One may say that art is a reflection of society. A lot of paintings express the thoughts and feelings of the artist or the cultural values of a certain community. It was difficult to pick just twenty iconic works of art because there are so many. How do you feel about the list? How many of these well-known works are you familiar with?
1. The Mona Lisa
The Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci must be included on any list of the Most Famous Paintings. The controversial painting of Lisa del Giocondo, which is on exhibit at the Musee du Louvre in Paris, was painted somewhere between 1503 and 1519.
2. Starry Night
Although Vincent van Gogh created many famous works, many people agree that his painting Starry Night is his crowning achievement. The work, which was painted in 1889 and was executed from memory, whimsically portrays the scene from his room in the sanitarium he was living in at the time.
3. The Scream
Around 1893, Edvard Munch created his most well-known work, The Scream, on cardboard using oil and pastel. The setting of this expressionist picture, which includes a ghastly figure that resembles the host from Tales from the Crypt, is allegedly Oslo, Norway.
4. Guernica
The bombing of Guernica, Spain, during the Spanish Civil War served as the inspiration for Pablo Picasso’s most well-known work, Guernica, which he finished in 1937. The Spanish government originally commissioned this work with the intention that it would represent the pain caused by conflict and ultimately serve as a symbol of peace.
5. The Persistence of Memory
One of the most famous and distinctive works of art in history is Salvador Dali’s The Persistence of Memory, which was painted in 1931 by yet another Spanish artist. It is assumed that Albert Einstein’s Theory of Relativity served as the inspiration for this strange work, which depicts a gloomy seashore covered in melting clocks.
6. Three Musicians
The bombing of Guernica, Spain, during the Spanish Civil War served as the inspiration for Pablo Picasso’s most well-known work, Guernica, which he finished in 1937. The Spanish government originally commissioned this work with the intention that it would represent the pain caused by conflict and ultimately serve as a symbol of peace.
7. A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte
Three Musicians by Pablo Picasso appears at first glance to be a collage, but it’s actually an oil painting. He created two extremely similar works in 1921 that are collectively referred to as Three Musicians and are housed in the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the New York MoMA.
8. Girl with a Pearl Earring
This captivating artwork by Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer, known as the “Mona Lisa of the North,” depicts the subject matter that the title suggests: a Girl with a Pearl Earring. This work, which was finished about 1665, is now on display in the Hague’s Mauritshuis Gallery.
9. Whistler’s Mother
Arrangement in Grey and Black: The Artist’s Mother, a highly well-known portrait by James McNeill Whistler, is now known simply as Whistler’s Mother. It is one of the few American works on this list, albeit it was painted in 1871 and is currently in the possession of a museum in Paris. As a result, it is rarely exhibited in the United States.
10. Portrait de L’artiste Sans Barbe
The Self-Portrait without a Beard by Vincent van Gogh is undoubtedly one of the most famous works of art ever created, despite the unoriginal title. Even though Van Gogh painted numerous portraits in the past, this one stands out because it is one of the few in which he is seen without a beard. Additionally, it was one of the most expensive paintings ever sold when it sold in 1998 for $71.5 million.
11. The Night Watch
De Nachtwacht is more well known as The Night Watch in modern culture than it is in its native Dutch. To impress the French Queen who would be visiting, a militia captain and his 17 militia guards hired Rembrandt (van Rijn) to depict their company in oil on canvas in 1642.
12. The Kiss
The Kiss, a realistic yet geometric representation of a couple kissing, was created by Gustav Klimt in 1908 in Vienna, Austria, and is unquestionably considered his most well-known work. This art differs from the other oil paintings on the list since it also uses gold leaf on canvas in addition to the other mediums.
13. Water Lilies
Between 1840 and 1926, the French artist Claude Monet created the 250-piece collection known as Water Lilies, which is exactly what it sounds like paintings of a pond filled with water lilies in his backyard. Even though this may not be a single painting, the series deserves a spot on this list because it is spread across some of the most prestigious galleries in the world.
14. The Flower Carrier
Diego Rivera painted The Flower Carrier in 1935. It is also referred to as “Cargador de Flores” in its native language. The Flower Carrier is one of Rivera’s basic works that are dominated by his vivid colours. Rivera is widely regarded as the best Mexican painter of the twentieth century.
15. American Gothic
Grant Wood’s 1930 painting American Gothic, which features a drab image of a farmer and his everyday daughter, personifies the Great Depression and joins the list of classic works of American art.
16. Cafe Terrace at Night
Never one for fancy titles, Vincent Van Gogh’s Cafe Terrace at Night (1888) is one of his most distinctive portrayals of such a mundane scene. Even though he never signed it, Van Gogh made numerous references to his iconic Cafe artwork in his writings.
17. The Son of Man
Rene Magritte’s The Son of Man, which was painted in 1964, is the most recent work on this list. His face is mostly hidden by a floating green apple in this self-portrait, which is part of his The Great War on Facades series of paintings.
18. No. 5, 1948
Jackson Pollock painted No. 5, 1948, another of his more recent works, in 1948. Though chaotic, it is a distinctive work of art and offers a revealing glimpse into the struggle Pollock was experiencing at the time.
19. Bal du moulin de la Galette
The Bal du Moulin de la Galette by French painter Pierre-Auguste Renoires may not have the most instantly recognizable imagery, but it is one of the most expensive paintings ever sold and consequently one of the most well-known. It sold for $78.1 million (adjusted price: $127.4 million), making it one of the most expensive paintings ever.
20. Dogs Playing Poker
American artist C.M. Coolidge painted 16 iconic pictures of Dogs Playing Poker for the brand after being commissioned by Brown & Begelow Cigars in 1903. The image of dogs playing cards around a table has been copied numerous times in greeting cards and popular culture.
