100 Greatest Paintings of All Time (pics)
Submitted by lukeprog on Wed, 06/01/2005 - 04:34
Tags:
Bosch: The Garden of Delights (1504) - Prado, Madrid

Michelangelo: Il Giudizio Universale/ Universal Judgement (1541) - Cappella Sistina, Roma

Ernst: Europe After the Rain II (1942) - Sumner Collection, Hartford

Klimt: Beethovenfries (1902) - Sezession, Wien

Dali: Persistence of Memory (1931) - Museum of Modern Art, New York

Klimt: The Virgin (1913) - National Gallery, Prague

Bosch: The Last Judgement (1505) - Gemaldegalerie der Akademie der Bildenden Kunste, Wien

Klimt: The Kiss (1908) - Belvedere, Wien

Botticelli: Allegoria della Primavera (1478) - Uffizi, Firenze

Monet: Nimphee (1926) - Orangerie, Paris

Dali: Metamorphose de Narcisse (1937) - Tate Gallery, London

Leonardo: Il Cenacolo/ The Last Supper (1497) - S.Maria delle Grazie, Milano

Rubens: Fall of the Damned/ Der Hollensturz der Verdammten

Uccello: Battaglia di San Romano/Part I (1456) - Uffizi, Firenze

Van Gogh: Starry Night (1889) - Museum of Modern Art, New York

Raffaello: Sposalizio della Vergine (1504) - Piancoteca di Brera, Milano

Dali: Soft Construction with Boiled Beans (1936) - Museum of Art, Philadelphia

Bruegel: Triumph of Death (1562) - Prado, Madrid

Botticelli: Nascita di Venere (1485) - Uffizi, Firenze

Rubens: The Adoration of the Magi, Prado, Madrid

Monet: Cathedrale de Rouen, Musee National d'Orsay, Paris

Greco: Toledo (1599) - Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Giotto: Cappella degli Scrovegni, Padova (1305)

Cranach: Flugelaltar mit dem Jungsten Gericht (1524) - Gemaldegalerie, Berlin

Seurat: La Parade du Cirque (1888) - Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Ernst: La Ville Entiere (1936) - Kunsthaus, Zurich

Rembrandt: Militia Company (1642) - Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam

Van Eyck: Madonna in the Church (1425) - Gemaldegalerie, Berlin

Bruegel: The Battle Between Carnival and Lent (1559) - Kunsthistorisches Museum, Wien

Leonardo: Gioconda/ Mona Lisa (1505) - Louvre, Paris

Raffaello: Trasfigurazione (1519) - Pinacoteca Vaticana, Roma

Rousseau: Sleeping Gypsy (1897) - Museum of Modern Art, New York

Piero della Francesca: Leggenda della Vera Croce (1460) - S.Francesco, Arezzo

Van Gogh: Potato Eaters (1885) - Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam

Bruegel: Dutch Proverbs (1559) - Gemaldegalerie, Berlin

Greco: La Crucifixion (1594) - Prado, Madrid

Seurat: La Grande Jatte (1886) - Art Institute, Chicago

Altdorfer: The Battle of Alexander the Great (1529) - Alte Pinakothek, Munchen

Monet: The Grainstack (1896) - Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Klee: Ad Marginen (1930) - Kunstmuseum, Basel

Rembrandt: Belshazzar's Feast (1635) - National Gallery, London

Van Gogh: Cypresses (1889) - Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Rubens: St Agustine, National Gallery, Prague

