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Period: Jan 1, 1500 to
The Most Famous Paintigs in History
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Mar 12, 1500
The Last Supper – Leonardo da Vinci.
This world famous painting is not shown in a museum, but rather covers the back wall of the dining hall at Santa Maria delle Grazie monastery in Milan, Italy. It was painted by the most famous artist of all time, Leonardo da Vinci in the late 15th-century. The painting depicts the scene of The Last Supper of Jesus with his disciples. Seeing this masterpiece in the small monastery is truly one of the best attractions Milan has to offer. -
Mar 12, 1503
Mona Lisa – Leonardo da Vinci.
The most famous painting in the world is the main attraction of the Louvre museum in Paris, where it is seen by six million people every year! Leonardo da Vinci painted it from the year 1503 or 1504 till shortly before he died in 1519 -
Jan 1, 1508
The Creation of Adam
The Sistine Chapel ceiling, painted by Michelangelo between 1508 and 1512, at the commission of Pope Julius II, is one of the most renowned artworks of the High Renaissance. The ceiling is that of the large Chapel built within the Vatican in Rome. Central to the ceiling decoration are nine scenes from the Book of Genesis. Among the last to be completed was the Creation of Adam in which God the Father breathes life into Adam, the first man. The Creation of Adam is one of the famous paintings of a -
Mar 12, 1510
The Birth of Venus - Sandro Botticelli
This famous image shows the goddess Venus coming out of the Sea (according to some legends, Venus did not have a mother or father but was instead born of the Sea after the death of Uranus). -
Jan 1, 1512
The Creation Of Adam – Michelangelo
Located on the ceiling of The Sistine Chapel in Vatican City, Rome. The Creation Of Adam was painted by Michelangelo between 1508 and 1512 and it is just one of nine scenes from the book of Genesis that are painted on the center of the ceiling of the chapel -
Jan 1, 1520
School of Athens
This wall painting, located in the Vatican, contains pictures of many famous philosophers. Plato and Aristotle are the two in the middle. As an inside joke, Raphael based Plato’s face on fellow artist Leonardo da Vinci. He also included Michelangelo and himself elsewhere in the painting. -
The Night Watch – Rembrandt van Rijn
Completed in 1642, this famous artwork is on display at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. The painting depicts a city guard moving out, led by Captain Frans Banning Cocq, his lieutenant and the rest of the guard’s armed men. -
Las Meninas - Diego Velazquez
This baroque painting is considered one of the most important of all-time. The central figure is the young Margarita Teresa of Spain but the painting also shows the artist himself, an image of the king and queen, several servants, two dwarfs, and a dog. -
Girl With A Pearl Earring – Johannes Vermeer.
Considered by many to be “the Dutch Mona Lisa” or the “Mona Lisa of the North”, this beautiful painting by the Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer features, well… a girl with a pearl earring. The painting was completed around 1665 and is on display in the Mauritshuis Gallery in the Hague, the Netherlands. -
Whistler’s Mother - James Whistler
An example of tonalism — a style known for dark, neutral shades, this painting is officially titled, “An arrangement in Grey and Black: The Artist’s Mother”. One story says that his mother agreed to sit for the painting because the real model didn’t show up. Another says that Whistler wanted to paint the model standing up but that his mother could not do so for such an extended period so he painted her seated instead. -
Portrait of Dora Maar
Picasso ranks among the top painters of all-time. He was one of the founders of cubism — a style that captures an object from different angles all at once. This painting is actually of Picasso’s lover. -
Starry Night – Vincent van Gogh
Painted by Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh in 1889, Starry Night is one of the most well known paintings in modern culture. The painting is part of the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York. The painting was the inspiration for the song “Vincent” (also known as “starry starry night”) by Don McLean. McLean’s song reference the painting as well as other paintings by the famous artist -
Self-Portrait Without Beard – Vincent van Gogh.
Even though Van Gogh painted many portraits of himself, this one is by far the most famous as it is his last self-portrait and one of the few that depicts him without a beard. It was given by him to his mother as a birthday gift. It is also one of the most expensive paintings of all times, as it was sold for $71.5 million in 1998, and is now part of a private collection -
The Scream – Edvard Munch.
The most famous piece by Edvard Munch, painted around 1893. It was painted using oil and pastel on cardboard. This frightening painting is on display at The National Gallery, Oslo, Norway -
The Kiss
Easily touted as Gustav Klimt's most famous painting, The Kiss is a realistic yet geometric depiction of a kissing couple, completed in 1908 in Vienna, Austria. What makes this piece different than the other oil paintings on the list is that it also incorporates gold leaf on canvas (in addition to oils). -
The Persistence Of Memory – Salvador Dali.
Painted in 1931 by the Spanish artist Salvador Dali, The Persistence of Memory is one of the most recognizable pieces in art history. This work of art is known to make people ponder on their way of life and the way they spend their time, and it is also thought that this wonderful painting was inspired by Albert Einstein’s Theory of Relativity -
Guernica – Pablo Picasso
The most famous painting by Picasso, completed in 1937. The painting was painted in Paris and is Inspired by the bombing of Guernica in Spain during the Spanish Civil War. The painting is on permanent display in Museo Reina Sofía, Madrid, Spain
