Painting Vs. Sculpture.. Which is the more successful art form?

There are two major types of artwork in our world; painting on a canvas, and molding different materials into a sculpture. Having a natural inclination and interest towards the arts, I've always wondered, which of the two artists are more successful or praised for their pieces, painters, or sculptors?

Source: http://www.gunnzone.org/

As it turns out, I am not the only one pondering this question. The competition between painters and sculptures dates back to the times of the Renaissance. It was during this period of artistic and intellectual rebirth that artists and art critics began arguing which art form is better.

Paintings: Art critics of the 17th century argued that painting was better for depicting a more complex narrative; an ability that sculptures are obviously lacking. Looking at a painting is like looking through your kitchen window at an entire scene. Painters can express a story through their work and art critiques states this requires more mental ability than carving a sculpture.

Sculptures: On the other hand, Michealangelo, a great artist during the times of the Renaissance, argued that a painting is only good because of its attempts to imitate the three dimensional qualities of a sculpture. 

After seeing art critiques defend both styles of art, their arguments ultimately seem so pointless to me. It is hard to compare the art of sculpting to the art of painting because both styles are so different. It's like trying to compare poms and cheer. Though it's there, the rivalry of the pommers and cheerleaders is superficial because we are different teams who do different things. The cheerleaders are more involved and focused on their gymnastic skill while pommers are focused on dancing and performing. The rivalry between the poms and cheerleading team was started when we both attempted to overcome the stereotype that we aren't a "real" sport. The thing is, we both put so much work into what we do and, at the end of the day, our goal is the same. We want to support our red devils and entertain the crowd while having fun. So, it is just a waste of time for students to compare the two teams or claim one is better than the other, because they are too different. I feel like art is the same way.

Though the rivalry between the two types of art still exists today, art critics around the world can agree on one thing; the best works are those in which sculptures imitate paintings and paintings imitate the three dimensional qualities of a sculpture. Though painters and sculptors are praised for their own unique qualities, they are more or less the same. They are artists. The argument was originally implemented to help recast painters and sculptors as intellectuals rather than craftsmen on the level of carpenters. In my opinion, it is too difficult to distinguish which type of artwork is better than the other. Instead, we should praise artwork for how it stands on its own, not compared to different pieces.

Future research: what are the different types of sculptures and what makes them valuable?