Lena Rivera
There are many paintings that could be considered the most famous in the world. The answer depends on how fame is measured – is it the monetary value of the painting, the number of people who have seen it, or the impact it has had on art history? Some of the world's most famous paintings include the Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci, The Last Supper, also by da Vinci, The Scream by Edvard Munch, The Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh, and The Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli.
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What You'll Learn
The Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci
The Mona Lisa, painted by Leonardo da Vinci, is arguably the most famous painting in the world. It is certainly one of them. This iconic portrait, created during the Italian Renaissance, has been described as "the best known, the most visited, the most written about, the most sung about, [and] the most parodied work of art in the world".
The painting is a half-length portrait of a woman, believed to be Italian noblewoman Lisa del Giocondo, the wife of Francesco del Giocondo. The subject's enigmatic expression, the subtle modelling of forms, and the atmospheric illusionism all contribute to the painting's novel qualities. The woman's identity has been the subject of much debate over the years, with several alternative theories proposed. The uncertainty surrounding her identity has only added to the allure of the painting.
The painting is also remarkable for its innovative composition. Leonardo chose to place the horizon line at the subject's eye level, linking the figure with the landscape and enhancing the mysterious nature of the painting. The woman is seated in what appears to be an open loggia, with a vast landscape receding to icy mountains, winding paths, and a distant bridge in the background. Leonardo's use of peripheral vision and shadows in the landscape adds to the overall effect.
The Mona Lisa is also notable for its preservation. It is the best-preserved painting in the world and is currently housed in a hermetically sealed transparent case with controlled pressure and temperature at the Louvre in Paris. The painting has had a significant influence on the world of art and continues to inspire and amaze visitors from around the world.
The painting's fame is further evidenced by its tumultuous history. The Mona Lisa has been vandalised multiple times and was even kidnapped in 1911, only to be returned two years later. Napoleon Bonaparte was also so enamoured with the painting that he had it hung in his bedroom. Today, the Mona Lisa is the property of the French Republic and remains one of the most celebrated and influential works of art in history.
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The Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli
The Birth of Venus, painted by Sandro Botticelli in the mid-1480s, is one of the world's most famous paintings and an icon of Italian Renaissance art. The painting depicts the Roman goddess Venus arriving at the shore after her birth, fully grown, from the sea. This arrival marks the start of Venus's ministry of love. The painting is housed in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy.
The Birth of Venus is a large painting, executed on canvas, which was gaining popularity at the time, especially for secular paintings. It is slightly smaller than Botticelli's other famous work, Primavera, which is also in the Uffizi Gallery. The Birth of Venus is painted using a technique of thin tempera, based on diluted egg yolk, which gives the painting an extraordinary transparency.
The painting's subject matter was probably suggested by the humanist Poliziano. It depicts Venus, born from the sea foam, blown by the west wind, Zephyr, and the nymph, Chloris, towards one of the Horai, who prepares to dress her with a flowered mantle. The land probably represents either Cythera or Cyprus, both Mediterranean islands regarded by the Greeks as territories of the goddess.
The composition of the painting is unique, with Venus slightly to the right of centre, isolated against the background so no other figures overlap her. She has a slight tilt of the head and leans in an awkward contrapposto-like stance. Botticelli paid much attention to her hair and hairstyle, reflecting his interest in the way women wore their long hair in the late 15th century. He gave Venus an idealised face, remarkably free of blemishes, with a clear distinction between a lighter side and a more shaded side.
The depiction of Venus's nudity was unprecedented in Western art since classical antiquity. Botticelli modelled the figure on an Aphrodite statue, such as the Aphrodite of Cnidos, in which the goddess attempts to cover herself modestly. A Neoplatonic reading of the painting suggests that 15th-century viewers would have felt their minds lifted to the realm of divine love when viewing the painting.
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The Scream by Edvard Munch
The Scream, created by Norwegian artist Edvard Munch in 1893, is an icon of modern art. The agonized face in the painting has become one of the most iconic images in art history, seen as symbolizing the anxiety of the human condition. Munch created four versions of The Scream, two in paint and two in pastels. The first version, in oil, tempera, and pastel on cardboard, was painted in 1893 and is currently in the collection of the National Museum of Norway in Oslo. This version includes a barely visible pencil inscription saying, "Kan kun være malet af en gal Mand!" ("could only have been painted by a madman").
The painting is an autobiographical work, based on Munch's experience of a scream piercing through nature while on a walk after his two companions, seen in the background, had left him. Munch recalled that he had been out for a walk at sunset when suddenly the setting sun turned the clouds "a blood red". He then sensed an "infinite scream passing through nature". Scholars have located the spot along a fjord path overlooking Oslo. The reddish sky in the background has been attributed to the powerful volcanic eruption of Krakatoa, which tinted skies red for months in the Western hemisphere about a decade before Munch painted The Scream. Another explanation is the appearance of nacreous clouds, which occur at the latitude of Norway and look similar to the skies in the painting.
The strange, skeletal figure in the foreground of the painting has been compared to a Peruvian mummy that Munch saw at the 1889 Exposition Universelle in Paris. This mummy, buried in a fetal position with its hands alongside its face, also inspired the painter Paul Gauguin. The screaming figure is linked to the natural realm, with Munch intending for the figure on the bridge to feel the cry of nature, a sound sensed internally rather than heard. The two faceless upright figures in the background are set apart from the landscape by the bridge, which provides a contrast with its geometric precision. The foreground figure's body, hands, and head are distorted by the subjective flow of nature, expressing the agony of the obliteration of human personality by this unifying force.
