Message quote The most famous and significant paintings of the world for the history of art. | 33 masterpieces of world painting.

Below the pictures of the artists they belong to there are links to the posts.

The immortal paintings of great artists are admired by millions of people. Art, classical and modern, is one of the most important sources of inspiration, taste and cultural education of any person, and even more so a creative one.
There are certainly more than 33 world-famous paintings. There are several hundred of them, and all of them would not fit into one review. Therefore, for ease of viewing, we have selected several paintings that are most significant for world culture and are often copied in advertising. Each work is accompanied interesting fact, an explanation of the artistic meaning or the history of its creation.

Kept in the Old Masters Gallery in Dresden.

The painting has a little secret: the background, which from afar appears to be clouds, turns out to be the heads of angels upon closer examination. And the two angels depicted in the picture below became the motif of numerous postcards and posters.

Rembrandt "Night Watch" 1642
Kept in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.

The true title of Rembrandt’s painting is “The Performance of the Rifle Company of Captain Frans Banning Cock and Lieutenant Willem van Ruytenburg.” Art critics who discovered the painting in the 19th century thought that the figures were standing out against a dark background, and it was called “ Night watch" Later it was discovered that a layer of soot makes the picture dark, but the action actually takes place during the day. However, the painting has already been included in the treasury of world art under the name “Night Watch”.

Leonardo da Vinci "The Last Supper" 1495-1498
Located in the monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan.

Over the more than 500-year history of the work, the fresco has been destroyed more than once: a doorway was cut through the painting and then blocked, the refectory of the monastery where the image is located was used as an armory, a prison, and was bombed. The famous fresco restored at least five times, with the last restoration taking 21 years. Today, to view the art, visitors must reserve tickets in advance and can spend only 15 minutes in the refectory.

Salvador Dali "The Persistence of Memory" 1931

According to the author himself, the painting was painted as a result of associations that arose in Dali when he saw processed cheese. Returning from the cinema, where she went that evening, Gala quite correctly predicted that no one, once they saw The Persistence of Memory, would forget it.

Pieter Bruegel the Elder "Tower of Babel" 1563
Kept in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.

According to Bruegel, the failure that befell the construction of the Tower of Babel was not due to those who suddenly appeared according to biblical story language barriers, and mistakes made during the construction process. At first glance, the huge structure seems quite strong, but upon closer examination it is clear that all the tiers are laid unevenly, the lower floors are either unfinished or are already collapsing, the building itself is tilting towards the city, and the prospects for the entire project are very sad.

Kazimir Malevich “Black Square” 1915

According to the artist, he painted the picture for several months. Subsequently, Malevich made several copies of “Black Square” (according to some sources, seven). According to one version, the artist was unable to complete the painting on time, so he had to cover the work with black paint. Subsequently, after public recognition, Malevich painted new “Black Squares” on blank canvases. Malevich also painted “Red Square” (in two copies) and one “White Square”.

Kuzma Sergeevich Petrov-Vodkin “Bathing the Red Horse” 1912
Located in the State Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow.

Painted in 1912, the painting turned out to be visionary. The red horse acts as the Fate of Russia or Russia itself, which the fragile and young rider is unable to hold. Thus, the artist symbolically predicted with his painting the “red” fate of Russia in the 20th century.

Peter Paul Rubens "The Rape of the Daughters of Leucippus" 1617-1618
Kept in the Alte Pinakothek in Munich.

The painting “The Rape of the Daughters of Leucippus” is considered the personification of manly passion and physical beauty. The strong, muscular arms of the young men pick up young naked women to put them on horses. The sons of Zeus and Leda steal their cousins' brides.

Paul Gauguin "Where do we come from? Who are we? Where are we going? 1898
Kept in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.

According to Gauguin himself, the painting should be read from right to left - three main groups of figures illustrate the questions posed in the title. Three women with a child represent the beginning of life; middle group symbolizes the daily existence of maturity; in the final group, according to the artist’s plan, “the old woman, approaching death, seems reconciled and given over to her thoughts,” at her feet “a strange white bird ... represents the uselessness of words.”

Eugene Delacroix "Liberty Leading the People" 1830
Kept in the Louvre in Paris

Delacroix created a painting based on the July Revolution of 1830 in France. In a letter to his brother on October 12, 1830, Delacroix writes: “If I did not fight for my Motherland, then at least I will write for it.” The bare chest of a woman leading the people symbolizes the dedication of the French people of that time, who went bare-chested against the enemy.

Claude Monet "Impression. Rising Sun" 1872
Kept in the Marmottan Museum in Paris.

