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.

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.