The Scream has been the target of several high-profile art thefts and has inspired many artists. In 1983–1984, pop artist Andy Warhol made a series of silk screen prints copying The Scream. In 2013, The Scream was one of four paintings chosen by the Norwegian postal service for a series of stamps marking the 150th anniversary of Edvard Munch's birth.
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$10.29
The Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh
The Starry Night, often simply called Starry Night, is an oil-on-canvas painting by the Dutch Post-Impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh. Painted in June 1889, it is one of the most famous and recognisable paintings in the world. The painting depicts the view from the east-facing window of Van Gogh's asylum room at Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, just before sunrise, with the addition of an imaginary village. It is the only nocturne in the series of views from his bedroom window.
The painting was inspired by the view from Van Gogh's bedroom window at the Saint-Paul-de-Mausole asylum, a former monastery that functioned as a mental asylum. Van Gogh voluntarily admitted himself to the asylum on 8 May 1889, following a mental breakdown and an infamous act of self-mutilation that occurred in late December 1888. In early June, Van Gogh wrote to his brother Theo, "This morning I saw the countryside from my window a long time before sunrise with nothing but the morning star, which looked very big". Researchers have determined that Venus, or the "morning star", was indeed visible at dawn in Provence in the spring of 1889, and was nearly as bright as it could be. Thus, the brightest "star" in the painting, just to the viewer's right of the cypress tree, is Venus.
Van Gogh made several sketches for the painting, and it is unclear whether the final painting was made in his studio or outside. In a letter dated 9 June, he mentioned that he had been working outside for a few days. The painting was sent to Theo in Paris on 28 September 1889, along with nine or ten other paintings. Van Gogh himself was critical of the painting, referring to it as a "failure" in letters to Theo.
The Starry Night has been subject to various interpretations, ranging from religious symbolism to representations of Van Gogh's emotional turmoil. Some art historians link the swirling sky to contemporary astronomical discoveries, while others see it as an expression of Van Gogh's personal struggles. The artwork was inherited by Theo upon Vincent's death, and it remained in the Van Gogh family until 1901 when Theo's widow, Jo, sold it to Émile Schuffenecker. The painting changed hands several times before it was acquired by the Museum of Modern Art in New York City in 1941, where it has remained as part of its permanent collection.
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Liberty Leading the People by Eugene Delacroix
Liberty Leading the People is a painting by Eugène Delacroix, a French artist who is considered the driving force of the Romantic school in French painting. The painting is considered one of the most famous in the world and is exhibited in the Louvre in Paris.
Delacroix's work depicts a scene from the July Revolution of 1830, also known as "Les Trois Glorieuses", which led to the overthrow of King Charles X. The painting symbolises the revolutionary spirit and the dedication of the French people who fought for liberal ideas. It features a bare-breasted "woman of the people" personifying the concept and Goddess of Liberty, accompanied by a young boy brandishing pistols. They lead a group of people from different social classes, including the bourgeoisie, a student, and a revolutionary worker, as they climb over a barricade and the bodies of the fallen. The figure of Liberty holds aloft the tricolour flag of the French Revolution, which became France's national flag after these events, and brandishes a bayonetted musket. The composition is shaped like a pyramid, with the towers of Notre Dame visible in the background, establishing the setting as Paris.
The painting is notable for its emphasis on freely brushed colour rather than the precise drawing that characterised the academic art of Delacroix's time. It was first exhibited at the Paris Salon of 1831 under the title "Scenes from the Barricades". It later came to be known as "Liberty Leading the People". Delacroix himself witnessed the events depicted in the painting and began work on it in October 1830, writing in a letter to his brother: "My bad mood is vanishing thanks to hard work. I've embarked on a modern subject—a barricade. And if I haven't fought for my country at least I'll paint for her."
"Liberty Leading the People" has had a significant influence on other works of art, music, and literature. It inspired Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi's "Liberty Enlightening the World", known as the Statue of Liberty in New York City. It has also been featured on stamps, album covers, and the old 100-franc notes.
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Frequently asked questions
The most famous painting in the world is widely considered to be the Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci. Painted at the start of the 16th century, it has been on display in the Louvre since 1797 and attracts millions of visitors each year.
In addition to the Mona Lisa, Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper is also considered one of the most famous paintings in the world. Painted in the late 15th century, it is located in the dining hall of the monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan.
The Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli is considered one of the most famous paintings from the Renaissance. Created in the mid-1480s, it is a large-scale depiction of the goddess Venus approaching the shore after her birth. Another famous painting from this period is Primavera, also by Botticelli.
Yes, one of the most famous paintings from the Romanticism movement is The Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh. Painted in 1889 while van Gogh was a patient at the Saint-Paul-de-Mausole Lunatic Asylum, it is considered his magnum opus and is the most famous piece in the Museum of Modern Art's collection.
Guernica by Pablo Picasso is a monumental grey, black, and white painting created to commemorate the 1937 bombing of the Basque town of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War. It is considered one of the most remarkable anti-war paintings in history and is on display at the Museo Reina Sofia in Madrid. Another famous painting that is not from the Renaissance or Romanticism movements is Liberty Leading the People by Eugene Delacroix, which depicts the July Revolution of 1830 in France and is kept at the Louvre Museum in Paris.