Van Eyck: Giovanni Arnolfini and his Wife (1434) - National Gallery, London

Renoir: Bal du Moulin de la Galette (1876) - Musee National d'Orsay, Paris

Renoir: Le Dejeuner des Canotiers (1881) - Phillips Collection, Washington

Goya: Aquelarre/ Il Grande Caprone (1821) - Prado, Madrid

Velasquez: Las Meninas (1656) - Prado, Madrid

Chagall: I and the Village (1911) - Museum of Modern Art, New York

Van der Weyden: Deposition (1435) - Prado, Madrid

Rembrandt: Anatomy Lesson of Dr Nicolaes Tulp (1632) - Mauritshuis, Den Haag

Van Eyck: Rinaldo e Armida, Louvre, Paris

Rousseau: Carnival Evening (1886) - Museum of Art, Philadelphia

Renoir: Les Parapluies/ The Umbrellas (1884) - National Gallery, London

Van Eyck: The Virgin of Ivers (1435) - Louvre, Paris

Goya: Asmodeo (1821) - Prado, Madrid

Greco: Lacoonte (1610) - National Gallery, Washington

Magritte: Specchio Falso (1928) - Museum of Modern Art, New York

Magritte: Condition Humain (1934) - National Gallery, Washington

Giacometti: Das Kreisen der Planeten (1910) - Kunsthaus, Zurich

Tansey: Triumph over Mastery (1986) - #, #

Tansey: Forward Retreat (1986) - Broad Art Foundation, #

Tansey: Mont Sainte-Victoire (1987) - #, #

Millet: Harvesters Resting (1853)

Veronese: Nozze di Cana (1563) - Louvre, Paris

DeVries: Palastarchitektur mit Badernder (1596) - Kunsthistorische Muzeum, Wien

Velasquez: Las Hilanderas (166?) - Prado, Madrid

Memling: Johannesalterarn (1490) - Kunsthistorische Muzeum, Wien

Bruegel: Babel Tower (1563) - Kunsthistorische Muzeum, Wien

Bruegel: Procession to Calvary (1564) - Kunsthistorische Muzeum, Wien

Bruegel: Massacre of the Innocents (1567) - Kunsthistorische Muzeum, Wien

Bruegel: Bethlem (1566) - Kunsthistorische Muzeum, Wien

Cranach: Johan Friedun (1544) - Kunsthistorische Muzeum, Wien

Caravaggio: Davide/ Galea (1607) - Kunsthistorische Muzeum, Wien

Rubens: Stormy Landscape with Philomenon/ Gemitterland Schaft mit Philenen (1625) - Kunsthistorische Muzeum, Wien

Rubens: Feast of Venus/ Vennsfest (1637) - Kunsthistorische Muzeum, Wien

Rubens: Miracle of St Ignatz (1618) - Kunsthistorische Muzeum, Wien

Vermeer: Malkunst (1666) - Kunsthistorische Muzeum, Wien

Vermeer: The Astronomer (1668) - Louvre, Paris

Klimt: Judith I (1901) - Belvedere, Wien

Klimt: Melo (1912) - Belvedere, Wien

Paolo Uccello: Battaglia di San Romano/Part II (1456) - National Gallery, London

Paolo Uccello: Battaglia di San Romano/Part III (1456) - Louvre, Paris

Paolo Uccello: San Giorgio e il Dragone - National Gallery, London

Klimt: Avenue Schloss Kaven (1912) - Belvedere, Wien

Klimt: Beechwood (1903) - Belvedere, Wien

Klimt: Fritza Riedler (1906) - Belvedere, Wien

Klimt: Adele Blochbauer (1907) - Belvedere, Wien

Schiele: Death and the Maiden (1915) - Belvedere, Wien

Schiele: Mother with two children (1917) - Belvedere, Wien

Schiele: Rainerbub (1910) - Belvedere, Wien

Schiele: Family (1917) - Belvedere, Wien

Bruegel: Sermon of St John 1566, Szepmuveszen Muzeum, Budapest

Bruegel: Triumph of Death (15??) - Museum fur Gegenwartskunst, Basel

Holbein: Nikolaus Kratzer (1528) - Louvre, Paris

Holbein: Georg Gisze (1532) - Louvre, Paris

Holbein: Ambassadors (1533) - National Gallery, London

Rubens: Debarquement de Marie de Medicis (1625) - Louvre, Paris

Dali: Apoteosis of Homer, Staatsgalerie Moderner Kunst, Munchen

Dali: L'Enigme du Desir (1929) - Staatsgalerie Moderner Kunst, Munchen

Author Comments:
Greatest paintings, best paintings, most important paintings, whatever. According to Piero Scaruffi, not me. If you find an image that is better quality than one I have here, let me know!








