My journey with art history, stemming from an afterthought to a definite educational and career focus, began with a single quote: “You don’t know what you like; you like what you know.” These words both introduced and concluded the Great Courses lecture series How to Look at and Understand Great Art, which helped shape my perception of both art and the world immensely.

It has been over a year since I’ve concluded those lectures (which I highly recommend) and my love for art history has only grown. After spending much time on the Italian Renaissance, my personal favorite period, I had the joy of moving on to Spanish history. Along with a Great Courses lecture series, the predominant and personally preferable medium for my history curriculum, I also got to study the art of Spain, all the way from the Renaissance to surrealism. From El Greco to Salvador Dali, it has been an intellectual whirlwind of new faces, new ideas, and new knowledge. Now, without further ado, let me present to you ten of Spain’s greatest (and my favorite) artists…