but to do that I first have to come up with the answers to two key questions

1. What's a "portrait painter"?
2. Who are the popular portrait painters?

I have to confess when I address questions like these, the process of sorting through lists and looking at artwork is enormously invigorating in terms of reminding me about the great art which has been produced in the past - particularly the portraits

Diego Velasquez - self-portrait (Las Meninas)

What's a "portrait painter"?

Here are some definitions of "portrait painter".  Do you know any more?

Here's the Princeton definition

 (n) portraitist, portrait painter, portrayer, limner (a painter or drawer of portraits)
Princeton University - wordnet definition of "portrait painter"

This is the wikipedia version - which focuses on what portrait painting is more than what a portrait painter is

Portrait painting is a genre in painting, where the intent is to depict the visual appearance of the subject. Beside human beings, animals, pets and even inanimate objects can be chosen as the subject for a portrait.......Portraitists create their work by commission, for public and private persons, or are inspired by admiration or affection for the subject.....A well-executed portrait is expected to show the inner essence of the subject (from the artist's point of view) or a flattering representation, not just a literal likeness. 
Wikipedia - portrait painter

Websters provides a list of synonyms and translations for "portrait painter"

Ignoring for the moment that figurative art can include subject matter which are not figures, for me the difficulty arises over:

• Where does portraiture start and finish and where does figurative art takes over?
• Is an artist a superior portrait artist if able to draw and sculpt as well as paint?  
• Should the query be about which are the best portrait artists or the best portrait painters?

What's your thoughts on these conundrums?

Who are the popular portrait painters?

Lady Agnew of Lochnaw by John Singer Sargent

A portrait is a painting with something a little wrong with the mouth.

John Singer Sargent (1856-1925), American painter of many portraits

I also need to come up with the names of favourite portrait painters!  Plus I also need to decide who is and who is not a portrait painter - as per the conundrum re portraiture and figurative art (in the sense of painting figures)

Interestingly Wikipedia is surprisingly silent on this topic - having a very lightweight list of portrait artists.

This is the list of The Top 10 Best Portrait Painters according to the Encyclopedia of Irish and World Art (which is a wonderful resource for all those interested in art history)

1. Rembrandt van Rijn
2. Leonardo da Vinci
3. Diego Velaquez
4. Jan van Eyck
5. Raphael
6. John Singer Sargent
7. Hans Holbein the Younger
8. Sir Anthony van Dyck
9. Theodore Gericault
10. Giuseppe Arcimboldo

Now that's not the list I would have come up with.  I don't see either Leonardo da Vinci or Raphael as primarily portrait painters - and why would you include those two and not Michaelangelo Buonarotti - unless you're ruling out an artist on the basis that representation of mythical/fantasy people doesn't count?

Also Gericault and Arcimboldo would never make it into my top 10.  Recognised portrait artists who do nothing for me include van Dyck, Peter Paul Rubens and Sir Joshua Reynolds - and I tend to think of Gainsborough as being more of a landscape artist.

Concept Art has a thread about Who was the greatest portrait painter? 

My top 10 portrait painters

This isn't so much a list as a statement of current musings!

My top ten would include definitely Rembrandt, Holbein, Velasquez and Singer Sargent - and probably Jan van Eyck.  However it would also include some more contemporary artists such as Chuck Close - who has been amazingly innovative and has really stretched the concept of how portraiture is created.

Doge Leonardo Loredan by Giovanni Bellini

Does Lucian Freud deserve to be included as well?  I'm not sure - he never takes commissions.  Neither does David Hockney who has also developed a strong focus on portraiture as part of his oevre.  Should they be classified as figurative artists instead?  

Other contenders for me would include Giovanni Bellini - mainly because of the famous Portrait of Doge Leonardo Loredan (1501), Albrecht Durer, Jan Vermeer, and Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres.  

I'm particularly aware of the fact that I know very little about artists outside Western Europe.  I suspect that also goes for many other individuals who study western art history.  However we need to remember that other cultures have produced very good portrait artists.  For example, if one was going to include John Singer Sargent, shouldn't one also include Valentin Serov?

Recently I've also been very impressed by Sir Thomas Lawrence - who I think is unparalled in his portraits of children.

Holbein - Lady with a Squirrel

Since animals can be legitimate subjects for portraits should one also consider artists like John James Audubon?

Who are your top 10 portrait artists?

• Tell me who are your top ten portrait artists are!
• PLUS which are the top portrait artists missing from the above lists?

I look forward to reading your comments.