The title of the work “Impression, soleil levant”, thanks to the light hand of journalist L. Leroy, became the name artistic direction"impressionism". The painting was painted from life in the old outport of Le Havre in France.

Jan Vermeer "Girl with a Pearl Earring" 1665
Kept in the Mauritshuis Gallery in The Hague.

One of the most famous paintings by the Dutch artist Jan Vermeer is often called the Nordic or Dutch Mona Lisa. Very little is known about the painting: it is undated and the name of the girl depicted is unknown. In 2003, based on the novel of the same name by Tracy Chevalier, it was filmed feature film“Girl with a Pearl Earring”, in which the history of the creation of the canvas is hypothetically restored in the context of biography and family life Vermeer.

Ivan Aivazovsky “The Ninth Wave” 1850
Kept in St. Petersburg in the State Russian Museum.

Ivan Aivazovsky is a world-famous Russian marine painter who devoted his life to depicting the sea. He created about six thousand works, each of which received recognition during the artist’s lifetime. The painting “The Ninth Wave” is included in the book “100 Great Paintings”.

Andrey Rublev “Trinity” 1425-1427

The Icon of the Holy Trinity, painted by Andrei Rublev in the 15th century, is one of the most famous Russian icons. The icon is a board in a vertical format. Tsars (Ivan the Terrible, Boris Godunov, Mikhail Fedorovich) “overlaid” the icon with gold, silver and precious stones. Today the salary is kept in the Sergiev Posad State Museum-Reserve.

Mikhail Vrubel “Seated Demon” 1890
Kept in the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow.

The plot of the film is inspired by Lermontov’s poem “The Demon”. The demon is an image of the strength of the human spirit, internal struggle, doubts. Tragically clasping his hands, the Demon sits with sad, huge eyes directed into the distance, surrounded by unprecedented flowers.

William Blake "The Great Architect" 1794
Kept in the British Museum in London.

The title of the painting “The Ancient of Days” literally translates from English as “Ancient of Days.” This phrase was used as the name of God. Main character The paintings show God at the moment of creation, who does not establish order, but limits freedom and denotes the limits of imagination.

Edouard Manet "Bar at the Folies Bergere" 1882
Kept at the Courtauld Institute of Art in London.

The Folies Bergere is a variety show and cabaret in Paris. Manet often visited the Folies Bergere and ended up painting this painting, his last before his death in 1883. Behind the bar, in the midst of a drinking, eating, talking and smoking crowd, stands an engrossed own thoughts a barmaid watching a trapeze acrobat, who can be seen in the upper left corner of the painting.

Titian “Earthly Love and Heavenly Love” 1515-1516
Kept in the Galleria Borghese in Rome.

It is noteworthy that the modern name of the painting was not given by the artist himself, but began to be used only two centuries later. Until this time, the painting had various titles: “Beauty, Embellished and Unadorned” (1613), “Three Types of Love” (1650), “Divine and Secular Women” (1700), and, ultimately, “Earthly Love and Heavenly Love” "(1792 and 1833).

Mikhail Nesterov “Vision to the youth Bartholomew” 1889-1890
Kept in the State Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow.

The first and most significant work from the cycle dedicated to Sergius of Radonezh. Until the end of his days, the artist was convinced that “Vision to the Youth Bartholomew” was his best work. In his old age, the artist liked to repeat: “It’s not me who will live. “The Youth Bartholomew” will live. Now, if thirty, fifty years after my death he still says something to people, that means he’s alive, and that means I’m alive.”

Pieter Bruegel the Elder "Parable of the Blind" 1568
Kept in the Capodimonte Museum in Naples.

Other titles of the painting are “The Blind”, “Parabola of the Blind”, “The Blind Leading the Blind”. It is believed that the plot of the film is based on the biblical parable of the blind: “If a blind man leads a blind man, they will both fall into a pit.”

Victor Vasnetsov “Alyonushka” 1881
Kept in the State Tretyakov Gallery.

It is based on the fairy tale “About Sister Alyonushka and Brother Ivanushka.” Initially, Vasnetsov’s painting was called “Fool Alyonushka.” At that time, orphans were called “fools.” “Alyonushka,” the artist himself later said, “seemed to have lived in my head for a long time, but in reality I saw her in Akhtyrka, when I met one simple-haired girl who captured my imagination. There was so much melancholy, loneliness and purely Russian sadness in her eyes... Some special Russian spirit wafted from her.”

