Let us now recall the most famous paintings of the world. This topic is very simple on the one hand, and insanely complex on the other. Indeed, in the entire history of mankind, on Mother Earth, in different centuries and in different countries, many brilliant painters were born who left their immortal masterpieces to the world.
I really would not like to undeservedly ignore the attention of any great artist. But in the framework of this article we will try to talk only about those works that are familiar not only to true connoisseurs of beauty, artists and art historians, but also to the vast majority of the simplest inhabitants of our planet.
Such, for example, are some paintings by da Vinci, Raphael, Botticelli, Van Gogh, Salvador Dali, Karl Bryullov, Aivazovsky, Kustodiev and others. Their works are printed on calendars, magazines, books and textbooks, published in huge print runs, constantly flickering on the TV screens. In fact, they have been familiar to us since childhood.
Paintings by Leonardo da Vinci
A conversation about the most famous paintings of the world is inconceivable without mentioning such world masterpieces of painting as the famous "Mona Lisa", "The Last Supper", "Madonna Litta", "Lady with an Ermine", written by the great Leonardo da Vinci. Two first names stand out from this list. The beautiful and mysterious “Mona Lisa” has been around for centuries, with a unique smile on its lips, calmly looking at the bustle of this world - is there really one among civilized people who would never have seen this picture?
It is believed that the painting depicts Lisa Gerardini - the modest wife of a wealthy Florentine merchant named Francesco del Giocondo. Now you understand where such an unusual name for the portrait came from - "The Mona Lisa"? And the picture was painted around 1503-1505. Today, its priceless original can be seen firsthand at the Louvre. There the portrait hangs, protected by thick bulletproof glass, and a lot of people always crowd around it. And this is not surprising, because people still have not been able to unravel the secret of the smile of this lady.
Da Vinci's paintings are priceless all to one, it is impossible to buy them even for very big money. But there is a special work among his works - this is a picturesque fresco "The Last Supper". The time of its creation: 1495-1498, and it was written by a master by order of the church in the refectory of the Santa Maria delle Grazia monastery, which is located in the glorious Italian city of Milan. The plot depicts one of the most important events in the history of mankind - the last evening meal of Christ with his twelve disciples. It is a great success that the restorers managed to preserve the fresco to our times, because it is widely known that while working on it, Leonardo was engaged in experiments with paints and a primer coating on the wall, which subsequently led to the rapid destruction of the paint layer.
The works of Raphael Santi
The next artist, about which it is no exaggeration to say that he left behind the most famous paintings of the world, is, of course, Rafael Santi - a painter who lived in Italy from 1483 to 1520. One of his most famous and popular works is The Sistine Madonna, considered one of the most perfect and amazing paintings created ever by a human hand.
Another famous creation of the master is the huge (770 by 500 cm) fresco "Athenian school" decorating one of the main halls of the Vatican Palace. Among the many figures of the picture you can see such great thinkers of mankind as Pythagoras, Epicurus, Socrates, Diogenes, Aristotle, Plato. Among philosophers, Raphael portrayed himself, as well as his beautiful beloved Marguerite.
Unrivaled Botticelli
What do you think are the following works on the list of "Pictures of the most famous artists of the world"? These are amazing and unearthly works of Sandro Botticelli. We will name only two of his creations, which are familiar to everyone: “The Birth of Venus” and the canvas, which depicts the famous three graces - “Spring”. Both that and another picture are a hymn to female beauty. No other master has ever managed to capture so captivating and poetic female images in colors.
The artist's muse was a young beautiful Florentine, the beloved of Giuliano Medici - Simonetta Vespucci. It is her gentle, perfect features that look at us from the depths of centuries.
Canvas impressionists
Well, now it’s time to remember about impressionism. This artistic direction originated in France in the late 19th - early 20th centuries. There are a lot of artists working in this manner, and the work of each of them deserves a separate discussion. In this article, we will talk about the most famous paintings of Monet, who stood at the origins of impressionism and is considered one of its founders. The works of this master are included in the collections of the largest museums in Paris, Berlin, St. Petersburg and other cities of the world.
