# Your Favorite Painting **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 10, 2002, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-painting/108333 "2002-05-10T18:37:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![LH75](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lh75/32/4438_2.png) [@LH75](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LH75)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2002, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-painting/108333/21 "2002-05-11T03:05:55Z")
good evening friends, [the scream](http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/munch/munch.scream.jpg) hangs on the wall behind me as i type this. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2002, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-painting/108333/22 "2002-05-11T03:07:57Z")
Georges de la Tour, [The Repentant Magdalene](http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/caravaggio/fig2a.htm). Can’t really explain why. I’m also really drawn to Piet Mondrian. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2002, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-painting/108333/23 "2002-05-11T03:35:17Z")
Hands down, it has to be [The Giant](http://www.wyethhurd.com/ncprints.html) by **N.C. Wyeth**. ( Second image down on that link ). I can not get that image out of my head for very long, it is just so perfect for me. Cartooniverse ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2002, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-painting/108333/24 "2002-05-11T04:08:04Z")
I also have Edvard Munch’s _The Scream_ on my wall, as well as a book of M.C. Escher’s works. I’m fondest of Escher’s [Reptiles](http://sunsite.icm.edu.pl/cjackson/escher/p-escher7.htm), especially the one blowing smoke. ---
**Author:** ![acicadasings](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecd19e/32.png) [@acicadasings](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/acicadasings)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2002, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-painting/108333/25 "2002-05-11T04:52:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Max Torque \* > \*\*I’m also really drawn to Piet Mondrian. \*\* As am I. 🙂 View of Toledo by ‘El Greco’: [![](http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/greco/toledo.jpg) ](http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/greco/toledo.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2002, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-painting/108333/26 "2002-05-11T05:20:18Z")
Vermeer’s “Girl With a Pearl Earring”. **andygirl** , have you seen the Vermeer’s at the National Gallery in D.C.? They’ve got “Lady Writing a Letter”, “Girl With a Red Hat”, and “Woman Balancing Scales”. Last time I was there, my companion was literally forced to drag me out of the room so we could go eat. ---
**Author:** ![Osbie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/cdc98d/32.png) [@Osbie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Osbie)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2002, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-painting/108333/27 "2002-05-11T08:07:42Z")
I’m partial to Roy Lichtenstein’s **Drowning Girl** : [http://www.postershop.com/Lichtenstein-Roy/Lichtenstein-Roy-Drowning-Girl-oversize-2801600.html](http://www.postershop.com/Lichtenstein-Roy/Lichtenstein-Roy-Drowning-Girl-oversize-2801600.html) It makes me laugh every time I see it. There’s a painting I can’t find online - it was featured in Carl Sagan’s book _Pale Blue Dot_. It is a watercolor painted by Greg Mort entitled “The Fabric of Space.” Imagine an unwrapped present resting on a white tablecloth. The narrow blue satin ribbon has been untied, the lid has been removed and the tissue paper carefully folded back to reveal the contents - a spiral galaxy floating in a black void. I would _love_ to find a copy of this! ---
**Author:** ![Dragon\_Phoenix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@Dragon\_Phoenix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragon_Phoenix)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2002, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-painting/108333/28 "2002-05-11T08:27:24Z")
[La Cappuccina](http://www.geocities.com/luschaper/lacappuccina) by my wife. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Dignan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f07891/32.png) [@Dignan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dignan)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2002, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-painting/108333/29 "2002-05-11T09:49:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by pldennison \* > \*\* … I’d say my top two are Dali’s [Musical Tempest](http://content.barewalls.com/closeup/dal090c.jpg) and Wyeth’s [Christina’s World](http://content.barewalls.com/closeup/c5W203c.jpg). I know that second one is kind of a cliche, but I still dig it. \*\* Christina’s World is my favorite too, but I’ve never considered it to be cliche. Why is it considered a cliche to like it? ---
**Author:** ![SLingshot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7cd45c/32.png) [@SLingshot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SLingshot)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2002, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-painting/108333/30 "2002-05-11T16:05:31Z")
Thanks, **Eve** , for starting this thread. I’ve seen a lot of great art tonight. Probably my top favourite (can you have more than one favourite?) was already mentioned by **acicadasings** , View of Toledo by El Greco. My second choice is [Dream of a Sunday Afternoon at Alameda Park](http://www.arts-history.mx/museos/mu/perso.html) by Diego Rivera. Third would have to be [A Harlot’s Progress](http://www.haleysteele.com/hogarth/plates/harlot.html) by William Hogarth, especially the first panel. Edification, titillation, and condemnation, all in one. ---
**Author:** ![lawoot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/35a633/32.png) [@lawoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lawoot)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2002, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-painting/108333/31 "2002-05-11T16:26:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Octavia Smythe-Bunion I. Esq. \* > \*\*There’s a painting I can’t find online - it was featured in Carl Sagan’s book _Pale Blue Dot_. It is a watercolor painted by Greg Mort entitled “The Fabric of Space.” Imagine an unwrapped present resting on a white tablecloth. The narrow blue satin ribbon has been untied, the lid has been removed and the tissue paper carefully folded back to reveal the contents - a spiral galaxy floating in a black void. > > I would _love_ to find a copy of this! \*\* Just ask, and [it is yours](http://www.gregmort.com/fabricofspace_disp.html). ---
**Author:** ![Osbie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/cdc98d/32.png) [@Osbie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Osbie)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2002, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-painting/108333/32 "2002-05-11T16:40:38Z")
Lawoot, I will name my firstborn after you. (That kid is going to have a LOT of names.) Thank you! ---
