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by groby_b 4296 days ago
Van Gogh did pretty decent :) Assuming you meant 20th century modern art, here's a short list.

Skill: Dali. In terms of being "thought-provoking", I consider much of his stuff tripe, made to pander to mass tastes, but he most certainly had skills.

Skill & thought-provoking: Picasso. I don't - again, personal taste - find beauty in his works, but they sure make you think.

Skill & beautiful: Kandinsky, and Miro. It's too abstract for me to really consider it thought-provoking, but the pure beauty of it, to me, is almost mathematical in nature.

All three: I'd probably go with Magritte. YMMV.

If you want to go postmodern, it's getting difficult - not because it doesn't exist, but because I'm not that well-versed. Marcel Duchamp's painting are certainly there. "Nude Descending a Staircase" is, to me, an amazing painting.

Based on your preferences, I'd suspect classical realism would appeal more to you - try Parrish, or Jacob Collins. (I find them boring, but as always, the eye of the beholder is what counts)