The Greatest Books of All Time on Painting

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This list represents a comprehensive and trusted collection of the greatest books. Developed through a specialized algorithm, it brings together 759 'best of' book lists to form a definitive guide to the world's most acclaimed books. For those interested in how these books are chosen, additional details can be found on the rankings page.

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Rank Book Authors Year Country Language Actions
1165 The Horse's Mouth Joyce Cary 1944 British English
1825 Studies In The History Of The Renaissance Walter Pater 1873 British English
2478 Artemisia Anna Banti 1947 Italian Italian
5029 Lust For Life Irving Stone 1934 American English
5338 Aranyecset Sándor Dallos 1931 Hungarian Hungarian
5761 Dear Theo Irving Stone, Jean Stone 1937 American English
6196 Girl in Hyacinth Blue Susan Vreeland 1999 American English
6501 Vermeer Lawrence Gowing 1952 British English
7005 The Girl With The Pearl Earring Tracy Chevalier 1999 British English
7215 Laocoön Gotthold Ephraim Lessing 1766 German German
7215 Modern Painters John Ruskin 1843 British English
7675 The Letters Of Vincent Van Gogh Vincent van Gogh 1914 Dutch Dutch
8050 Rita Angus Jill Trevelyan 2008 New Zealand English
8391 de Kooning Mark Stevens, Annalyn Swan 2004 American English
10305 Renoir, My Father Jean Renoir 1962 French French
10785 Jackson Pollock Steven Naifeh, Gregory White Smith 1989 American English
10978 Portrait Of An Artist Laurie Lisle 1980 American English
11661 War And Turpentine Stefan Hertmans 2013 Belgian Dutch
11661 The Lost Painting Jonathan Harr 2005 American English
11661 Velazquez Jonathan Brown 1986 American English
12324 The Unknown Matisse Hilary Spurling 1998 British English
13133 Vermeer Andrew Graham Dixon 2025 British English
13359 The Nude Kenneth Clark 1956 British English
13532 Gardner's Art Through The Ages Helen Gardner 1926 American English
14130 Passagère Du Silence Fabienne Verdier 2001 French French
15899 Cézanne Roger Fry 1927 British English
17120 Caravaggio Andrew Graham Dixon 2010 British English
17120 Red John Logan 2009 American English
17120 Bluebeard Kurt Vonnegut 1987 American English
17120 The Swan Thieves Elizabeth Kostova 2010 American English
17120 My Adventures As An Illustrator Norman Rockwell 1995 American English
17120 Michelangelo The Florentine Sidney Alexander 1957 Unknown English
17120 The Hand Of Michelangelo Sidney Alexander 1976 Unknown English
17120 Camille Pissarro Anka Muhlstein 2023 Unknown French
17120 Monet Jackie Wullschläger 2023 Unknown English
17120 The Memory Painter Womack, Gwendolyn 2015 American English