History

Art

Best paintings by female artists

The community has spoken. Discover the world ranking, compare it to yours and see how everyone else voted.

Play this TopList

20contenders high-voltage

965votes

24TopList

0commentsUpdated on 10/16/2026 at 11:00 PM

Marie Denise Villers, Portrait of Charlotte du Val d'Ognes (1801)1353

The worldwide ranking generated by 965 votes

20 / 20

Marie Denise Villers, Portrait of Charlotte du Val d'Ognes (1801)1353

Frida Kahlo, Self-Portrait (1940)1302

Louise Breslau, The Artist and Her Model (1921)1288

Artemisia Gentileschi, Mary Magdalene (1621-1622)1271

Marie Bashkirtseff, The Julian Academy (1881)1229

Berthe Morisot, The Artist's Sister at a Window (1869)1222

Rosa Bonheur, The Highland Shepherd (1859)1222

Sionah Tagger, The Train Passing through Neveh Tsedek (1928)1213

Sima Slonim, Scenery (View) (1964)1210

#10

Lois Mailou Jones, Les Fétiches (1938)1197

#11

Lucie Cousturier, Seated Nude (date unknown)1189

#12

Rosalba Carriera, A Young Woman with a Parrot (1730)1171

#13

Jacqueline Marval, The Large Beach at Biarritz (1923)1170

#14

Georgia O'Keeffe, Lake George Reflection (1921–1922)1165

#15

Gerda Wegener, Frontispiece of 'Contes de La Fontaine', Volume I (1928)1157

#16

Alice Bailly, Le Caprice des Belles (1918)1155

#17

Sonia Delaunay, Simultaneous Contrasts (1913)1146

#18

Olga Boznańska, Girl with Chrysanthemum (1894)1127

#19

Plautilla Nelli, Lamentation for Christ with Saints (16th century)1115

#20

Jeanne Manivel, La Bretagne de demain (1922)1100

What the community says

Marie Denise Villers, Portrait of Charlotte du Val d'Ognes (1801) leads with an ELO of 1,353, ahead of Frida Kahlo, Self-Portrait (1940) (1,302) and Louise Breslau, The Artist and Her Model (1921) (1,288). Ranked over 965 duels between 20 contenders, last updated October 16, 2026.

Discover and vote for your favorite painting among 20 iconic works by female artists throughout art history, from Frida Kahlo…

How this ranking is computed

Every duel won lifts a contender and every loss drops them, by an amount that depends on the opponent's strength: beating the leader is worth more than beating the last. It is an ELO, the same principle as in chess. Duels are not drawn at random — an adaptive entropy sort puts the least predictable match-ups first, which settles the ranking far faster than a full round robin. A worldwide ranking is only published past 30 completed plays. Known limit: a contender who has faced few opponents keeps an approximate score, and the bottom of the table moves more than the podium.

How our rankings are made →