World famous paintings. The most famous paintings in the world

The most famous and significant paintings of the world for the history of art for your inspiration. Immortal paintings of great artists are admired by millions of people.

Art, classical and modern, is one of the most important sources of inspiration, taste and cultural education of any person, and even more so a creative one.

Kept in the Old Masters Gallery in Dresden.

The painting has a little secret: the background, which from afar appears to be clouds, turns out to be the heads of angels upon closer examination. And the two angels depicted in the picture below became the motif of numerous postcards and posters.

Rembrandt "Night Watch" 1642 Stored in State Museum

in Amsterdam.

The true title of Rembrandt’s painting is “The Performance of the Rifle Company of Captain Frans Banning Cock and Lieutenant Willem van Ruytenburg.” Art historians who discovered the painting in the 19th century thought that the figures were standing out against a dark background, and it was called “Night Watch.” Later it was discovered that a layer of soot makes the picture dark, but the action actually takes place during the day. However, the painting has already been included in the treasury of world art under the name “Night Watch”.

Located in the monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan.

Over the more than 500-year history of the work, the fresco has been destroyed more than once: a doorway was cut through the painting and then blocked, the refectory of the monastery where the image is located was used as an armory, a prison, and was bombed. The famous fresco was restored at least five times, with the last restoration taking 21 years. Today, to view the art, visitors must reserve tickets in advance and can spend only 15 minutes in the refectory.

in NYC.

According to the author himself, the painting was painted as a result of the associations that Dali had with the sight of processed cheese. Returning from the cinema, where she went that evening, Gala quite correctly predicted that no one, once they saw The Persistence of Memory, would forget it.

Kept in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.

According to Bruegel, the failure that befell the construction of the Tower of Babel was not due to language barriers that suddenly arose according to the biblical story, but to mistakes made during the construction process. At first glance, the huge structure seems quite strong, but upon closer examination it is clear that all the tiers are laid unevenly, the lower floors are either unfinished or are already collapsing, the building itself is tilting towards the city, and the prospects for the entire project are very sad.

Kazimir Malevich “Black Square” 1915

According to the artist, he painted the picture for several months. Subsequently, Malevich made several copies of “Black Square” (according to some sources, seven). According to one version, the artist was unable to complete the painting on time, so he had to cover the work with black paint. Subsequently, after public recognition, Malevich painted new “Black Squares” on blank canvases. Malevich also painted “Red Square” (in two copies) and one “White Square”.

Kuzma Sergeevich Petrov-Vodkin "Bathing the Red Horse" 1912

Painted in 1912, the painting turned out to be visionary. The red horse acts as the Fate of Russia or Russia itself, which the fragile and young rider is unable to hold. Thus, the artist symbolically predicted with his painting the “red” fate of Russia in the 20th century.

Peter Paul Rubens "The Rape of the Daughters of Leucippus" 1617-1618

The painting “The Rape of the Daughters of Leucippus” is considered the personification of manly passion and physical beauty. The strong, muscular arms of young men pick up young naked women to put them on horses. The sons of Zeus and Leda steal their cousins' brides.

Paul Gauguin "Where did we come from? Who are we? Where are we going?" 1898

According to Gauguin himself, the painting should be read from right to left - three main groups of figures illustrate the questions posed in the title. Three women with a child represent the beginning of life; the middle group symbolizes the daily existence of maturity; in the final group, according to the artist’s plan, “ old woman, approaching death, seems reconciled and given over to her thoughts”, at her feet “a strange White bird...represents the futility of words.”

Eugene Delacroix "Liberty Leading the People" 1830

Delacroix created a painting based on the July Revolution of 1830 in France. In a letter to his brother on October 12, 1830, Delacroix writes: “If I did not fight for my Motherland, then at least I will write for it.” The bare chest of a woman leading the people symbolizes the dedication of the French people of that time, who went bare-chested against the enemy.

Claude Monet "Impression. Rising Sun" 1872

The title of the work “Impression, soleil levant”, with the light hand of journalist L. Leroy, became the name of the artistic movement “impressionism”. The painting was painted from life in the old outport of Le Havre in France.

