Top Five?

I was telling Mrs. Buce--she had heard it before--that my favorite painting in the whole world was Caravaggio's  Calling of St. Matthew.

She: But that doesn't make any sense. You can't have just one favorite painting. There are too many.

I: Well, how about five. Can I have five?

She: Five is okay. You can't have one, but you can have five. So, what are they?

I: Well, you have to tell, too.

She: Sure. But you start.

I: Well, Calling of St. Matthew of course and--and Piero della Francesca's Resurrection.

She: Resurrection is good. I might even grant you Calling of Saint Matthew.  But first I would put Velasquez' Las Meninas.

I: I thought you would. But first? I thought you couldn't have a firsts.

She: Well, one of the firsts. So, what's next?

I: Picasso. (Long pause). Dora Maar. The weepy one.

She, shaking her head): No, not  Dora Maar (another pause).  Anyway, what you like about Picasso is not any one painting but the fact that he kept at it so long, always trying something new. Now, I will name a Rembrandt. I choose (long pause) ...

I: Flight into Egypt?

She, pensive, shaking her head: Not Flight into Egypt. Hendrickje.

I: Bathing?

She: Bathing is good. But I was thinking of Bathsheba. There are a lot of them. They are all good.

I: So, Rembrandt in general, like Picasso in general?

She: Yes. In general.

...and there it petered out. Turned out we couldn't name top five any more than we could name top one. I wonder what would have happened had we tried to name top five artists.