Vincent van Gogh "Starry Night" 1889
Kept in the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

Unlike most of the artist’s paintings, “Starry Night” was painted from memory. Van Gogh was at that time in the Saint-Rémy hospital, tormented by attacks of madness.

Karl Bryullov “The Last Day of Pompeii” 1830-1833
Kept in the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg.

The painting depicts the famous eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. e. and the destruction of the city of Pompeii near Naples. The artist's image in the left corner of the painting is a self-portrait of the author.

Pablo Picasso “Girl on a Ball” 1905
Stored in the Pushkin Museum, Moscow

The painting ended up in Russia thanks to industrialist Ivan Abramovich Morozov, who purchased it in 1913 for 16,000 francs. In 1918, the personal collection of I. A. Morozov was nationalized. The painting is currently in the collection State Museum Fine Arts named after A.S. Pushkin.

Leonardo da Vinci "Madonna Litta" 1491

Kept in the Hermitage in St. Petersburg.

Original title paintings - “Madonna and Child”. The modern name of the painting comes from the name of its owner - Count Litt, owner of the family art gallery in Milan. There is an assumption that the figure of the baby was not painted by Leonardo da Vinci, but belongs to the brush of one of his students. This is evidenced by the baby's pose, which is unusual for the author's style.

Jean Ingres "Turkish Baths" 1862
Kept in the Louvre in Paris.

Ingres finished painting this picture when he was already over 80 years old. With this painting, the artist sums up the image of bathers, the theme of which has long been present in his work. Initially, the canvas was in the shape of a square, but a year after its completion the artist turned it into a round painting - a tondo.

Ivan Shishkin, Konstantin Savitsky “Morning in a pine forest” 1889
Stored in the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow

"Morning in pine forest"- painting by Russian artists Ivan Shishkin and Konstantin Savitsky. Savitsky painted the bears, but the collector Pavel Tretyakov, when he acquired the painting, erased his signature, so now Shishkin alone is indicated as the author of the painting.

Mikhail Vrubel “The Swan Princess” 1900
Stored in the State Tretyakov Gallery

The painting is based on the stage image of the heroine of N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera “The Tale of Tsar Saltan” based on the plot fairy tale of the same name A. S. Pushkin. Vrubel created sketches for the scenery and costumes for the 1900 premiere of the opera, and his wife sang the role of the Swan Princess.

Giuseppe Arcimboldo “Portrait of Emperor Rudolf II as Vertumnus” 1590
Located in Skokloster Castle in Stockholm.

One of the few surviving works of the artist, who composed portraits from fruits, vegetables, flowers, crustaceans, fish, pearls, musical and other instruments, books, and so on. "Vertumnus" is a portrait of the emperor, represented as the ancient Roman god of seasons, vegetation and transformation. In the picture, Rudolph consists entirely of fruits, flowers and vegetables.

Edgar Degas "Blue Dancers" 1897
Located in the Museum of Art. A. S. Pushkin in Moscow.

The Mona Lisa may not have gained worldwide fame if it had not been stolen in 1911 by a Louvre employee. The painting was found two years later in Italy: the thief responded to an advertisement in the newspaper and offered to sell “Gioconda” to the director of the Uffizi Gallery. All this time, while the investigation was ongoing, the “Mona Lisa” did not leave the covers of newspapers and magazines around the world, becoming an object of copying and worship.

Sandro Botticelli "Birth of Venus" 1486
Kept in Florence in the Uffizi Gallery

The painting illustrates the myth of the birth of Aphrodite. A naked goddess swims to the shore in an open shell, driven by the wind. On the left side of the painting, Zephyr (the west wind), in the arms of his wife Chloris, blows on a shell, creating a wind filled with flowers. On the shore, the goddess is met by one of the graces. The Birth of Venus is well preserved due to the fact that Botticelli applied a protective layer of egg yolk to the painting.

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Home » Foreign artists

Great foreign artists

XIV (14th century) XV (15th century) XVI (16th century) XVII (17th century) XVIII (18th century) XIX (19th century) XX (20th century)

Foreign artists

Lorenzetti Ambrogio
(1319-1348)
Country: Italy

Lorenzetti's paintings harmoniously combined the traditions of Siena painting with its lyricism and the generality of forms and promising spatial construction characteristic of Giotto's art. Although the artist uses religious and allegorical subjects, the features of contemporary life clearly appear in his paintings. The conventional landscape, characteristic of the paintings of the masters of the 14th century, is replaced by Lorenzetti with recognizable Tuscan landscapes. He paints very realistically vineyards, fields, lakes, sea harbors surrounded by inaccessible cliffs.