Jan Vermeer "Girl with a Pearl Earring" 1665

One of the most famous paintings Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer is often called the Nordic or Dutch Mona Lisa. Very little is known about the painting: it is undated and the name of the girl depicted is unknown. In 2003, based on the novel of the same name by Tracy Chevalier, the feature film “Girl with a Pearl Earring” was shot, in which the history of the creation of the painting was hypothetically restored in the context of biography and family life Vermeer.

Ivan Aivazovsky “The Ninth Wave” 1850

Kept in St. Petersburg in the State Russian Museum.

Ivan Aivazovsky is a world-famous Russian marine painter who devoted his life to depicting the sea. He created about six thousand works, each of which received recognition during the artist’s lifetime. The painting “The Ninth Wave” is included in the book “100 Great Paintings”.

Andrey Rublev "Trinity" 1425-1427

The Icon of the Holy Trinity, painted by Andrei Rublev in the 15th century, is one of the most famous Russian icons. The icon is a board in a vertical format. The kings (Ivan the Terrible, Boris Godunov, Mikhail Fedorovich) “covered” the icon with gold, silver and precious stones.

Today the salary is kept in the Sergiev Posad State Museum-Reserve.

Kept in the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow.

The plot of the film is inspired by Lermontov’s poem “The Demon”. The demon is an image of the strength of the human spirit, internal struggle, doubt. Tragically clasping his hands, the Demon sits with sad, huge eyes directed into the distance, surrounded by unprecedented flowers.

The title of the painting “The Ancient of Days” literally translates from English as “Ancient of Days.” This phrase was used as the name of God. The main character of the picture is God at the moment of creation, who does not establish order, but limits freedom and marks the limits of imagination.

Edouard Manet "Bar at the Folies Bergere" 1882

The Folies Bergere is a variety show and cabaret in Paris. Manet often visited the Folies Bergere and ended up painting this painting, his last before his death in 1883. Behind the bar, in the middle of a crowd of people drinking, eating, talking and smoking, a bartender stands absorbed in her own thoughts, watching the trapeze acrobat, who can be seen in the upper left corner of the picture.

Titian "Earthly Love and Heavenly Love" 1515-1516

It is noteworthy that the modern name of the painting was not given by the artist himself, but began to be used only two centuries later. Until this time, the painting had various names: “Beauty, Embellished and Unadorned” (1613), “Three Types of Love” (1650), “Divine and Secular Women” (1700), and, finally, “Earthly Love and Heavenly Love” (1792 and 1833).

Mikhail Nesterov "Vision to the youth Bartholomew" 1889-1890

The first and most significant work from the cycle dedicated to Sergius of Radonezh. Until the end of his days, the artist was convinced that “Vision to the Youth Bartholomew” was his best work. In his old age, the artist liked to repeat: “It’s not me who will live. “Youth Bartholomew” will live. Now, if thirty, fifty years after my death he still says something to people, that means he’s alive, that means I’m alive too "

Pieter Bruegel the Elder "Parable of the Blind" 1568

Other titles of the painting are “The Blind”, “Parabola of the Blind”, “The Blind Leading the Blind”. It is believed that the plot of the film is based on the biblical parable of the blind: “If a blind man leads a blind man, they will both fall into a pit.”

Victor Vasnetsov "Alyonushka" 1881

It is based on the fairy tale “About Sister Alyonushka and Brother Ivanushka.” Initially, Vasnetsov’s painting was called “Fool Alyonushka.” At that time, orphans were called “fools.” “Alyonushka,” the artist himself later said, “seemed to have lived in my head for a long time, but in reality I saw her in Akhtyrka, when I met one simple-haired girl who struck my imagination. There was so much melancholy, loneliness and purely Russian sadness in her eyes ... Some special Russian spirit emanated from her.”

Vincent van Gogh "Starry Night" 1889

Kept in the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

Unlike most of the artist's paintings, " Starlight Night"was written from memory. Van Gogh was at that time in the Saint-Rémy hospital, tormented by attacks of madness.

Karl Bryullov “The Last Day of Pompeii” 1830-1833

Kept in the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg.

The painting depicts the famous eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. e. and the destruction of the city of Pompeii near Naples. The artist's image in the left corner of the painting is a self-portrait of the author.

