Methodology For Our List of the Best Paintings

Our compilation of the 200 finest paintings in Western Art is crafted through a meticulous examination of over 40 influential art books across diverse languages and numerous other reputable sources like scholarly publications, or acclaimed websites.

In the pursuit of identifying masterpieces for inclusion, we relied not only on personal research and visits but also consulted various expert publications such as "200 Greatest Paintings eBook by Mart Walda", "Art: The Definitive Visual Guide" by Andrew Graham Dixon, "1000 Paintings of a Genius" by Victoria Charles, "1001 Art Masterpieces You Must See Before You Die" by Stephen Farthing, alongside significant art-focused websites (for example: www.visual-arts-cork.com).

This process was conducted with a consensus-driven methodology, where a primary criterion involved a thorough assessment of how frequently a painting is referenced across these sources.

This approach ensures that paintings garnering limited mentions are not deemed top-tier masterpieces within our selection of 200.