Eyck Van
Country: Netherlands

The city of Maaseik is considered the homeland of the Van Eyck brothers. Little information has been preserved about his older brother Hubert. It is known that it was he who began work on the famous Ghent Altar in the Church of St. Bavo in Ghent. Probably, the compositional design of the altar belonged to him. Judging by the surviving archaic parts of the altar - "Worship of the Lamb", figures of God the Father, Mary and John the Baptist, - Hubert can be called a master of the transition period. His works had many similarities with the traditions of late Gothic (abstract and mystical interpretation of the theme, conventionality in the transfer of space, little expressed interest in the image of man).

Foreign artists

Albrecht Durer
(1471-1528)
Country: Germany

Albrecht Durer, the great German artist, the largest representative of Renaissance culture in Germany. Born in Nuremberg in the family of a goldsmith, a native of Hungary. Initially he studied with his father, then with the Nuremberg painter M. Wolgemut (1486-89). During his years of study and during his wanderings in Southern Germany (1490-94), during a trip to Venice (1494-95), he absorbed the heritage of the 15th century, but nature became his main teacher.

Bosch Hieronymus
(1450-1516)
Country: Germany

Bosch Hieronymus, the great Dutch painter. Born in Herzogenbosch. His grandfather, grandfather's brother and all five uncles were artists. In 1478, Bosch married a wealthy patrician Aleid van Merwerme, whose family belonged to the highest aristocracy. There were no children from this marriage, and it was not particularly happy. Nevertheless, he brought the artist material well-being, and, not yet becoming quite famous, Bosch could afford to paint the way he wanted.

Botticelli Sandro
(1445-1510)
Country: Italy

Real name - Alessandro da Mariano di Vanni di Amedeo Filipepi, great Italian painter of the Renaissance. Born in Florence into a tanner's family. Initially, he was apprenticed to a certain Botticelli, a goldsmith, from whom Alessandro Filipepi received his surname. But the desire for painting forced him in 1459-65 to study with the famous Florentine artist Fra Philippe Lippi. Early works Botticelli ( "Adoration of the Magi", "Judith and Holofernes" and especially the Madonna - "Madonna Corsini", "Madonna with a Rose", "Madonna with Two Angels") were written under the influence of the latter.

Verrocchio Andrea
(1435-1488)
Country: Italy

Real name - Andrea di Michele di Francesco Cioni, an outstanding Italian sculptor. Born in Florence. Was famous sculptor, painter, draftsman, architect, jeweler, musician. In each genre he established himself as a master innovator, not repeating what his predecessors did.

Carpaccio Vittore
(c. 1455 / 1465 - c. 1526)
Country: Italy

Carpaccio Vittore (c. 1455 / 1465 - c. 1526) - Italian painter. Born in Venice. He studied with Gentile Bellini and was strongly influenced by Giovanni Bellini and partly by Giorgione. Watching events closely modern life, this artist knew how to imbue his religious compositions with a lively narrative and many genre details. In fact, he created an encyclopedia of the life and customs of Venice in the 15th century. They say about Carpaccio that this master is “still at home in Venice.” And even the very idea of ​​Venice is inseparably linked with the memory of the greenish paintings of the brilliant draftsman and colorist, as if visible through sea water.

Leonardo da Vinci
(1452 - 1519)
Country: Italy

One of the greatest Italian Renaissance artists, Leonardo da Vinci was also an outstanding scientist, thinker and engineer. All his life he observed and studied nature - the heavenly bodies and the laws of their movement, mountains and the secrets of their origin, water and winds, the light of the sun and the life of plants. Leonardo also considered man as part of nature, whose body is subject to physical laws and at the same time serves as a “mirror of the soul.” He showed his inquisitive, active, restless love for nature in everything. It was she who helped him discover the laws of nature, to put its forces at the service of man, it was she who made Leonardo the greatest artist, who with equal attention captured a blossoming flower, an expressive gesture of a person and a foggy haze covering distant mountains.

Michelangelo Buonarroti
(1475 - 1564)
Country: Italy

“No man has yet been born who, like me, would be so inclined to love people,” the great Italian sculptor, painter, architect and poet Michelangelo wrote about himself. He created brilliant, titanic works and dreamed of creating even more significant ones. Once, when the artist was at the marble mining in Carrara, he decided to carve a statue from an entire mountain.