Pablo Picasso “Girl on a Ball” 1905

Rembrandt "Night Watch" 1642 Pushkin Museum, Moscow

The painting ended up in Russia thanks to industrialist Ivan Abramovich Morozov, who purchased it in 1913 for 16,000 francs. In 1918, the personal collection of I. A. Morozov was nationalized. Currently the painting is in the collection of the State Museum of Fine Arts named after A.S. Pushkin.

The original title of the painting was “Madonna and Child.” The modern name of the painting comes from the name of its owner - Count Litt, owner of the family art gallery in Milan. There is an assumption that the figure of the baby was not painted by Leonardo da Vinci, but belongs to the brush of one of his students. This is evidenced by the baby's pose, which is unusual for the author's style.

Jean Ingres "Turkish Baths" 1862

Ingres finished painting this picture when he was already over 80 years old. With this painting, the artist sums up the image of bathers, the theme of which has long been present in his work. Initially, the canvas was in the shape of a square, but a year after its completion the artist turned it into a round painting - a tondo.

Ivan Shishkin, Konstantin Savitsky "Morning in a pine forest" 1889

“Morning in a Pine Forest” is a painting by Russian artists Ivan Shishkin and Konstantin Savitsky. Savitsky painted the bears, but the collector Pavel Tretyakov, when he acquired the painting, erased his signature, so now Shishkin alone is indicated as the author of the painting.

Mikhail Vrubel "The Swan Princess" 1900

The picture is based on stage image the heroine of N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera “The Tale of Tsar Saltan” based on the plot of the fairy tale of the same name by A. S. Pushkin. Vrubel created sketches for the scenery and costumes for the 1900 premiere of the opera, and his wife sang the role of the Swan Princess.

Giuseppe Arcimboldo "Portrait of Emperor Rudolf II as Vertumnus" 1590

One of the few surviving works of the artist, who composed portraits from fruits, vegetables, flowers, crustaceans, fish, pearls, musical and other instruments, books, and so on. "Vertumnus" is a portrait of the emperor, represented as the ancient Roman god of seasons, vegetation and transformation. In the picture, Rudolph consists entirely of fruits, flowers and vegetables.

Edgar Degas "Blue Dancers" 1897

Degas was a big fan of ballet. He is called the artist of ballerinas.

The work "Blue Dancers" dates back to the late period of Degas's work, when his eyesight weakened and he began to work in large spots of color, giving paramount importance to the decorative organization of the surface of the picture.

Art is almost as old as humanity itself, and over all the centuries of our existence, countless unique works have been created. It would probably be too bold to make a list of the most outstanding masterpieces
, because the criteria for assessing creativity are too subjective. That is why our rating contains paintings and sculptures that are certainly the most recognizable in the world, which does not mean that they are somehow better than other brilliant works.

Which creations are the most famous? Find out now! Perhaps you don’t know everyone, and it’s time to test your erudition and horizons.

24. Discus thrower, author Miron (Miron)

23. Apollo and Daphne, by Bernini

22. Night Watch, by Rembrandt

21. Massacre of the Innocents by Rubens

20. Campbell's Beef Onion Soup by Warhol

19. Starry Night by Van Gogh

18. Rock paintings of the Chauvet Cave

17. The Kiss, by Rodin

16. Manneken Pis, authorship unknown

15. The Persistence of Memory, by Salvador Dali

14. Pieta or Lamentation of Christ, by Michelangelo

13. Water lilies by Claude Monet

12. The Scream by Edvard Munch

11. Moai, authorship unknown

10. The Thinker by Rodin

9. Guernica, by Pablo Picasso

8. The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci

7. Statue of Liberty by Eiffel, Bartholdi

6. Hermes with the baby Dionysus or Hermes Olympus, by Praxiteles

5. The Creation of Adam, by Michelangelo

4. Venus de Milo, or Aphrodite from the island of Milos

3. Birth of Venus, by Sandro Botticelli

2. David, by Michelangelo

1. Mona Lisa, by Leonardo da Vinci

There are millions of paintings in the world that are created and shown in galleries and museums around the world. However, not all of them are as famous and recognizable as those listed below. Here is a list with photos of ten of the most famous paintings in the world.

