Spectrum #5: Order these painters by birth year — the solution

The Spectrum puzzle from August 19, 2026: six things on one hidden scale, earliest to latest, with every figure and where the checks were best spent.

The puzzle

Order these painters by birth year, earliest at the top and latest at the bottom. The board opened in this order:

1. Michelangelo
2. Monet
3. Picasso
4. Rembrandt
5. Warhol
6. Van Gogh

Michelangelo was already in place; Picasso opened 2 places from home.

The walkthrough

The ends first. Michelangelo is the earliest of the six at 1475 and Warhol the latest at 1928. Anchor those and the middle four are what is left to place.

Where the scale splits. The widest gap is between Rembrandt (1606) and Monet (1840) — 234 years apart. Everything above that line belongs on the earliest side and everything below it on the latest side, so sorting the six into those two groups is most of the puzzle.

The closest call. Monet (1840) and Van Gogh (1853) are only 13 years apart — the pair that is a coin flip without the figures, and the place to spend a check: a check locks whatever is already right and leaves only the wrong tiles to swap.

The answer

Previous: Spectrum #4 (Tue, Aug 18) · Next: Spectrum #6 (Thu, Aug 20)

About Spectrum

Spectrum is Noggin’s daily ordering puzzle: six things, one hidden scale, three checks. Tiles in the right place lock green; the figures turn over when the board is done. How to play Spectrum, or play today’s.