The Balcony
1868 · Musee d'Orsay, Paris
Three people at a green railing all looking different ways and none at each other. Berthe Morisot is the one seated and dreaming.
★ 6.8
The Art canon
Sourced and hung.
Every work chosen by hand and annotated for why it matters.
Browse all 704 works or filter by movement, subject, place, and artist.
Browse all 704 works or filter by movement, subject, place, and artist.
The Ambassadors
1533 · National Gallery, London
Two men pose with globes, sundials and a lute with a broken string, and a smear on the floor turns into a skull from the side.
★ 8.5
Emperor Justinian and His Court
Artist unknown
547 · Basilica of San Vitale, Ravenna
Justinian carries the bread for the Eucharist in gold and purple, flanked by men who cast no shadow and stand on no ground.
★ 8.6
The Anatomy Lesson of Dr Nicolaes Tulp
1632 · Mauritshuis, The Hague
Rembrandt was twenty-five and new in Amsterdam when the surgeons' guild hired him, and he built every head in the room around one lifted tendon.
★ 8.8