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Art critic Jonathan Jones for the British newspaper The Guardian.

Not surprisingly, at least 3 are ��������. However, they’re not the most obvious, immensely famous ones you may expect – but they are just as impressive, if not more, as those everybody tends to know.

Here they are:

Leonardo da Vinci, The Foetus in the Womb (c 1510-13). “Five hundred years ago, this artist and scientist could portray the human mystery with a wonder that is not religious but biological he holds up humanity as a fact of nature. It is for me the most beautiful work of art in the world.” On view at Royal Collection, Windsor Castle.

Caravaggio, The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist (1608). “Death and human cruelty are laid bare by this masterpiece, as its scale and shadow daunt and possess the mind.” On view at St John's Co-Cathedral, Valletta, Malta.

Michelangelo, Prisoners (c 1519-34). “The tragic power of these prisoners as they struggle to emerge out of raw stone is an expression of the human condition that equals Shakespeare's Hamlet.” On view at Accademia Gallery in Florence.

You can read the entire explanation of why he chose these and see pictures for all three .

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