# The National Gallery's must-see paintings

The masterpieces not to miss at London's National Gallery, from Van Eyck to Van Gogh, as picked by ARTnews and visitor guides.

- 101 votes · 18 items
- Oct 28, 2024 · austinartnerd
- https://even.best/en/l/2622/the-national-gallery-s-must-see-paintings

## Top 18

1. **The Arnolfini Portrait — Jan van Eyck** (11 · ▲11 ▼0) — 1434. The couple, the dog and the convex mirror.
2. **Sunflowers — Vincent van Gogh** (8 · ▲8 ▼0) — 1888. One of the most famous paintings in the world.
3. **The Virgin of the Rocks — Leonardo da Vinci** (8 · ▲8 ▼0) — c. 1491-1508. The London version of his mysterious altarpiece.
4. **The Hay Wain — John Constable** (7 · ▲8 ▼1) — 1821. A cart crossing a river in Suffolk.
5. **The Burlington House Cartoon — Leonardo da Vinci** (6 · ▲6 ▼0) — c. 1499-1500. A huge chalk drawing of the Virgin and Saint Anne.
6. **Self Portrait at the Age of 34 — Rembrandt** (6 · ▲6 ▼0) — 1640. Confident and elegant.
7. **Rain, Steam and Speed — J. M. W. Turner** (5 · ▲6 ▼1) — 1844. A train bursting through the rain.
8. **Bathers at Asnières — Georges Seurat** (4 · ▲6 ▼2) — 1884. Workers relaxing by the Seine.
9. **The Rokeby Venus — Diego Velázquez** (4 · ▲5 ▼1) — c. 1647-1651. His only surviving nude.
10. **The Ambassadors — Hans Holbein the Younger** (4 · ▲4 ▼0) — 1533. Two diplomats and a skull you only see from the side.
11. **Samson and Delilah — Peter Paul Rubens** (4 · ▲4 ▼0) — c. 1609-1610. Samson asleep as his hair is cut.
12. **The Water-Lily Pond — Claude Monet** (3 · ▲3 ▼0) — 1899. The Japanese bridge at Giverny.
13. **The Supper at Emmaus — Caravaggio** (3 · ▲3 ▼0) — 1601. The moment the disciples recognise Christ.
14. **The Fighting Temeraire — J. M. W. Turner** (2 · ▲3 ▼1) — 1839. A warship towed to the breaker's yard at sunset.
15. **Venus and Mars — Sandro Botticelli** (2 · ▲3 ▼1) — c. 1485. Mars asleep, Venus watching.
16. **Bacchus and Ariadne — Titian** (2 · ▲3 ▼1) — 1520-1523. Bacchus leaps from his chariot.
17. **The Execution of Lady Jane Grey — Paul Delaroche** (1 · ▲2 ▼1) — 1833. A theatrical, huge history painting.
18. **Whistlejacket — George Stubbs** (-1 · ▲1 ▼2) — c. 1762. A life-size rearing horse with no background.

How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.