Paintings are not frames but they always speaks. Most famous paintings in the world have a signature of history and culture. They are not mere mixture of some colors but they are combinations of many ideas. Millions and millions of paintings are there all over the world. But very few among them transcend. Few among them rewrite history. The entire universe is a beautiful painting and every one can see the art. But only few can capture them with the brush and illustrate them into amazing art using paint. If we select the best among world-famous paintings it’s sure that the ideas conveyed through the canvas will echo generations over generations. To navigate you through world-famous paintings here comes the best among best.
World famous paintings
Mona Lisa Leonardo da Vinci (1503-1506)
The Italian Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci illustrated half length portrait of Lisa Gherardini, the wife of Francesco del Giocondo. He had done this painting in oil on a white Lombrady poplar panel. This painting is very famous because the facial expression of the woman is cryptic, which makes the painting a source of ongoing investigation.The painting is now displayed in Louvre Museum, France.
The Last Supper – Leonardo da Vinci (1495-1496)
The back wall of the dining hall at Santa Maria delle Grazie monastery in Milan, Italy is covered by this world-famous painting ‘The Last Supper’. It is also from the great artist Leonardo da Vinci. The painting represents the scene of The Last Supper of Jesus with his disciples before his death and resurrection, as it is told in the Gospel of John, 13:21. This painting is like a drama where each figure is unique and memorable and each of them have life. Various discussions and studies are ongoing on this painting about each figures inside it.
The Creation of Adam – Michelangelo (1508-1512)
This is a famous painting by Michelangelo from the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican, Rome, Fresco. Two figures are dominant here. God on right and Adam on left. This picture says the touch of God give life to Adam as well as life to humanity. The Creation of Adam is one among the great painting of Western art. Recently this painting is suffering from ill effects of smoke which darken the painting.
Starry Night – Vincent van Gogh (1889)
Starry Night painting is more famous than its creator. It is one of the well-known picture in modern art which is now a permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York. This painting is seen everywhere. It is seen on mugs, frames, t-shirts, towels, etc. Starry Night shows the village of Saint-Remy under a swirling sun. The most amazing thing of this art is that it was completely from Van Gogh’s imagination. It is a dream over a dream.
The Scream – Edvard Munch (1893)
The scream is an expressionism style drawing as well as autobiographical. It is based on experience of Munch where he experienced scream when he was left alone by his companions. Here the reality is blurred to give more emphasis to emotions. Another amazing fact of this was that the creäture in the foreground is depicted in such a way that it is converted into sexlessness. The style he used here was rare. He himself wrote about this picture “can only painted by a mad man”.
Girl with a Pearl Earring – Johannes Vermeer (1665)
“Mona Lisa of the North”- regarded as masterpiece of Vermeer. The girl is believed to be eldest daughter of Vermeer. She was twelve to thirteen years old when the picture was drawn. Like that of Mona Lisa it’s also hard to understand the facial expression of this girl. The main focus artist given is for the Pearl Earring. This painting is displayed in Mauritshuis Gallery in The Hague, Netherlands.
The Night Watch – Rembrandt van Rijin (1642)
Rembrandt’s Night Watch is the painting which depicts an entire city led by Captain Frans Banning Cocq and guard’s armed men follow him. It is an exclusive painting type of Northern Netherlands. There involves lot of discussions about the name of the picture. It is believed that this picture actually depicts a situation during day time. It is believed that the title was not given by the artist but it was nomenclature by end of 18th century. This long time gap darkened the painting by many layers of dirt and it appeared to be that of night. This painting is now displayed in Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.
The Birth of Venus- Sandro Botticelli (1482-1485)
There is no doubt that Birth of Venus is one of the most appreciated work of Botticelli as it was the landmark in 15th century in Italian painting. This work is one of the most promised work of Renaissance. It is believed to be symbol of Feminine Grace and beauty. This painting depicts the emergence of Goddess Venus. She emerges from a seashell and she is portrayed naked but she use her hands and hairs to dress her shy body. It is now housed in Florence’s Uffizi Gallery.
School of Athens – Raphael (1510-1511)
School of Athens is a painting that represents branches of knowledge. Raphael included various descriptive images of law, theology, philosophy and poetry. It is a Fresco painted by Raphael in the Apostolic Palace in Vatican City. This picture includes famous philosophers like Plato and Aristotle in the middle and other philosophers walking on the sides. It is considered to be masterpiece art of Raphael as well as High Renaissance art.
Whistlers Mother – James McNeill Whistler (1871)
Titled as “Arrangement in Grey and Black, The Artists Mother”, the popular masterpiece of McNeill Whistler. It is an oil painting by the artist of his beloved mother Anna Matilda. This painting stays unique due to the method of modulation he made using various tones of single colors. This painting is currently owned by Musee d’Orsay in Paris.
The Persistence of Memory – Salvador Dali (1931)
This picture depict time as a series of melting watches surrounded swarming ants which indicates the organic process of decaying. The Spanish artist Salvador is a classic example of surrealism where he illustrate hard and soft parts of life side by side. He himself called this painting as “Hand painted dream photograph”. This oil painted canvas is displayed in Museum of Modern Art, New York.
Water Lilies –Claude Monet (1919)
Unlike other paintings this is not a single painting but a series of painting by Claude Monet, The Father of French Impressionism. This painting talks about Monet’s garden. The main specialty of the artist is that many of his paintings were done when He was in cataract. Before drawing the picture he first planted the water lilies.
Les Demoiselles d’Avignon – Pablo Picasso (1907)
The young Ladies of Avignon is a well-known work of Picasso which is a large oil painting which portrays five nude female prostitutes from a brothel on Career d’Avinyo. It is considered as the best illustrated, attractive and mind blowing work which launched Cubism into forefront of all art forms. This art says how Picasso made use of technique in combination of slanted angles and refraction of light. The coloring technique seems to stay different.
La Velata – Raphael (1514-1515)
The Women with the Veil (La Donna Velata) by Italian renaissance painter Raphael. Like Da Vinci Raphael tried to express his own style of art in this. Art historians identified that this women appears as a model in many of his works and she may be his lover and muse. It is painted on oil canvas. Now it is exhibited in Palatine Gallery, Florence.
Impression Sunrise – Claude Monet (1872)
This work depicts the port of Le Havre. He painted six canvases while he returned to his hometown showing various tones of nature, among them Impression Sunrise painted in oil canvas became more famous. The color contrast between yellow and orange were brilliant. Sparkling of various colors in the sea make this work perfect. It is currently displayed in Musee Marmottan Monet Paris.
No Responses