Guernica

Guernica - famous painting Spanish artist Pablo Picasso, painted in May 1937. It is an oil painting in black and white, done at incredible speed - in just a month. The canvas, 3.5 m high and 7.8 m long, depicts scenes of death, violence, atrocity, suffering and helplessness. It is believed that the reason for its creation was the bombing of the city of the Basque Country - Guernica. Kept in the Reina Sofia Museum in Madrid, the capital of Spain.

Self-Portrait of Vincent van Gogh without a Beard is by far the most famous of the few portraits of Vincent van Gogh that depicts him without a beard. In total, Vincent Van Gogh painted more than 38 of his portraits. It is believed that the artist created this painting as a gift for his mother's birthday. Today it is one of the most expensive paintings of all time. It was sold for $71.5 million in 1998, and is now stored in private collection.

The night Watch

The Night Watch or “The Performance of the Rifle Company of Captain Frans Banning Cock and Lieutenant Willem van Ruytenburg” is a famous painting by the famous artist Rembrandt van Rijn, painted in 1642. Is one of the most famous Dutch paintings Golden Age. The canvas is famous for three characteristics: its colossal size (363 cm × 437 cm), its effective use of light and shadow, and its perception of movement. The painting is now kept in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.

Girl with a Pearl Earring is a famous painting by the Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer, painted around 1665. She is often called the Dutch or Northern Mona Lisa. Very little is known about the painting. According to one version, it depicts the artist’s daughter Maria. The canvas measures 44.5 × 39 cm and is now kept in the Mauritshuis Museum in The Hague, the Netherlands.

The Persistence of Memory is one of the most recognizable and famous paintings by the Spanish painter Salvador Dali. It was written in 1931. This small canvas (24x33 cm) was first shown at the Julien Levy Gallery in 1932. Now kept in the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

Scream

The Scream is a famous painting painted by Norwegian expressionist artist Edvard Munch in 1893. This is the most famous of the four oil versions of The Scream that the artist created between 1893 and 1910 using various techniques. Kept in the National Museum of Norway.

Starlight Night

Starry Night is a famous painting painted by post-impressionist Vincent van Gogh in June 1889. Considered one of his best works, as well as one of the most famous in history. Western culture. Kept in the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

Creation of Adam - famous fresco Italian Renaissance master Michelangelo, painted around 1511. Forms part of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and illustrates the biblical account from the Book of Genesis in which God breathes life into Adam, the first man. Along with Leonardo da Vinci's painting, The Last Supper is the most religious painting of all time.

The Last Supper is a world-famous monumental painting by Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci, created in 1495-1498 on the back wall of the refectory of the Dominican monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan, Italy. The painting depicts a scene described in the Bible as the Last Supper - last supper Christ with his disciples. The size of the painting is approximately 460×880 cm.

Mona Lisa, aka Gioconda, is perhaps the most famous painting in the world, by the Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci, painted approximately between 1503-1505. It is believed to be a portrait of Lisa Gherardini, the wife of a silk merchant from Florence. The most recognizable painting in the world belongs to the French government and is kept in the Louvre in Paris.

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Let us now remember the most famous paintings of the world. This topic is, on the one hand, very simple, but on the other, incredibly complex. Indeed, throughout the history of mankind on Mother Earth in different centuries and in different countries Many brilliant painters were born who left their immortal masterpieces to the world.

I would really not like to undeservedly ignore any great artist. But within the framework of this article, we will try to talk only about those works that are familiar not only to true connoisseurs of beauty, artists and art critics, but also to the absolute majority of the simplest inhabitants of our planet.

These, for example, are some paintings by da Vinci, Raphael, Botticelli, Van Gogh, Salvador Dali, Karl Bryullov, Aivazovsky, Kustodiev, etc. Their works are printed on calendars, in magazines, books and textbooks, published in huge editions in the form of reproductions, constantly flashing on TV screens. In fact, they have been familiar to us since childhood.

Paintings by Leonardo da Vinci

A conversation about the most famous paintings in the world is unthinkable without mentioning such world-class paintings as the famous “La Gioconda”, “Madonna Litta”, “Lady with an Ermine”, painted by the great Leonardo da Vinci. The first two names in particular stand out from this list. The beautiful and mysterious “Mona Lisa” has been around for many centuries, with a unique smile on her lips, calmly looking at the bustle of this world - is there even one among civilized people who has never seen this picture?

