A picture might be worth a thousand words, but sometimes, it’s only one word that determines its monetary value — the name in the corner. Some famous artists choose to hide their names, making their signatures as small as possible so as not to detract from their work, and have become iconic from sheer cultural repetition (we’d recognize that elegant Picasso scrawl anywhere), but a few are truly interesting on their own account. Here, we’ve rounded up a few of the coolest artists’ signatures — whether architectural or loopy, cramped or expansive — on the basis of their own appeal. Click through to see a few of our favorite artists’ signatures, and as always, if we missed a hidden gem, let us know about it in the comments!
Albrecht Durer’s architectural monogram. Image via.
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec’s clever monogram-signature combo. Image via.
Salvador Dalí’s ecstatic scribble. Image via.
William Wallace Denslow’s famous hippocampus. Image via.
Johannes Vermeer’s inscrutable printing. Image via.
Banksy’s exclamatory stencil-signature. Image via.
Walt Otto’s eyeglasses. Image via.
Dean Cornwell’s customary box. Image via.
René Gruau’s starry mark. Image via.
Wassily Kandinsky’s triangulated K. Image via.
Joan Miró’s mountainous M. Image via.
Henri Matisse’s thick strokes. Image via.
Henri Rousseau’s stretched baroque. Image via.
Maxfield Parrish’s blossoming capitals. Image via.
Francisco de Goya’s integrated signature. Image via.