**Author:** ![moi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@moi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moi)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2002, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-painting/108333/33 "2002-05-11T17:36:20Z")
So, not having a one favorite painting, I’m kinda jealous of **tdcat** who knew instantly how to answer this question. I’ll limit myself to two, while noting some others: - for heart-aching beauty, I’d give it to Gustav Klimt’s _Beethoven Friezes_, particularly [this panel](http://www.artonline.it/img/large/212gcd06.jpg). I also like Mark Rothko for this reason; I find his work to be very expressive, ranging from great pain to a kind of meditative quality. - for simplicity and just “I really like this” sans any art historical blabbering, I choose Maxfield Parrish’s \* [Aquamarine](http://www.primenet.com/~byoder/mpaqua.jpg)\*. To me, these paintings are notable because they represent something far different from what I traditionally like in art ([Chicago](http://www.geocities.com/Wellesley/9411/chicago.html), [Rauschenberg](http://www.artchive.com/artchive/ftptoc/rauschenberg_ext.html)). The Parrish and the Klimt are much more picture-y, less abstract. I guess it represents the difference between what I appreciate art-wise and what I would want to hang on my living room wall ([Frida Kahlo](http://www.artchive.com/artchive/ftptoc/kahlo_ext.html) is a good example of this, too; love her paintings, just may be too disturbing to look at daily.). Okay, I’m gonna stop now. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2002, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-painting/108333/34 "2002-05-11T17:39:52Z")
Found it. (Again…a lithograph, not a painting) Felicien Rops; [“L’Idole”](http://www.art-memoires.com/lettre/lm1820/18ddfrild4.htm). ---
**Author:** ![TwistofFate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@TwistofFate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwistofFate)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2002, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-painting/108333/35 "2002-05-11T18:14:46Z")
M.C. Escher’s [Hand with Reflecting Sphere](http://www.worldofescher.com/gallery/HandWithSphereLg.html) The beauty of this picture is in the mathematics. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2002, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-painting/108333/36 "2002-05-12T03:02:18Z")
I’m a sick individual. I like the works of Pieter Breughel the Elder and Hieronymus Bosch. It’s almost a cliche to admit to liking **The Garden of Earthly Delights** , but my interpretation of it is different from everyone else’s. I have to point out that this is _not_ the title Bosch gave it – we don’t know what he called it. The earliest recorded title fr this piece s **The Strawberry Plant** [http://www.3dresearch.com/bosch/delight.html](http://www.3dresearch.com/bosch/delight.html) I like **The Suicide of Saul** partly because it is so little known. These thumbnails don’t do it justice: [http://www.saskia.com/Query/Selected\_Work.asp?WorkID=203](http://www.saskia.com/Query/Selected_Work.asp?WorkID=203) **The Tower of Babel** is great, and filled with details from real 16th century technology and memories of Brueghel’s trip to Rome: [http://www.postershop.com/artist/brueghela/bda1\_e.htm](http://www.postershop.com/artist/brueghela/bda1_e.htm) [http://www.isabel.com/gallery/repro/b/brueghel/om624.html](http://www.isabel.com/gallery/repro/b/brueghel/om624.html) [http://www.posterwelt.de/brueghela/bda1.htm](http://www.posterwelt.de/brueghela/bda1.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_Ellis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Michael\_Ellis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_Ellis)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2002, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-painting/108333/37 "2002-05-12T04:28:44Z")
Probably “The Scream”. ---
**Author:** ![Squish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8797f3/32.png) [@Squish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squish)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2002, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-painting/108333/38 "2002-05-12T07:20:28Z")
Ack! Just one? Can’t do it, but here are just a few of my favs: [Carlos Schwabe, Death of the Gravedigger](http://www.beautyandruin.com/findesiecle/fin/schwab1.jpg) [Elihu Vedder, Cup of Death](http://sunsite.dk/cgfa/v/p-vedder1.htm) [Wassily Kandinsky, Yellow-Red-Blue](http://sunsite.dk/cgfa/kandinsky/p-kandinsky18.htm) ---
**Author:** ![kase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a5b964/32.png) [@kase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kase)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2002, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-painting/108333/39 "2002-05-12T07:34:19Z")
It took me a hell of a time to find a link, but here it is: [Carel Willink “The Zeppelin”](http://http://home-1.tiscali.nl/~sb068187/Kunst/Schilderij/willink_luchtschip.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Hodge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Hodge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hodge)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2002, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-painting/108333/40 "2002-05-12T10:04:01Z")
[Fixing **käse’s** link](http://home-1.tiscali.nl/~sb068187/Kunst/Schilderij/willink_luchtschip.jpg). Nifty painting by the way. **Squish** , I also really like Kandinsky’s _Yellow-Red-Blue_ and had a print hanging in my dorm room for years during University. Here’s a wildly random sampling of my favourites. I love the French Impressionists, especially Monet’s [Impression Soleil Levant](http://www.lemondedesarts.com/images/libmon2.jpg). I also love Dadaism and surrealism, but since Dali has been linked to fairly often I’ll link to Rene Magritte’s [Son of Man](http://www.bertc.com/magritte_16.htm), instead. Canada’s [Group of Seven](http://www.groupofsevenart.com/), especially Emily Carr, Thom Thompson and Lawren Harris deserve mentioning, although I can’t cite specific examples. I really enjoy Alex Colville’s [To Prince Edward Island](http://www.bertc.com/subtwo/colville.htm) and [Horse and Train](http://national.gallery.ca/exhibitions/past/alex_colville/english/visualpreview/horseandtrain.html). There are, of course, many others that’ll probably pop into my head as soon as I press submit. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-painting/108333.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-painting/108333.md?page=3)