It is believed that the painting depicts Lisa Gherardini, the modest wife of a certain rich Florentine merchant named Francesco del Giocondo. Now do you understand where such an unusual name for the portrait came from - “La Gioconda”? And the picture was painted approximately in 1503-1505. Today, its priceless original can be seen in person in the Louvre. There the portrait hangs, protected by thick bulletproof glass, and there are always a lot of people crowding around it. And this is not surprising, because people still have not been able to unravel the secret of this lady’s smile.

Da Vinci's paintings are priceless, every single one, they cannot be bought even for a lot of money. But among his works there is a special work - this is the picturesque fresco “The Last Supper”. The time of its creation: 1495-1498, and it was written by a master commissioned by the church in the refectory of the monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazia, which is located in the famous Italian city Milan. The plot depicts one of the most important events in the history of mankind - the last evening meal of Christ with his twelve disciples. Great luck that the restorers managed to preserve the fresco to this day, because It is a widely known fact that while working on it, Leonardo experimented with paints and primer coating of the wall, which subsequently led to the rapid destruction of the paint layer.

Works by Rafael Santi

The next artist about whom it can be said without exaggeration that he left behind the most famous paintings in the world is, of course, Raphael Santi, a painter who lived in Italy from 1483 to 1520. One of his most famous and popular works - considered one of the most perfect and amazing paintings ever created by the hand of man.

Another famous creation of the master is the huge (770 by 500 cm) fresco “The School of Athens”, which adorns one of the state rooms of the Vatican Palace. Among the numerous figures in the picture you can see such great thinkers of mankind as Pythagoras, Epicurus, Socrates, Diogenes, Aristotle, Plato. Among the philosophers, Raphael depicted himself, as well as his beautiful beloved Margherita.

The unsurpassed Botticelli

What do you think are the next works on our list of "Pictures of the Most famous artists world"? These are the stunning and unearthly works of Sandro Botticelli. Let's name just two of his creations that are familiar to everyone: "The Birth of Venus" and the canvas depicting the famous Three Graces - "Spring". Both paintings are a hymn female beauty. No other artist has ever been able to capture such captivating and poetic female images in paint.

The artist's muse was a young beautiful Florentine woman, the beloved of Giuliano Medici - It is her delicate, perfect features that look at us from time immemorial.

Impressionist paintings

Well, now it’s time to remember about impressionism. This artistic direction originated in France in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. There are a lot of artists working in this manner and the work of each of them deserves separate conversation. In this article we will talk about the most famous paintings by Monet, who stood at the origins of impressionism and is considered one of its founders. The works of this master are included in the collections largest museums Paris, Berlin, St. Petersburg and other cities of the world.

The general public is well aware of such paintings by Claude Monet as “Pond with” and “Water Lilies.” The artist painted many versions of works based on these motifs.

Van Gogh is an artist whose paintings are the most expensive in the world

Van Gogh was perhaps the most productive artist in the history of mankind. His legacy consists of about 800 paintings and countless drawings. The most famous is, perhaps, “Sunflowers”. It is known for certain that the master painted 7 still lifes from this series. But only 5 have survived to this day, and each painting is valued as the most expensive diamond. Just think: during his lifetime, Van Gogh managed to sell only one of his works, and that for mere pennies, and now the cost of his paintings at auctions is breaking all records.

Another of Van Gogh's most famous paintings is the exquisite fantasy painting "Starry Night". This work is so popular that today you can even find an animated version of it on the Internet. Van Gogh's paintings are so talented and original that even in the form of reproductions you can look at them endlessly.

Dreams captured on canvas

Speaking about the most famous paintings in the world, it is impossible not to mention the work of the founder of surrealism, Salvador Dali. It is considered that the most popular painting work The artist's work is "The Persistence of Memory", which depicts a clock in the form of symbols of the endless passage of time. deserted shore in the distance symbolizes the emptiness that Dali said he often felt inside himself.

However, this is far from the only popular work of the surrealist. No less famous are the paintings “Atomic Leda”, “Premonition of Civil War”, “Burning Giraffe”, “Dream”.