Rafael Santi
(1483 - 1520)
Country: Italy

Raphael Santi, great Italian painter of the era High Renaissance and architect. Born in Urbino in the family of G. Santi, the court artist and poet of the Duke of Urbino. He received his first painting lessons from his father. When he died, Raphael moved to T. Viti's studio. In 1500 he moved to Perugio and entered Perugino's workshop, first as an apprentice and then as an assistant. Learned here best features style of the Umbrian school of Painting: the desire for an expressive interpretation of the plot and the nobility of forms. Soon he brought his skill to the point where it became impossible to distinguish a copy from the original.

Titian Vecellio
(1488- 1576)
Country: Italy

Born in Pieve di Cadoro - small town on the border of the Venetian possessions in the Alps. He came from the Vecelli family, very influential in the town. During the war between Venice and Emperor Maximilian, the artist’s father rendered great services to the Republic of St. Mark.

Foreign artists

Rubens Peter Paul
(1577 - 1640)
Country: Germany

Rubens Peter Paul, the great Flemish painter. “The King of Painters and the Painter of Kings” was called by the contemporaries of the Fleming Rubens. In one of the most beautiful corners of Antwerp, there is still “Rubens-Hughes” - the artist’s house, built according to his own design, and workshop. About three thousand paintings and many wonderful drawings came from here.

Goyen Jan van
(1596-1656)
Country: Holland

Goyen Jan van is a Dutch painter. His passion for painting manifested itself very early. At the age of ten, Goyen began to study drawing with the Leiden artists I. Swanenburg and K. Schilperort. The father wanted his son to become a glass painter, but Goyen himself dreamed of being a landscape painter, and he was assigned to study with the mediocre landscape artist Willem Gerrits in the city of Goorn.

Segers Hercules
(1589/1590 - ca. 1638)
Country: Holland

Segers Hercules - Dutch landscape painter and graphic artist. He studied in Amsterdam with G. van Koninksloo. From 1612 to 1629 he lived in Amsterdam, where he was accepted into the guild of artists. Visited Flanders (c. 1629-1630). From 1631 he lived and worked in Utrecht, and from 1633 - in The Hague.

Frans Hals
(c. 1580-1666)
Country: Holland

Decisive role in addition national art at an early stage of development of the Dutch art school played by the work of Frans Hals, its first great master. He was almost exclusively a portrait painter, but his art meant a lot not only to portrait painting Holland, but also for the formation of other genres. In Hals’s work, three types of portrait compositions can be distinguished: a group portrait, a commissioned individual portrait, and a special type of portrait images, similar in nature genre painting, cultivated by him mainly in the 20s - early 30s.

Velazquez Diego de Silva
(1559-1660)
Country: Spain

Born in Seville, one of the largest art centers Spain at the end of the 16th – beginning of the 17th centuries. The artist's father came from a Portuguese family that moved to Andalusia. He wanted his son to become a lawyer or a writer, but did not stop Velazquez from painting. His first teacher was Fr. Herrera Sr., and then F. Pacheco. Pacheco's daughter became Velazquez's wife. In Pacheco's workshop, Velazquez was busy painting heads from life. At the age of seventeen, Velazquez received the title of master. The career of the young painter was successful.

Country: Spain

El Greco
(1541-1614)
Country: Spain

El Greco, real name - Domenico Theotokopouli, great Spanish painter. Born into a poor but enlightened family in Candia on Crete. Crete at that time was the possession of Venice. He studied, in all likelihood, with local icon painters who still preserved the traditions of medieval Byzantine art. Around 1566 he moved to Venice, where he entered Titian's workshop.

Caravaggio Michelangelo Merisi
(1573-1610)
Country: Italy

Caravaggio Michelangelo Merisi, an outstanding Italian painter. The emergence and flourishing of the realistic movement in Italian painting of the late 16th and early 17th centuries is associated with the name of Caravaggio. The creativity of this remarkable master played a huge role in artistic life not only Italy, but also other European countries. The art of Caravaggio attracts us greatly artistic expression, deep truthfulness and humanism.

Carracci
Country: Italy

Carracci, a family of Italian painters from Bologna in the early 17th century, the founders of academicism in European painting. At the turn of the 16th - 17th centuries in Italy, as a reaction to mannerism, an academic movement in painting took shape. Its basic principles were laid down by the Carracci brothers - Lodovico (1555-1619), Agostino (1557-1602) and Annibale (1560-1609).

Bruegel Pieter the Elder
(between 1525 and 1530-1569)
Country: Netherlands

Anyone who has read Charles de Coster’s wonderful novel “The Legend of Till Eulenspiegel” knows that the entire people took part in the Dutch revolution, in the struggle against the Spaniards for their independence, a cruel and merciless struggle. Just like Ulenspiegel, the largest Dutch artist, draftsman and engraver, one of the founders of realistic Dutch and Flemish art, Pieter Bruegel the Elder.

