Ten years ago, I made a list of what I thought were the top paintings ever made. It was a rebellious exercise against established opinion, for many of those paintings were contemporary marvels unknown by most people. I remember taking a lot of time exploring unusual work by lesser-known artists, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing; it just didn’t reach the type of audience it could.
An updated version can be found at:
It accounts for popular opinion as well as my own. New artists on the list are mostly from the modern era: Kandinsky, Kokoschka, Duchamp, Matisse. Monet somehow evaded my list the last time; he’s one of my favorite painters now, thanks to my wife.
This updated version offers a more complete picture. You will see I’m obviously attracted to color, complexity, detail, surrealism, emotion, and originality. And though I’m not officially an art historian, I’ve taken a few classes and seen thousands of paintings in books and online, from all eras. Some of the paintings on this list I have seen in person, at museums. Those credentials should be enough to warrant an opinion.
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