3 Paintings That Changed the Way I Look At Art

Brilliant and provocative works that inspire

Detail of ‘Berthe Morisot with a Bouquet of Violets’ (1872) by Édouard Manet. Oil on canvas. 40 × 55 cm. Musée d’Orsay, Paris, France. Image source Wikimedia Commons

Sometimes, visual art has the power to leave a lasting mark on one’s memory.

Here are three paintings that stand out for me, profoundly shaping my perspective on art in the process.

Each of the works has its own special potency, but perhaps a common thread is the directness of their communication. None of them procrastinate on the edges of expression, but instead step forward with a powerful immediacy.

Crucifixion Diptych by Rogier van der Weyden

Crucifixion Diptych (c. 1460) by Rogier van der Weyden. Oil on oak panels. Left panel: 180.3 × 93.8 cm; right panel: 180.3 × 92.6 cm. Philadelphia Museum of Art, U.S. Image source Wikimedia Commons

This intense pair of paintings was made by the Netherlandish painter Rogier van der Weyden in the 15th century. They are unusual for this age for being so pared-down in their composition and so graphically lucid.

Typically in a crucifixion painting, we’d expect to see a landscape representing the hill of Golgotha, with Christ on the cross flanked by the two thieves executed on either side of him. Crowds of mourners would normally be stationed at the foot of the cross.