There are paintings that, despite not having seen them live, are well etched in our memory. Whether it is for reasons of study, work or daily life, certain works are known by most people. Either for their technique, for their innovative idea or the message that some paintings convey, they have traveled the world for their importance. In this article we list the 10 most famous works of all time.
- The Mona Lisa, Leonardo da Vinci – Louvre Museum, Paris
Also known as Monnalisa, La Gioconda is one of the most famous paintings by Leonardo da Vinci. Iconic and mysterious work, it is certainly the most famous portrait in history. The imperceptible smile of the girl portrayed has inspired critics, writers and scholars over the centuries. The work traditionally represents Lisa Gherardini, wife of Francesco del Giocondo.
- Starry Night, Vincent Van Gogh – Moma, New York
The painting depicts a nocturnal landscape of Saint-Remy-de-Provence, just before sunrise. The work is full of symbolic meanings. The painting was created with a particular pictorial technique: the color, with a very fluid consistency, was spread with a minimum thickness and small close touches, deliberately leaving tiny empty spaces from which to glimpse the texture of the underlying canvas which, in correspondence with the stars , thus simulates the trembling.
- The Scream, Edvard Munch – National Gallery, Oslo
The Scream is a famous painting by the Norwegian painter and, as for his other works, has been created in several versions, four in total. The cue from which this work was born is autobiographical and Munch himself talks about it in a diary page. The version of L’Urlo exhibited at the Munch Museum was the subject of two thefts.
- The Birth of Venus, Sandro Botticelli – Uffizi Gallery, Florence
The birth of Venus is Sandro Botticelli’s masterpiece. A true icon of the Italian Renaissance, sometimes considered a symbol of Florentine art. The painting has always represented the ideal of female beauty in art.
- Guernica, Pablo Picasso – Reina Sofia National Art Center Museum – Madrid
Monumental work by Pablo Picasso, the painting was made in memory of April 26, 1937 for the aerial bombardment of the Basque city of the same name during the Spanish Civil War, Guernica became a very popular work. It is a painting of protest against violence, destruction and war in general.
- The Girl with a Pearl Earring, Jean Vermeer – Mauritshuis – The Hague
The Girl with a Pearl Earring is one of the artist’s best known works. The drop-shaped pearl earring clashes with the girl’s modest condition. According to some studies carried out, a pearl of this size would not exist in nature, therefore it was assumed that it was a blown glass imitation of Venetian production.
- The Kiss, Gustav Klimt – Osterreichische Galerie Belvedere, Vienna
Among the most famous works of the artist, the Kiss represents two lovers who hug each other and abandon themselves in an intense kiss. Klimt is able to masterfully convey the moment in which the male and female universe manage to interpenetrate. The elegance and the mystical-erotic aura made this work the main exponent of the taste of the Belle Epoque.
- The Water Lilies, Claude Monet – Several museums
The water lilies are a group of 250 paintings depicting the aquatic plants present in Monet’s garden. During the various hours of the day, the artist captures the inverted reflections of the water lilies combined with the sky and the trees. Thanks to his mastery, we are faced with a kaleidoscope of colors, light and a sort of static happiness on the surface of the water. The water lilies are exhibited in various museums, including the Musee de l’Orangerie (Paris), the National Gallery (London), the Metropolitan Museum (New York) and the National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art (Rome)
- The Persistence of Memory, Salvador Dali – Moma, New York
Surrealist work par excellence by the great Salvador Dali in which a deserted and desolate land is depicted in which there are some soft clocks. They, almost fluid, symbolically represent the elasticity of time. Dali made this work by observing and philosophically reflecting on the softness of the cheese he was eating.
- 5 – 1948, Jackson Pollock – Private collection
An absolutely innovative work of its kind, bizarre, created with synthetic colors and resins poured onto the support used as a canvas. A sort of net made of gray, brown, white and yellow “threads”.