Van Dyck Anthonys
(1599- 1641)
Country: Netherlands

Van Dyck Antonis, an outstanding Flemish painter. Born in Antwerp into the family of a wealthy businessman. Initially he studied with the Antwerp painter Hendrik van Balen. In 1618 he entered Rubens' workshop. I started my work by copying his paintings. And soon he became Rubens’s main assistant in carrying out large orders. Received the title of master of the Guild of St. Luke in Antwerp (1618).

Poussin Nicolas
(1594-1665)
Country: France

Poussin Nicolas (1594-1665), eminent French painter, leading representative of classicism. Born in the village of Andely in Normandy in the family of a small landowner. Initially he studied in his homeland with the little-known, but quite talented and competent wandering artist K. Varen. In 1612, Poussin went to Paris, and there J. Aallemant became his teacher. In Paris he became friends with the Italian poet Marine.

XVII (17th century)

Foreign artists

Cape Albert Gerrits
(1620-1691)
Country: Holland

Cape Albert Gerrits is a Dutch painter and etcher.

He studied with his father, the artist J. Cuyp. His artistic style was formed under the influence of the paintings of J. van Goyen and S. van Ruisdael. Worked in Dordrecht. Cuyp's early works, close to the paintings of J. van Goyen, are monochrome. He paints hilly landscapes, country roads running into the distance, poor peasant huts. The paintings are most often made in a single yellowish tonality.

Ruisdael Jacob van
(1628/1629-1682)
Country: Holland

Ruisdael Jacob van (1628/1629-1682) - Dutch landscape painter, draftsman, etcher. He probably studied with his uncle, the artist Salomon van Ruisdael. Visited Germany (1640-1650s). He lived and worked in Haarlem, and in 1648 he became a member of the guild of painters. From 1656 he lived in Amsterdam, in 1676 he received the degree of Doctor of Medicine in the Treasury and was included in the list of Amsterdam doctors.

Rembrandt Harmens van Rijn
(1606-1669)
Country: Holland

Born in Leiden into a miller's family. The father's affairs went well during this period, and he was able to give his son a better education than other children. Rembrandt entered the Latin School. I studied poorly and wanted to take up painting. Nevertheless, he finished school and entered Leiden University. A year later I started taking painting lessons. His first teacher was J. van Swanenburg. After staying in his workshop for more than three years, Rembrandt went to Amsterdam to visit the historical painter P. Lastman. He had a strong influence on Rembrandt and taught him the art of engraving. Six months later (1623) Rembrandt returned to Leiden and opened his own workshop.

Terborch Gerard
(1617-1681)
Country: Holland

Terborch Gerard (1617-1681), famous Dutch painter. Born in Zwolle into a wealthy burgher family. His father, brother and sister were artists. Terborch's first teachers were his father and Hendrik Averkamp. His father forced him to copy a lot. He created his first work at the age of nine. At the age of fifteen, Terborch went to Amsterdam, then to Haarlem, where he came under the strong influence of Fr. Khalsa. Already at this time he was known as a master of the everyday genre, most willingly painting scenes from the life of military men - the so-called “guardhouses”.

Canalletto (Canale) Giovanni Antonio
(1697-1768)
Country: Italy

Canaletto's first teacher was his father, theater decorator B. Canale, whom he helped design performances in the theaters of Venice. He worked in Rome (1717-1720, early 1740s), Venice (from 1723), London (1746-1750, 1751-1756), where he performed works that formed the basis of his work. He painted vedotas - city landscapes, depicted streets, buildings, canals, boats gliding on the sea waves.

Magnasco Alessandro
(1667-1749)
Country: Italy

Magnasco Alessandro (1667-1749) - Italian painter, genre painter and landscape painter. He studied with his father, the artist S. Magnasco, then with the Milanese painter F. Abbiati. His style was formed under the influence of the masters of the Genoese school of painting, S. Rosa and J. Callot. Lived and worked in Milan, Florence, Genoa.

Watteau Antoine
(1684-1721)
Country: France

Watteau Antoine, an outstanding French painter, with whose work one of the significant stages of development is associated household painting in France. Watteau's fate is unusual. During the years when he wrote his best works, neither in France nor in the neighboring countries was there a single artist who could compete with him. Titans XVII century did not live to see Watteau's era; those who followed him in glorifying the 18th century became known to the world only after his death. In fact, Fragonard, Quentin de La Tour, Perronneau, Chardin, David in France, Tiepolo and Longhi in Italy, Hogarth, Reynolds, Gainsborough in England, Goya in Spain - all this is the middle, or even the end of the 18th century.

