2. The Last Supper, 1495-1498
By: Leonardo da Vinci
A fifteenth century mural painting done in Milan by da Vinci, The Last Supper depicts
the final feast Jesus had with his Twelve Apostles during which he announces one of
them would betray him.
3. School of Athens, c. 1510
By: Raphael
The School of Athens (or Scuola di Atene in Italian) was one of Raphael’s
commissions in the Stanze di Raffaello in the Vatican. The School of Athens is
considered Raphael’s master artwork and is considered the perfect example of High
Renaissance art.
4. Mona Lisa, c. 1503-1519
By: Leonardo da Vinci
This painting depicts Lisa del Giocondo whose expression is well-known for
the enigmatic aura emanating from it. The Mona Lisa is possibly the most
famous painting in the world of all time.
5. Whistler’s Mother, 1871
By: James McNeill Whistler
Whistler painted his mother, Anna McNeill Whistler, when the original model failed to come to the appointment.
The painting was not well-received when he submitted it to the Royal Academy of Art in London for exhibition,
but shortly later the public showed much respect and deference for it, quickly restoring Whistler’s honor.
6. The Starry Night, 1889
By: Vincent van Gogh
Considered to be the best and most famous work of Vincent van
Gogh, The Starry Night was created from memory and portrays
the sight outside the window of his sanitarium room at night.
7. The Scream, 1893
By: Edvard Munch
In a series of paintings reproduced with various media known as Scream, Edvard
Munch conveys an extremely anxious and trembling person standing at the fenced
edge of a road. The scene was identified as the view from a road overlooking Oslo,
Norway.
8. The Great Wave off Kanagawa, c. 1829-32
By: Katsushika Hokusai
The Great Wave off Kanagawa is a woodblock print that is Hokusai’s most famous
work. This woodblock is the most well-known piece of Japanese art in the world. It
depicts an giant wave towering boats near Kanagawa. Mt. Fuji appears in the
background.
9. The Son of Man, 1964
By: Rene Magritte
Magritte painted The Son of Man, or Le fils de l’homme, as a self-portrait. The
painting depicts a man in a suit with a bowler hat; his face is mostly obscured by a
green apple. The theme of the art work is a conflict between that which is visible
and that which is hidden. The parts of a person we want to see is often obscured by
what is visible.
10. Posted by Rick Raule on February 8, 2012 in Arts, Entertainment
11. No. 5, 1948 (Jackson Pollock)
Pollock’s abstract, almost violently expressionist, style
tends to divide people into two large groups: those who
think that he ran the greatest long con in history by
disguising paint drippings as art, and those who think that
he was just really untalented and most of his paintings
were meant to be bowls of fruit. There however is a third,
tiny group of people who genuinely admire Pollock’s work
and are ready to pay big money for it. 156.8 million
(adjusted for inflation), real American dollars, to be exact,
which is what Pollock’s No. 5, 1948 fetched in 2006 after
being sold to an anonymous buyer.
12. Black Square (Kazimir Malevich)
The Ukraine-born Malevich is credited as the creator
of Suprematism which, to my surprise, is an actual
name of a real art form. The basics of Suprematism
boil down to “simple geometric shapes” and Black
Square might be the style’s greatest example. It’s
bold, yet timid. Passionate, yet lifeless. Square, and
yet round. It’s just a black square, but even though
looks more like a parody of a real painting, don’t let it
fool you; almost every work by Malevich is worth
upwards to a million dollars.
13. Composition 8 (Vasily Kandinsky)
Though no one has a definite answer to the question of “What is
art?” many people may agree on something like “Whatever is
created to convey a message from the author” and, in this regard,
Kandinsky out-arts all the other suckers in the business.
Kandinsky spent his life trying to find the perfect combination of
shapes and colors to show people just how he saw and experienced
the world. Now, looking at Composition 8, you’re in your rights to
think that he was obviously a dangerous loon with at least three
schizophrenias, but modern researchers believe Kandinsky was in
fact suffering from synesthesia, a condition which sort of mixes one’s
senses. A person with synesthesia might thus actually hear color
and see music and, if that was the case with Kandinsky, then that
man lived in a colorful, melodious universe that us mere mortals can
only dream of ever understanding.
14. Guernica (Pablo Picasso)
You can’t really see it here, but Picasso’s Guernica is
HUGE, measuring 11×25.6ft . It features humans, animals
and buildings, all depicted in that famous Picasso style
which I still claim was an inside joke of his that got out of
hand, but let’s move past that. Guernica is definitely one
of the most all-encapsulating Picasso works, but what
really sets it apart from the others is its
message. Examining it, you can’t help but feel a little
uncomfortable. The twisted faces, the solemn colors…it’s
all a little…unnerving. And that’s the point, because the
painting was meant to represent the horrors of war.
15. The Birth of Venus (Sandro Botticelli)
Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus is beautiful
with the colors and the composition and all
that other crap but here’s the thing: that
Venus is totally hot. Not too skinny, not too
chubby, her hair might very well be blonde,
red or light brown and ,though she’s
naked, she only lets you see enough to
kick-start your imagination into a wild
frenzy.
16. Saturn Devouring His Son (Francisco Goya)
Francisco “Raven” Goya, with a solid helping of sanity-shattering
nightmare fuel. Look at that thing. Look at its bizarre hobo beard.
Look at the huge anime-esque eyes and the bodybuilder
physique. LOOK AT IT TOTALLY EATING A GUY AND LETTING
YOU KNOW THAT YOU ARE NEXT. Crap on a stick, that is some
sick stuff. But it has a reasonable explanation. That monster thing is
Saturn, a Roman god said to devour his children because it was
foretold that one of them will overthrow him. It is pretty gruesome,
but at least there’s some reason behind it. However, why Goya
decided to paint THAT in his dining room will remain a mystery to
all of us who don’t constantly hear the crying of a thousand infants in
our heads like Goya obviously did.
17. QUESTIONS, CORRECTIONS
and/or ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
For your reference,
You can view and download this PowerPoint at:
http://www.slideshare.net/johnlesterdurana/most-famous-paintings-of-all-times