Glad to see some Salvador Dali paintings there :) :) :)
Seriously, greatest artist of all time.
If you love Dali, you should check out Rene Magritte. He is a French surrealist painter. I love his works.a
Many thanks for posting this list. But where are the great American pictures, e.g., Hopper's "Nighthawks", Grant's "American Gothic", Wyeth's "Christina's World"?
I think the Bosch is usually called "The Garden of Earthly Delights". And it's only the central section of the triptych that has that name. The left section is called "The Earthly Paradise" and the right section "Hell".
This list is taken directly from Piero Scaruffi (linked from the author comments), so I can't defend the selection or the provided titles. I was just annoyed that I couldn't actually see any of the paintings he listed as the greatest of all time, so I set about hunting them down. I also would like to see some Picasso on the list.
I see.
There are plently of copies of Monet's "Nimphee" (a.k.a. "Waterlillies") around. Too many, in fact, since apparently he gave a whole bunch of paintings that title. According to Scaruffi the greatest is one he did in 1926 (the year he died) and is held in a certain museum. Does that museum have a website?
I had a bit of a search and you'll find the Monet at the bottom of this page.
Is it the one called "Le Bassin aux nymphéas"?
No, but here is that glorious picture.
Have you ever seen the one from the list, from 1926, on the Internet?
It might be that Scaruffi is mistaken in specifying 1926. The paintings at the Orangerie museum seem to be dated over several years rather than one. Also they are very large 'panorama' type works that are usually copied in several sections. Here is a rather dark photo of one. It is a photo of a Monet that is located in the Orangerie.
I believe this picture is the Cranach - 24 on the list.
And I think this picture is the Goya - 46
You'll notice that most of the other unobtainables are kept at the Kunsthistorische Muzeum in Vienna. Perhaps they have a policy against photography of their pictures.
Are you going to do a list of your own favorite pictures? I have started one and I'd be interested to see yours.
Thanks for the help! I saw your list a while back and Googled them all. I've long been a fan of The Scream and Starry Night, but I've seen far too few paintings in my life, especially in person, to even form an opinion of what I do and do not like. I think I do tend to prefer works that are surreal or expressionistic rather than massively complicated but generally realistic or simple. I do like many abstract works, but it's impossible to describe what I do and don't like in abstract pieces. And of course Escher is fun.
Damn it, the pictures have started disappearing from their hosting sites, and I'm too lazy to fix it.
This is awesome Luke. I am in awe of these paintings, especially after so thoroughly experiencing the albums on Scaruffi's list. So much more emotion occurs to me to be pouring out of these art works, than I've ever felt before.
This time around I was newly and overwhelmingly captivated by Klimt's The Kiss (#8) and then realized why: it's the painting equivalent to one of my favorite albums, Rock Bottom. I think Klimt is my favorite painter. His style is astonishingly beautiful and unique. Each of his paintings seems to be celestial, possessing a cosmic beauty--as if some profound connection with the universe is taking place--in addition to the forms portrayed.
It's great that you took yourself the time to update this! However, I'd like to point out a few inaccuracies:
#3 - This actually show only about 1/4th of the whole Beethovenfries. The whole thing can be scrolled through here: http://www.secession.at/beethovenfries/d.html
#7 - This is only the central panel of the Last Judgement triptych. Here's the whole painting, unfortunately in much smaller scale, though: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Oracle/9941/BoschJudgment.jpg