Lorraine Claude
(1600-1682)
Country: France

Lorrain Claude (1600-1682) - French painter. At an early age he worked in Rome as a servant for A. Tassi, then became his student. The artist began receiving large orders in the 1630s; his clients were Pope Urban VIII and Cardinal Bentivoglio. From that time on, Lorrain became popular in Roman and French circles of art connoisseurs.

XVIII (18th century)

Foreign artists

Gainsborough Thomas
(1727- 1788)
Country: England

Gainsborough Thomas, outstanding English painter, creator national type portrait. Born in Sudbury, Suffolk, into the family of a cloth merchant. The picturesque surroundings of the town, located on the River Stour, attracted Gainsborough from childhood, who endlessly depicted them in his childhood sketches. The boy's passion for drawing was so great that his father, without hesitation for long, sent his thirteen-year-old son to study in London, which at that time had already become the center of artistic life.

Turner Joseph Mallord William
(1775-1851)
Country: England

Turner Joseph Mallord William was an English landscape artist, painter, draughtsman and engraver. He took painting lessons from T. Moulton (c. 1789), in 1789-1793. studied at the Royal Academy in London. In 1802 Turner became an academician, and in 1809 he became a professor in academic classes. The artist traveled extensively throughout England and Wales, visited France and Switzerland (1802), Holland, Belgium and Germany (1817), Italy (1819, 1828). His artistic style was formed under the influence of C. Lorrain, R. Wilson and Dutch marine painters.

Johannes Vermeer of Delft
(1632-1675)
Country: Holland

Jan Vermeer of Delft is a great Dutch artist. Almost no information about the artist has survived. Born in Delft into the family of a burgher who owned a hotel. He also produced silk and sold paintings. Perhaps that is why the boy became interested in painting early. Master Karel Fabritius became his mentor. Vermeer soon married Katherine Bolney, the daughter of a wealthy burgher, and already in 1653 he was accepted into the Guild of St. Luke.

Goya y Lucientes Francisco Josse
(1746-1828)
Country: Spain

One day, little Francisco, the son of a poor altar gilder from a village near the Spanish city of Zaragoza, painted a pig on the wall of his house. A stranger passing by saw genuine talent in children's drawing and advised the boy to study. This legend about Goya is similar to those told about other Renaissance masters when the true facts of their biography are unknown.

Guardi Francesco Lazzaro
(1712-1793)
Country: Italy

Guardi Francesco Lazzaro is an Italian painter and draftsman, a representative of the Venetian school of painting. He studied with his older brother, the artist Giovanni Antonio, in whose workshop he worked with his younger brother Niccolo. He painted landscapes, paintings of religious and mythological themes, and historical compositions. He worked on the creation of decorative decorations for the interiors of the Manin and Fenice theaters in Venice (1780-1790).

Vernet Claude Joseph
(1714-1789)
Country: France

Vernet Claude Joseph - French artist. He studied first with his father A. Vernet, then with L. R. Viali in Aix and with B. Fergioni, from 1731 in Avignon with F. Sovan, and later in Italy with Manglars, Pannini and Locatelli. In 1734-1753. worked in Rome. During the Roman period, he devoted a lot of time to working from life in Tivoli, Naples, and on the banks of the Tiber. He painted landscapes and sea views (“The seashore near Anzio”, 1743; “View of the bridge and the castle of St. Angel”, “Ponte Rotto in Rome”, 1745 - both in the Louvre, Paris; “Waterfall at Tivoli”, 1747; “Morning in Castellamare”, 1747, Hermitage, St. Petersburg; “Villa Pamphilj”, 1749, Pushkin Museum, Moscow; “Italian Harbor”, “Sea Shore with Rocks”, 1751; “Rocks at the Seashore”, 1753 - all in the Hermitage, Saint Petersburg). These works amaze with their virtuosity in conveying the light-air environment and lighting, authenticity and subtle observation.

Vernet Horace
(1789-1863)
Country: France

Verne Horace is a French painter and graphic artist. He studied with his father, Karl Vernet. Writing during the heyday of the art of romanticism, the artist uses in his works the means inherent in the romantics. He is interested in people at the mercy of natural elements, in extreme situations. Vernet depicts warriors fiercely fighting in battles, hurricanes and shipwrecks (“Battle at Sea”, 1825, Hermitage, St. Petersburg).

