What you need to know about the 7 most famous canvases for every educated person

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

You may not be an expert in painting, you may not always be able to distinguish the paintings of Monet and Manet at first glance, but there are paintings that an educated person is simply ashamed not to know. It is difficult to single out the best among the paintings of outstanding artists, because each of them is a real masterpiece. But the most famous canvases need to be recognized at first sight, if only in order not to be branded as an ignoramus.

Starry Night by Van Gogh

Location: USA, New York, Museum of modern art

The artist himself admitted in a letter to his brother that he felt the need for religion, so he went to paint the stars. The artist's unique brushstroke technique gives the canvas dynamics and creates movement. If you look at a painting for a long time, it may seem that the image is actually in motion. Van Gogh achieved this movement, endlessly experimenting: squeezing paint onto the canvas, creating strokes with the back of a brush, or even with his fingers. The multi-layered picture gives it volume and even the structure of the night sky.

The Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli

Location: Italy, Florence, Uffizi Gallery

The painting, painted around 1584, is considered the most sensual piece of art in the world. The artist created surprisingly airy images, but did not dwell on details, so the background looks flat, the water is, in fact, barely marked. And yet it is impossible to take your eyes off the spiritualized picture with an antique plot. By the way, the brightness of the colors has been preserved to this day thanks to a special protective layer of egg yolk, which was applied by Sandro Botticelli, but the elasticity of the canvas and the absence of cracking were achieved by the minimum addition of fat to the pigments.

Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci

Location: France, Paris, Louvre

The most famous work of the artist is still the object of close attention from not only art lovers, but also ordinary people. The work has some kind of special appeal. At one time, it was forgotten for many years, it was kept deep in museum storerooms, hidden from the eyes of strangers. Later, the painting was ordered to be restored directly by Napoleon, and it gained real popularity in the twentieth century thanks to an attempt to kidnap and export to Italy. At the same time, the kidnapper was motivated not by greed for profit, but by a sense of patriotism. He wanted the canvas of the great Italian to be kept in his homeland.

The Creation of Adam by Michelangelo Buonarroti

Location: Vatican, Sistine Chapel

Only by raising your head in the Sistine Chapel, you can see this masterpiece of the High Renaissance. It is simply impossible not to admire the work, especially if you know that it is performed using the al-fresco technique. This technique is incredibly difficult due to the fact that the paint must be applied exclusively to wet plaster. Therefore, painting assumed high speed and a complete absence of errors, because in the case of an incorrect or disproportionate image, it was impossible to simply wash off the paint layer. It was necessary to completely knock down the plaster and start the whole process from the very beginning.

"Sistine Madonna", Raphael

Location: Germany, Dresden, Gallery of old masters

The painting, created for the altar of the church of the monastery of St. Sixtus II in Piacenza, was commissioned by Pope Julius II himself. The canvas gained popularity in the 19th century, when the fame of it in the literal sense of the word began to be passed from mouth to mouth. Even the beacon of Russian poetry, Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin, openly admired the work of art, although he had never been abroad. A fragment of the same picture was widely used by marketers in advertising at the end of the last century, and thanks to the angels from the bottom of the canvas, the popularity of the "Sistine Madonna" has increased many times over.

Rouen Cathedral in the Sun, Claude Monet

Location: France, Paris, Orsay Museum

The artist painted about thirty canvases with views of the Rouen Cathedral, without repeating on any of them. He demonstrated the change of colors depending on the light and weather, painting him in the rays of sunrise and sunset, on a sunny bright day or in cloudy weather.

"Garden of Earthly Delights", Hieronymus Bosch

Location: Spain, Madrid, Prado Museum

In the central part of his triptych, the artist depicted the world of earthly carnal pleasures, placing images of hell and heaven on either side of it, albeit in his own interpretation. This work has so many details that it is impossible to examine them all in detail even in a day, and experts devote many years to solving the riddles of the canvas.

The canvases of the Dutch artist Hieronymus Bosch are recognizable for their fantastic subjects and delicate details. One of the most famous and ambitious works of this artist is the triptych The Garden of Earthly Delights, which has been controversial for over 500 years from art lovers around the world.