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For some of the perennial favorite portraits I think it often comes down to just a few main characteristics:
-- Beauty of the subject
-- Compelling gaze, (looking at the viewer)
-- Strong simple value massing in the composition
-- and possibly a dash of saturated color
The portraits that would be named by many of us as our favorites (Gabrielle Cot, Rembrandt as a young man, Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring and his Girl with a Red Hat, Velazquez' Juan de Pareja, etc.) seem to have these characteristics.
Beyond perhaps a dozen paintings I can think of that would crop up on many people's Top Ten list, though, there are thousands of paintings that might "knock the socks off" only a few people. Whenever I go to a museum with another person I'm amazed by the difference in what kind of work we each think of as having "wall presence" or "retina burn".
A particular painting may have my friend riveted to the spot for ten minutes but when I look at it my reaction is just, "......hmmmm......" No response, or worse, a negative feeling.
I just don't know if there are really that many paintings that appeal to virtually everyone. We all have such different tastes and outlooks and I think we like different things as a result.
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