#10 - This is NOT the Nimphée that Scaruffi refers to (the picture you display pales in comparison), which actually consists of eight paintings, which hang in the two oval rooms of the Orangerie museum in Paris (this is an absolutely amazing place, which no photo can do evidence to. Seeing the Nimphées was definitely one of the most profound experience with art I've had so far. To give you an idea of what it's like, here's a link: http://www.musee-orangerie.fr/nympheas.html)
#21 - Here again Scaruffi probably refers to multiple paintings, namely the first three found on this website: http://www.intermonet.com/oeuvre/rouen.htm
#63 - #64 - Here you just swapped the pictures.
That's all I can think of for now. Once again, great job!
#3. I asked Scaruffi; this is the part of Beethovenfries he most appreciated. But thanks for the link.
#7. Yeah, I decided to go with greater resolution here.
#10. I sent Scaruffi my image and the link you've got, and he said they're both correct.
#21. I asked Scaruffi about this one, too - this is the closest I could find to what he remembers.
#63. I don't think so. I checked the three parts on his list against the museums he listed, and they are correct.
You are very knowledgeable. Thanks for your observations! Either way, I'm not going for perfection. So many of these images are incomplete or low resolution!
#3. Oh, ok, it would be kinda hard to represent the whole painting anyway. I just wanted people to know that this isn't the whole work.
#10. I'm pretty sure the painting you display isn't even in the Orangerie museum.
#21. In that case I don't think it's in Orsay. By the way, am I the only one who thinks this looks like a photo?
#63 - 64. What I mean't what you switched the titles and names of the two paintings, making it seem as if Tansey painted the Millet painting and vice versa.
Oh, thanks! I switched them around now.
All right, might as well start an IRL count :)
Seen of Scaruffi's 100 greatest paintings:
Klimt: The Virgin (1913) - National Gallery, Prague
Monet: Nimphee (1926) - Orangerie, Paris
Monet: Cathedrale de Rouen, Musee National d'Orsay, Paris
Cranach: Flugelaltar mit dem Jungsten Gericht (1524), Berlin
Van Eyck: Madonna in the Church (1425) - Gemaldegalerie Berlin
Leonardo: Gioconda/ Mona Lisa (1505) - Louvre, Paris
Bruegel: Dutch Proverbs (1559) - Gemaldegalerie, Berlin
Rubens: St Agustine, National Gallery, Prague
Renoir: Bal du Moulin de la Galette (1876) - Musee d'Orsay, Paris
Van Eyck: Rinaldo e Armida, Louvre, Paris
Van Eyck: The Virgin of Ivers (1435) - Louvre, Paris
Veronese: Nozze di Cana (1563) - Louvre, Paris
Paolo Uccello: Battaglia di San Romano/Part III (1456) - Louvre
Holbein: Nikolaus Kratzer (1528) - Louvre, Paris
Holbein: Georg Gisze (1532) - Louvre, Paris
Rubens: Debarquement de Marie de Medicis (1625) - Louvre
Only 16/100, I'll have to improve on this...
So a Euro trip yielded the following update:
Michelangelo: Il Giudizio Universale/ Universal Judgement (1541) - Cappella Sistina, Roma
Klimt: Beethovenfries (1902) - Sezession, Wien
Klimt: The Virgin (1913) - National Gallery, Prague
Klimt: The Kiss (1908) - Belvedere, Wien
Botticelli: Allegoria della Primavera (1478) - Uffizi, Firenze
Monet: Nimphee (1926) - Orangerie, Paris
Uccello: Battaglia di San Romano/Part I (1456) - Uffizi, Firenze
Raffaello: Sposalizio della Vergine (1504) - Piancoteca di Brera, Milano
Botticelli: Nascita di Venere (1485) - Uffizi, Firenze
Monet: Cathedrale de Rouen, Musee National d'Orsay, Paris
Cranach: Flugelaltar mit dem Jungsten Gericht (1524) - Gemaldegalerie, Berlin
Rembrandt: Militia Company (1642) - Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam
Van Eyck: Madonna in the Church (1425) - Gemaldegalerie, Berlin
Bruegel: The Battle Between Carnival and Lent (1559) - Kunsthistorisches Museum, Wien
Leonardo: Gioconda/ Mona Lisa (1505) - Louvre, Paris
Raffaello: Trasfigurazione (1519) - Pinacoteca Vaticana, Roma
Bruegel: Dutch Proverbs (1559) - Gemaldegalerie, Berlin
Klee: Ad Marginen (1930) - Kunstmuseum, Basel
Rubens: St Agustine, National Gallery, Prague
Renoir: Bal du Moulin de la Galette (1876) - Musee National d'Orsay, Paris
Van Eyck: The Virgin of Ivers (1435) - Louvre, Paris
Veronese: Nozze di Cana (1563) - Louvre, Paris
DeVries: Palastarchitektur mit Badernder (1596) - Kunsthistorische Muzeum, Wien
Memling: Johannesalterarn (1490) - Kunsthistorische Muzeum, Wien
