The most famous paintings in the world

Art is in the eye of the beholder, and not everyone is interested in the same styles or artists. However, the immense popularity of these masterpieces of the modern artistic world seems far from subjective. 

And the value of these paintings isn’t just cultural! They are all worth huge amounts of money, sometimes selling for hundreds of millions.

Have a look through the magnificent works of art.



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‘Mona Lisa’


Undoubtedly the most famous painting in the world, Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece of the 1500s has been on permanent display in the Louvre since 1797.



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‘The Storm on the Sea of Galilee’

This 1633 painting by Rembrandt van Rijn was stolen in 1990 and remains missing. It is a depiction of Jesus calming the storm on the Sea of Galilee.



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‘Bal du moulin de la Galette’


Pierre-Auguste Renoir painted this in 1876. The painting shows a normal Sunday afternoon in the neighborhood of Montmartre, Paris.



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‘Salvator Mundi’

Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece depicting Jesus was completed around 1500. It recently sold at auction for over US$450 million, making it the most expensive painting ever sold.



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‘The Last Supper’


Leonardo da Vinci’s depiction of the last supper of Jesus with his twelve disciples is one of the world’s most recognizable paintings. It was completed in the 1490s.



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‘Girl with a Pearl Earring’


Johannes Vermeer painted this iconic work around 1665. It resides in Mauritshuis, an art museum in the Netherlands, and has been voted the most beautiful Dutch painting.



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‘Las Meninas’


Painted by Diego Velázquez in 1656, this painting of the Spanish Golden Age is thought of as one of the most important paintings in history.



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‘The Raft of the Medusa’


Théodore Géricault painted this in 1818-19. Housed in the Louvre in Paris, the painting is highly iconic and very typical of the French Romantic period.



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‘The Scream’


This highly famous 1893 painting by Edvard Munch has been stolen on two occasions, in 1994 and 2004. By 2006, it was recovered, and is back on display in Norway.



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‘The Fighting Temeraire’


This Joseph Turner painting from 1838 depicts the HMS Temeraire. Housed in London’s National Gallery, it was voted the “UK’s favorite painting” in a UK show.



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‘The Great Wave off Kanagawa’

Katsushika Hokusai painted this instantly recognizable work in Japan between 1829-33. It is part of his famous ‘Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji’ series.



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‘Impression, Sunrise’


This 1872 painting by Claude Monet is hugely significant because its name is believed to have been the reason behind the term Impressionism.



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‘American Gothic’


Grant Wood’s 1930 painting is one of the most recognizable and iconic paintings in contemporary American art. The house in Iowa depicted is now a tourist destination.



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‘Whistler’s Mother’


James McNeill Whistler was an American painter who lived for many years in the UK. This 1871 painting depicts his mother, and is one of the most famous paintings of its era.



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‘The Kiss’


Gustav Klimt painted this in 1907-08. The Austrian Symbolist painting is considered his best, and as a masterpiece of the Art Nouveau era.



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‘The Night Watch’


Painted in 1642 by Rembrandt van Rijn, this enormous painting is part of the Dutch Golden Age. It is on display in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.



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‘The Starry Night’


One of the most famous paintings in the world, Vincent van Gogh’s 1889 masterpiece can be found in the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.



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‘The Sleeping Gypsy’


This 1897 painting by post-impressionist Henri Rousseau is on display in the New York Museum of Modern Art. It is one of Rousseau’s most famous works.



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‘The Hay Wain’


Widely regarded as John Constable’s most famous painting, this 1821 painting is to be found in London’s National Gallery. It was voted the second most popular British painting in a 2005 BBC poll.



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‘The Garden of Earthly Delights’


Hieronymus Bosch painted this some time between 1490 and 1510, and the interpretations of the painting vary wildly. It is on display in Madrid, Spain.



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‘The Ambassadors’


Hans Holbein the Younger painted this in 1533. It is a Renaissance painting with an anamorphic depiction of a skull, a skill which was developed in that period.



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‘Arnolfini Portrait’


This was painted in 1434 by Jan van Eyck. Depicting the Italian merchant Giovanni di Nicolao Arnolfini and his wife, the painting now resides at the National Gallery in London.



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‘A Bar at the Folies-Bergère’


Édouard Manet’s 1882 painting is considered to be his last major work, and is a noticeable example of the realism of his work. It can be found at the Courtauld Gallery in London.



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‘Wanderer above the Sea of Fog’


Caspar David Friedrich painted this in 1818. Widely recognized as a masterpiece of the Romantic movement, it can be found at the Hamburg Kunsthalle, in Germany.



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‘A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte’


This pointillist work was painted between 1884-86 by Georges Seurat, and is considered to be his greatest work. It is in the Art Institute of Chicago.



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‘The Potato Eaters’

This 1885 painting is considered one of Vincent van Gogh’s masterpieces, depicting peasants in a way he regarded as honest. It is held in the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.

Click here to read more about Vincent van Gogh!



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