As a former art student and failed painter, my reaction to Rauschenberg is similar to that of the child in the fable, The Emperor's New Clothes.

As a student, I grappled with trying to understand his work, and to a certain exent I believe I did. He made fairly conventional artistic decisions using unconventional and mostly ugly materials. In any case, while many of my fellows started to copy his methods, a few of us continued to paint and were taught be teachers who advised us that as long as even one student wants to paint, those who tack junk to canvas will have to keep their junk outside of the classroom.

In any case, that's long gone. And although Mr R managed to sell a lot of crap over time, I don't believe his influence is very much. In a generation, he'll be as forgotten as the Victorians were until almost now.

But I doubt that anyone will bring him back in 2060.