Delacroix Eugene
(1798 - 186)
Country: France

Born in Charenton in the family of a prefect. Received an excellent education. He studied painting first at the School of Fine Arts in Paris, then in the workshop of P. Guerin (1816-22), whose cold skill had less influence on him than the passionate art of the romantic T. Géricault, with whom he became close at the School. A decisive role in the formation of Delacroix’s painting style was played by copying the works of old masters, especially Rubens, Veronese and D. Velazquez. In 1822 he made his debut in Talon with a painting "Dante's Rook"(“Dante and Virgil”) based on the plot from the first song of “Hell” (“The Divine Comedy”).

Gericault Theodore
(1791-1824)
Country: France

Born in Rouen into a wealthy family. He studied in Paris at the Imperial Lyceum (1806-1808). His teachers were K.J. Berne and P.N. Guerin. But they had no influence on the formation of it artistic style- in the painting of Gericault, the tendencies of the art of A. J. Gros and J. L. David can be traced. The artist visited the Louvre, where he made copies of works by old masters; he was especially admired by the paintings of Rubens.

Artvedia Art Gallery - biography of contemporary artists. Buy and sell contemporary paintings by artists from various countries.

Hiroshige Ando
(1797-1858)
Country: Japan

Born in Edo (now Tokyo) in the family of a minor samurai, Ando Genemon. His father held the position of foreman of city firefighters, and the family’s life was quite prosperous. Thanks to early training, he quickly learned to understand the properties of paper, brushes and ink. The general level of education at that time was quite high. Theaters, prints, and ikeba-fas were part of everyday life.

Hokusai Katsushika
(1760-1849)
Country: Japan

Hokusai Katsushika is a Japanese painter and draftsman, master of color woodcuts, writer and poet. He studied with the engraver Nakayama Tetsuson. He was influenced by the artist Shunsho, in whose workshop he worked. He painted landscapes in which the life of nature and its beauty are closely connected with the life and activities of man. In search of new experiences, Hokusai traveled a lot around the country, making sketches of everything he saw. The artist sought to reflect in his work the problem of the relationship between man and the nature around him. His art is permeated with the pathos of the beauty of the world and the awareness of the spiritual beginning that man brings to everything with which he comes into contact.

Foreign artists

Bonington Richard Parkes
(1802-1828)
Country: England

Bonington Richard Parkes is an English painter and graphic artist. From 1817 he lived in France. He studied painting in Calais with L. Francia, and from 1820 he attended the School of Fine Arts in Paris, where his teacher was A. J. Gros. In 1822 he began exhibiting his paintings in the Paris Salons, and from 1827 he took part in exhibitions of the Society of Artists of Great Britain and the Royal Academy of Arts in London.

Ensor James
(1860-1949)
Country: Belgium

Ensor James (1860-1949) - Belgian painter and graphic artist. The artist was born and raised in the port city of Ostend, where he spent almost his entire life. The image of this seaside town with narrow streets inhabited by fishermen and sailors, with annual Maslenitsa carnivals and the unique atmosphere of the sea often appears in many of his paintings.

Van Gogh Vincent
(1853- 1890)
Country: Holland

Van Gogh Vincent, the great Dutch painter, representative of post-impressionism. Born in the Brabant Village of Groot Zundert in the family of a pastor. From the age of sixteen he worked at a company selling paintings, and then as an assistant teacher at a private school in England. In 1878 he got a job as a preacher in a mining district in southern Belgium.

Anker Mikael
(1849-1927)
Country: Denmark

Anker Mikael is a Danish artist. He studied at the Academy of Arts in Copenhagen (1871-1875), as well as in the workshop of the Danish artist P. Kreyer. Later in Paris he studied in the workshop of Puvis de Chavannes, but this period was not reflected in his work. Together with his wife Anna he worked in Skagen, in small fishing villages. In his works, the sea is inextricably linked with images of Jutland fishermen. The artist depicts people in moments of their difficult and dangerous work.

Modigliani Amedeo
(1884-1920)
Country: Italy

How subtly and elegantly Anna Akhmatova spoke about Amedeo Modigliani! Of course, she was a poet! Amedeo was lucky: they met in 1911, in Paris, fell in love, and these feelings became the property of the art world, expressed in his drawings and her poems.

Eakins Thomas
(1844-1916)
Country: USA

He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia (Pennsylvania) and at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris (1866-1869). The formation of his artistic style was greatly influenced by the work of the old Spanish masters, which he studied in Madrid. Since 1870, the painter lived in his homeland, in Philadelphia, where he was engaged in teaching activities. