# What's an underappreciated work of classic art? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** arts-crafts\ **Created:** [September 29, 2022, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-an-underappreciated-work-of-classic-art/972470 "2022-09-29T19:20:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2022, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-an-underappreciated-work-of-classic-art/972470/61 "2022-10-05T04:22:07Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > FWIW, > I’ve been in the jigsaw puzzle business for 19 years and except for the Dufy, I’ve sold a puzzle version of every painting mentioned in this thread. (_La Fée Electricité_ isn’t in the public domain, so not a surprise.) It takes a certain level of popular appreciation to make it worthwhile to sell a fine art piece as a puzzle. I chose _Arnolfini_ because it sells badly. Interesting! Can I ask, what are some of the fine art best-selling jigsaws? And is there any demand for Velasquez, _Juan de Pareja_ and _Pope Innocent X_, which are considered as 2 of the greatest portraits ever painted? ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2022, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-an-underappreciated-work-of-classic-art/972470/62 "2022-10-05T05:19:31Z")
> [@gkster](#): > > Can I ask, what are some of the fine art best-selling jigsaws? > And is there any demand for Velasquez, _Juan de Pareja_ and _Pope Innocent X_, which are considered as 2 of the greatest portraits ever painted? The only works by Velazquez that have really ever got any traction are _The Spinners_ and _Las Meninas_. With notable exceptions like _Mona Lisa_, portraits don’t generally do well, nor paintings with muted colors. The big pre-19th Century sellers are anything found in the Vatican (Botticelli, Raphael, Michelangelo), several Bruegels, Bosch’s _Garden of Earthly Delights_ and (kind of out of left field of late) van Os still lifes. The Impressionists and Art Nouveau dominate the Fine Art niche of the jigsaw puzzle market; van Gogh and Mucha, especially. Klimt and Kandinsky are probably the best sellers from the 20th Century, but mostly because more popular artwork from the likes of Picasso, Dali, Kahlo, and Rivera are still difficult to license. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2022, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-an-underappreciated-work-of-classic-art/972470/63 "2022-10-05T06:01:54Z")
> [@journeyman\_southpaw](#): > > Incidentally, here’s the [top ten list](https://books.google.ca/books?id=n39T-zRGI90C&pg=PA61&lpg=PA61&dq=%22in+1985,+a+panel+of+art+experts%22&source=bl&ots=wL1xY93-T8&sig=ACfU3U0reVY7dArHFZdTtlOfAbx9A7Y3cQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjuud_WyMf6AhUgk4kEHbSJAVsQ6AF6BAgDEAM#v=onepage&q=%22in%201985%2C%20a%20panel%20of%20art%20experts%22&f=false) of the aforementioned 1985 poll. I’m not sure the general public would be familiar with many of these. I know three fairly well, and have heard of two others. A couple I have never even heard of. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2022, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-an-underappreciated-work-of-classic-art/972470/64 "2022-10-05T12:20:37Z")
_Ecce Homo_, the botched fresco on a Spanish church from a few years back, is justly derided for its awfulness. It’s also a major contender for “most famous painting of the 21st Century so far.” The original painting that needed the touch-up apparently only dates back to 1930, not exactly the medieval icon masterpiece it was sort-of reputed to be. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-an-underappreciated-work-of-classic-art/972470.md?page=3)