The most famous Russian paintings

Until now, our article has mentioned paintings by foreign masters. Meanwhile, there are many paintings painted by our great compatriots that are very popular all over the world. There have always been many in Russia talented artists. And if many masterpieces of world painting are quite difficult to see with your own eyes, due to the fact that they are located abroad, then we can see the originals of Russian painters in many museums in our country, for example, in the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow.

Here are the paintings from the Tretyakov Gallery, the most famous, both here and abroad: “Three Heroes” (V. Vasnetsova), “Ivan the Terrible and His Son Ivan” (I. Repin), “Seated Demon” (M. Vrubel), “The Appearance of Christ to the People (A. Ivanov), “Girl with Peaches” (I. Repin), “Morning in a Pine Forest” (I. Shishkin), “Moscow Courtyard” (V. Polenov), “The Rooks Have Arrived”, etc.

Kustodievsky beauties

Separately, I would like to talk about the works of the world-famous Russian artist Boris Kustodiev - no one else could tell so deliciously and beautifully through painting about Russian life, about the mysterious Russian soul. Who among us has not admired a portly beauty behind a samovar (“Merchant’s Wife at Tea”) or a full-blooded young lady bursting with health and youth in a village bathhouse (“Russian Venus”).

Here are also the names of some popular works by the original painter: “Winter”, “Portrait of Fyodor Chaliapin”, “Haymaking”, “Merchant with Shopping”, “Fair”, “Bather”, “Maslenitsa”.

"Malevich's black square

We briefly talked about some of the most famous Russian paintings, but it would be wrong to end the article without writing anything about one of the most controversial and controversial works that came to light from the brush of one of the outstanding Russian artists. We are talking about the “Black Square” by Kazimir Malevich, the founder of a movement in painting called “Suprematism”. And although Malevich for his long creative life He painted many paintings, but the whole world remembers this work most of all.

There are several variants of the "Black Square". They can be seen in the Tretyakov Gallery, the Hermitage and the Russian Museum. The price of these works is enormous; according to experts, today it can reach up to 80 million dollars.

Conclusion

It is a pity that in this short review it was not possible to talk about the world masterpieces of Rembrandt, Rubens, Karl Bryullov, Pablo Picasso, Paul Gauguin and other wonderful creators. Their work is no less worthy of attention.

“Every portrait painted with feeling is, in essence, a portrait of the artist, and not of the person who posed for him.” Oscar Wilde

What does it take to be an artist? A simple imitation of a work cannot be considered art. Art is something that comes from within. The author's idea, passion, search, desires and sorrows, which are embodied on the artist's canvas. Throughout the history of mankind, hundreds of thousands, and perhaps millions of paintings have been painted. Some of them are truly masterpieces, known all over the world, even people who have nothing to do with art know them. Is it possible to identify the 25 most outstanding among such paintings? The task is very difficult, but we tried...

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"The Persistence of Memory", Salvador Dali

Thanks to this painting, Dali became quite famous at a young age, he was 28 years old. The painting has several other titles - “Soft Hours”, “Hardness of Memory”. This masterpiece has attracted the attention of many art critics. Basically, they were interested in the interpretation of the painting. It is said that the idea behind Dali's painting is related to Einstein's theory of relativity.

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"Dance", Henri Matisse

Henri Matisse was not always an artist. He discovered his love for painting after receiving a law degree in Paris. He studied art so zealously that he became one of the greatest artists in the world. This painting has very little negative criticism from art critics. It reflects a combination of pagan rituals, dance and music. People dance in a trance. Three colors - green, blue and red, symbolize Earth, Sky and Humanity.

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"The Kiss", Gustav Klimt

Gustav Klimt was often criticized for the nudity in his paintings. "The Kiss" was noticed by critics as it merged all forms of art. The painting could be a depiction of the artist himself and his lover, Emilia. Klimt painted this painting under the influence of Byzantine mosaics. The Byzantines used gold in their paintings. In the same way, Gustav Klimt mixed gold in his paints to create his own style painting.

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"Sleeping Gypsy", Henri Rousseau

No one except Rousseau himself could describe this picture better. Here is his description - “a nomadic gypsy who sings her songs to the accompaniment of a mandolin, sleeps on the ground from fatigue, her jug ​​of drinking water lies nearby. A lion passing by came up to sniff her, but did not touch her. Everything is bathed in moonlight, a very poetic atmosphere.” It is noteworthy that Henri Rousseau is self-taught.