The general public is well acquainted with such paintings by Claude Monet, such as "Pond with Water Lilies" and "Water Lilies". The artist has written many options for works based on these motives.
Van Gogh is an artist whose paintings are the most expensive in the world
Van Gogh was perhaps the most capable artist in the history of mankind. His legacy is about 800 paintings and countless drawings. The most famous painting by Van Gogh is, perhaps, "Sunflowers". It is known for certain that the master wrote 7 still lifes from this series. But, only 5 have survived to this day, and each painting is rated as the most expensive diamond. Just think: during his lifetime, Van Gogh managed to sell only one of his work, and that for mere pennies, and now the cost of his paintings at auctions breaks all records.
Another most famous painting by Van Gogh is the exquisite fantastic painting Starry Night. This work is so popular that even its animated version can be found on the Internet today. Van Gogh's painting is so talented and original that even in the form of reproductions it can be viewed endlessly.
Dreams captured on canvas
Speaking about the most famous paintings of the world, it is impossible not to mention the work of the founder of surrealism, Salvador Dali. It is believed that the artist’s most popular painting is “Memory Constancy”, which depicts a clock in the form of symbols of an endless flow of time. The desert shore in the distance symbolizes the void that, according to Dali, he often felt inside himself.
However, this is far from the only popular work of the surrealist. No less famous are the paintings "Atomic Leda", "A Premonition of Civil War", "The Burning Giraffe", "Dream".
The most famous Russian paintings
Until now, our article has mentioned paintings by foreign masters. And meanwhile, there are many pictures painted by our great compatriots, which are very popular all over the world. There have always been many talented artists in Russia. And if many masterpieces of world painting are difficult to see firsthand, due to the fact that they are abroad, then we can see the originals of Russian painters in many museums in our country, for example, in the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow.
Here are the paintings of the Tretyakov Gallery, the most famous, both here and abroad: “Three Heroes” (V. Vasnetsova), “Ivan the Terrible and his son Ivan” (I. Repin), “The Demon Sitting” (M. Vrubel), “The Appearance of Christ to the People (A. Ivanov),“ Girl with Peaches ”(I. Repin),“ Morning in a Pine Forest ”(I. Shishkin),“ Moscow Courtyard ”(V. Polenov),“ Rooks Have Arrived ” (A. Savrasov) and others.
Kustodievsky beauties
I would also like to talk about the works of the world-famous Russian artist Boris Kustodiev - no one else could tell so deliciously and beautifully by painting means about Russian life, about the mysterious Russian soul. Which of us did not admire the burly beauty behind a samovar ("Tradeswoman for tea") or a full-blooded young lady who was full of health and youth in a village bathhouse ("Russian Venus").
Here are the names of some popular works of the original painter: "Winter", "Portrait of Fyodor Chaliapin", "Haymaking", "Merchant with purchases", "Fair", "Bather", "Pancake week".
"Malevich's black square
We briefly talked about some of the most famous Russian paintings, but it would be wrong to end the article without writing anything about one of the most controversial and controversial works that came out under the brush of one of the most prominent Russian artists. We are talking about the "Black Square" by Kazimir Malevich - the founder of the direction in painting called "Suprematism". And although Malevich wrote a lot of paintings for his long creative life, it was his work that was most remembered to the whole world.
There are several options for the Black Square. They can be seen in the Tretyakov Gallery, the Hermitage and the Russian Museum. The price of these works is huge, according to experts, today it can reach up to 80 million dollars.
Conclusion
It is unfortunate that in this short review it was not possible to talk about the world masterpieces of Rembrandt, Rubens, Karl Bryullov, Pablo Picasso, Paul Gauguin and other wonderful creators. Their work is worthy of attention no less.