Bruegel: Babel Tower (1563) - Kunsthistorische Muzeum, Wien
Bruegel: Procession to Calvary (1564) - Kunsthistorische Muzeum, Wien
Bruegel: Massacre of the Innocents (1567) - Kunsthistorische Muzeum, Wien
Bruegel: Bethlem (1566) - Kunsthistorische Muzeum, Wien
Cranach: Johan Friedun (1544) - Kunsthistorische Muzeum, Wien
Caravaggio: Davide/ Galea (1607) - Kunsthistorische Muzeum, Wien
Rubens: Stormy Landscape with Philomenon/ Gemitterland Schaft mit Philenen (1625) - Kunsthistorische Muzeum, Wien
Rubens: Feast of Venus/ Vennsfest (1637) - Kunsthistorische Muzeum, Wien
Rubens: Miracle of St Ignatz (1618) - Kunsthistorische Muzeum, Wien
Vermeer: Malkunst (1666) - Kunsthistorische Muzeum, Wien
Vermeer: The Astronomer (1668) - Louvre, Paris
Klimt: Judith I (1901) - Belvedere, Wien
Klimt: Melo (1912) - Belvedere, Wien
Paolo Uccello: Battaglia di San Romano/Part III (1456) - Louvre, Paris
Klimt: Avenue Schloss Kaven (1912) - Belvedere, Wien
Klimt: Beechwood (1903) - Belvedere, Wien
Klimt: Fritza Riedler (1906) - Belvedere, Wien
Schiele: Death and the Maiden (1915) - Belvedere, Wien
Schiele: Mother with two children (1917) - Belvedere, Wien
Schiele: Rainerbub (1910) - Belvedere, Wien
Schiele: Family (1917) - Belvedere, Wien
Bruegel: Sermon of St John 1566, Szepmuveszen Muzeum, Budapest
Bruegel: Triumph of Death (15??) - Museum fur Gegenwartskunst, Basel
Holbein: Nikolaus Kratzer (1528) - Louvre, Paris
Holbein: Georg Gisze (1532) - Louvre, Paris
Rubens: Debarquement de Marie de Medicis (1625) - Louvre, Paris
52/100, getting there... :-)
Nice!
The picture of Bruegel's "Toren van Babel" you listed is the version which is in Rotterdam and not in Vienna. And what the heck happened to Monet's "Cathedral de Rouen"?
However, thanks for visualizating scruffi's list.
Great stuff! Last time i looked, with link from Scaruffi's site, The Last Supper was not the Leonardo Da Vinci version but some pale imitation.
yea i agree; dali was my favourite painter as well, i love his surreal style; i've got a collection of all his paintings in two big books :)
Strangely, I linked to your website because I saw on the recent activity page you deleted the link, and it looked interesting. I need to poke around it some more, but I was interested particularly in the religion section. When I was on listology more a few years ago, I seem to remember you defined yourself as a Christian. You probably say something about this somewhere else on one of your lists, but am I right? At what point did you begin defining yourself as an atheist?
By the way, the site is easy to use, and your essays are very readable. I'll say more when I have time to linger there.
Johnny Waco
Yeah, I started realizing my faith was nonsense in around May 2008. I think it was September 2008 when I started calling myself an atheist.
You mean... you're from THE FUTURE???? :-)
Yes. The future is glorious. Almost everyone is atheist by now.
Lol, of course I met 2007. :)
Say, I'm kinda curious... are there any Listologists with whom I have interacted quite a bit who live in L.A.? I recently moved to North Hollywood and wouldn't mind meeting some of these people I've enjoyed for years on this site. And I wouldn't mind not meeting you, either...
Cool, what are you doing there?
Trying desperately not to drown under the high cost of living. I'm very tempted to move to Austin instead, actually.
If i move to the USA, i would love to live in Austin, the Alamo Drafthouse, the concerts, the indie films.
That's what a trip to Venezuela do for you, you start to question your faith in God.
Yeah, I spent too much time in Venezuela reading online philosophy texts and not enough time hanging out people like you!
Hi, I like your list of paintings - very varied. However, 20 - Rubens Adoration of the Magi has the wrong picture. The right picture is http://www.museodelprado.es/en/ingles/educacion/educacion-propone/prueba...
I copied the link from the page you got the list from. What I really want to know (and its driving me nuts) is who painted the picture at #20 and what is its title please?
a great list, especially Carvaggio's Davide/ Galea...but coulda used some Toulouse Lautrec