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"The Last Judgment", Hieronymus Bosch

Without further ado, the picture is simply magnificent. This triptych is the largest surviving painting by Bosch. The left wing shows the story of Adam and Eve. The central part is " doomsday"from Jesus' side - who should go to heaven and who should go to hell. The earth we see here is burning. The right wing depicts a disgusting image of hell.

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Everyone is familiar with Narcissus from Greek mythology - a man who was obsessed with his appearance. Dali wrote his own interpretation of Narcissus.

This is the story. The beautiful young man Narcissus easily broke the hearts of many girls. The gods intervened and, to punish him, showed him his reflection in the water. The narcissist fell in love with himself and eventually died because he was never able to embrace himself. Then the Gods regretted doing this to him and decided to immortalize him in the form of a narcissus flower.

On the left side of the picture is Narcissus looking at his reflection. After which he fell in love with himself. The right panel shows the events that unfolded after, including the resulting flower, the daffodil.

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The plot of the film is based on the biblical massacre of the infants in Bethlehem. After the birth of Christ became known from the wise men, King Herod ordered the killing of all small male children and infants in Bethlehem. In the picture, the massacre is at its peak, the last few children, who were taken from their mothers, await their merciless death. Also visible are the corpses of children, for whom everything is already behind them.

Thanks to the use of rich color range, Rubens's painting has become a world-famous masterpiece.

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Pollock's work is very different from other artists. He placed his canvas on the ground and moved around and around the canvas, dripping paint from above onto the canvas using sticks, brushes and syringes. Thanks to this unique technique, he was nicknamed “Sprinkler Jack” in artistic circles. For some time, this painting held the title of the most expensive painting in the world.

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Also known as "Dancing at Le Moulin de la Galette". This painting is considered one of Renoir's most joyful paintings. The idea of ​​the film is to show viewers the fun side of Parisian life. Upon closer examination of the painting, you can see that Renoir placed several of his friends on the canvas. Because the painting appears slightly blurred, it was initially criticized by Renoir's contemporaries.

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The plot is taken from the Bible. The painting “The Last Supper” depicts Christ’s last supper before his arrest. He had just spoken to his apostles and told them that one of them would betray him. All the apostles are saddened and tell him that it is, of course, not them. It was this moment that Da Vinci beautifully depicted through his vivid depiction. The great Leonardo took four years to complete this painting.

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Monet's "Water Lilies" can be found everywhere. You've probably seen them on wallpaper, posters and art magazine covers. The fact is that Monet was obsessed with lilies. Before he started painting them, he grew countless numbers of these flowers. Monet built a Japanese-style bridge in his garden over a lily pond. He was so pleased with what he had achieved that he drew this plot seventeen times in one year.

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There is something sinister and mysterious in this picture; there is an aura of fear around it. Only such a master as Munch was able to depict fear on paper. Munch made four versions of The Scream in oil and pastel. According to the entries in Munch's diary, it is quite clear that he himself believed in death and spirits. In the painting “The Scream,” he depicted himself at the moment when one day, while walking with friends, he felt fear and excitement, which he wanted to paint.

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The painting, which is usually mentioned as a symbol of motherhood, was not supposed to become one. It is said that Whistler's model, who was supposed to sit for the painting, did not show up, and he decided to paint his mother instead. We can say that the sad life of the artist’s mother is depicted here. This mood is due to the dark colors that are used in this painting.

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Picasso met Dora Maar in Paris. They say that she was intellectually closer to Picasso than all his previous mistresses. Using Cubism, Picasso was able to convey movement in his work. It seems that Maar's face turns to the right, towards Picasso's face. The artist made the woman's presence almost real. Maybe he wanted to feel like she was there, always.

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Van Gogh wrote Starry Night while undergoing treatment, where he was only allowed to paint while his condition improved. Earlier in the same year, he cut off his left earlobe. Many considered the artist crazy. Of Van Gogh's entire collection of works, Starry Night is the most famous, perhaps due to the unusual spherical light around the stars.

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In this painting, Manet recreated Titian's Venus of Urbino. The artist had a bad reputation for depicting prostitutes. Although gentlemen at that time visited courtesans quite often, they did not think that anyone would take it into their heads to paint them. Then it was preferable for artists to paint pictures of historical, mythical or biblical themes. However, Manet, going against the criticism, showed the audience their contemporary.

