Carlos Fentanes

I have seen in several sites the impossible task of enumerating the top five or top 10 or even top 100s of everything from food, jewelry, vacation places, etc. I wonder what will be the top five most famous works of art of the world.

Just by reading the header everyone can start to make their own list, if you look for in the internet you will find Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, some of the Van Gogh paintings, maybe the National Gallery Sunflowers or the Starry Night; there will be also a work from Picasso, The Guernica or Le Demoiselles d’Avignon and some other works like The Scream by Munch, Campbell’s Tomato Soup by Warhol, etc. Surely these works are in the top of the works of art of all time but, I think that this list is short about the real mean of fame.

According to the Oxford Dictionary:

Fame
noun
[mass noun]

• the state of being known by many people:the song’s success rocketed him to stardom and fame

Work of Art
noun

• a creative product with strong imaginative or aesthetic appeal.

It’s possible that the works of art that I will list are not seen exactly as a work of art, they’re so common among us that we don’t even realize of its own aesthetic value and the fact that they were made by real artists. After several reflections here’s my top 5 most famous works of art.

1. 
   The One US Dollar Bill. The most wonderful thing about this work of art is that you can buy an original for just one dollar. About the fame, there’s no doubt about that this Washington portrait is more known that the Mona Lisa, maybe not by its aesthetic value but as an economic symbol.
2. 
   The Bible. This book of books, the spiritual guide of Christianity is also a Master Work of the Universal Literature and is the Best Seller Book of all times, translated to almost every language. Maybe most of the people won’t read the Bible because of its aesthetic value but for its Religious one.
3. 
   Star Wars. Somebody said that the cinema is the 7th art. This series of adventure movies had given joy to everybody for more than 30 years and maybe is the most popular series of all time. I’m not telling that this is the best movie, just that is the most popular.
4. 
   The Eiffel Tower. This steel tower in Paris is the symbol of France and one of the most visited sites of all the world.
5. 
   The Main Theme from the Ode to Joy, from Beethoven 9^th Simphony. This is one of the first teachings of every introductory music class in any instrument around the world. If you want to play guitar or piano or flute you have to learn this five note theme; I can assure you that there’s no people in the world who had studied music who do not know this theme.

I’m sorry if I dissapoint you about my list, maybe you expected to find the great masters: Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Picasso, Van Gogh… But as I said I’m not talking about quality, just plain fame.