Tate Modern Highlights10 Must-See Masterpieces

Painted in 1925, this explosive work marks Picasso's shift to Surrealism. Triggered by a friend's death, the three distorted figures engage in a frenzy of violent ecstasy. Its psychological intensity and jagged forms bridge his classical period with his later explorations of violence and sexuality.

This 1938 sculpture epitomizes Surrealist absurdity. By placing a plaster lobster on a working telephone, Dalí fused sexuality (lobster) with communication (phone) in a provocative, dreamlike object. Originally created for patron Edward James, it remains one of modern art's most recognizable icons of the irrational.

Created in 1953 when Matisse was bedridden, this masterpiece of "drawing with scissors" features spiraling colored rectangles. Despite his physical limitations, Matisse achieved perfect balance and radiant joy through pure color and form. It represents the artist's final triumph, reducing art to its vibrant essence.

Painted in 1958 for a restaurant commission Rothko later rejected, these brooding murals invite deep contemplation. The floating maroon and black forms create a spiritual, chapel-like atmosphere. Rothko intended them to be not just decoration, but an intense emotional experience for the viewer.

This 1959 monochrome canvas glows with Klein's patented International Klein Blue. Believing this color held cosmic energy, Klein rejected traditional forms to capture pure, infinite space. It challenges viewers to find meaning in the immaterial and meditative power of a single vibration of color.

This massive 1963 diptych adapts a comic book panel into monument art. Depicting a fighter jet explosion with hand-painted Ben-Day dots, it blurs the line between high art and commercial imagery. It stands as a powerful, ambiguous commentary on American militarism and consumer culture.

Painted in 1973, this large-scale abstraction explodes with energetic strokes of blue, green, and yellow. A rare female voice in Abstract Expressionism, Mitchell painted "landscapes of feeling." The work captures raw emotional states through aggressive yet lyrical color, proving the enduring power of gestural abstraction.

This mysterious installation (1958-85) features a bronze wedge and humble materials, referencing Beuys's personal mythology of survival. The stag symbolizes spiritual transformation, the lightning sudden energy. It exemplifies his belief in "social sculpture"—art as a vehicle for healing and societal change.

This 2001 tower of hundreds of radios, all tuned to different stations, creates a cacophony of information. referencing the biblical tower, it critiques globalization and media saturation. A monument to communication chaos, it asks how we find meaning in an age of endless noise.