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This painting is a historical canvas that depicts Napoleon's conquest of Spain.

Having received an order for paintings depicting the struggle of the people of Spain against Napoleon, the artist did not paint heroic and pathetic canvases. He chose the moment when the Spanish rebels were shot by French soldiers. Each of the Spaniards experiences this moment in their own way, some have already resigned themselves, but for others the main battle has just arrived. War, blood and death, that's what Goya actually depicted.

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It is believed that the girl depicted is eldest daughter Vermeer, Maria. Its features are present in many of his works, but they are difficult to compare. A book with the same title was written by Tracy Chevalier. But Tracy has a completely different version of who is depicted in this picture. She claims that she took this topic because there is very little information about Vermeer and his paintings, and this particular painting exudes a mysterious atmosphere. Later, a film was made based on her novel.

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The exact title of the painting is “Performance of the Rifle Company of Captain Frans Banning Cock and Lieutenant Willem van Ruytenburg.” The Rifle Society was a civilian militia that was called upon to defend the city. In addition to the militias, Rembrandt added several extra people. Considering that he bought an expensive house while painting this picture, it may well be true that he received a huge fee for The Night's Watch.

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Although the painting contains an image of Velázquez himself, it is not a self-portrait. main character paintings - Infanta Margaret, daughter of King Philip IV. This depicts the moment when Velazquez, working on a portrait of the king and queen, is forced to stop and look at the Infanta Margarita, who has just entered the room with her retinue. The painting looks almost alive, arousing curiosity in the audience.

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This is the only painting by Bruegel that was painted in oil rather than tempera. There are still doubts about the authenticity of the painting, mainly for two reasons. Firstly, he did not paint in oils, and secondly, recent studies have shown that under the layer of painting there is a schematic drawing Bad quality, which does not belong to Bruegel.

The painting depicts the story of Icarus and the moment of his fall. According to myth, Icarus' feathers were attached with wax, and because Icarus rose very close to the sun, the wax melted and he fell into the water. This landscape inspired W. H. Auden to write his most famous poem on the same topic.

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The School of Athens is perhaps the most famous fresco by the Italian Renaissance artist, Raphael.

In this fresco at the School of Athens, all the great mathematicians, philosophers and scientists have gathered under one roof, sharing their theories and learning from each other. All the heroes lived in different time, but Raphael placed them all in one room. Some of the figures are Aristotle, Plato, Pythagoras and Ptolemy. A closer look reveals that this painting also contains a self-portrait of Raphael himself. Every artist would like to leave their mark, the only difference is the form. Although maybe he considered himself one of these great figures?

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Michelangelo never considered himself an artist, he always thought of himself more as a sculptor. But, he managed to create an amazing, exquisite fresco that the whole world is in awe of. This masterpiece is on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. Michelangelo was commissioned to paint several biblical stories, one of which was the creation of Adam. In this picture the sculptor in Michelangelo is clearly visible. Human body Adam is rendered with incredible precision using vibrant colors and precise muscular shapes. So, we can agree with the author, after all, he is more of a sculptor.

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"Mona Lisa", Leonardo da Vinci

Although it is the most studied painting, the Mona Lisa still remains the most mysterious. Leonardo said that he never stopped working on it. Only his death, as they say, completed work on the canvas. "Mona Lisa" is the first Italian portrait in which the model is depicted from the waist up. Mona Lisa's skin appears to glow due to the use of several layers of transparent oils. Being scientists Leonardo da Vinci used all his knowledge to make the image of Mona Lisa realistic. As for who exactly is depicted in the painting, it still remains a mystery.

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The painting shows Venus, the goddess of love, floating on a shell in the wind, which is blown by Zephyr, the god of the west wind. She is met on the shore by Ora, the goddess of the seasons, who is ready to dress the newborn deity. The model for Venus is considered to be Simonetta Cattaneo de Vespucci. Simonetta Cattaneo died at 22, and Botticelli wished to be buried next to her. He was bound by unrequited love with her. This painting is the most exquisite work of art ever created.

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Conclusion

This was an article TOP 25 most famous paintings in the world. Thank you for your attention!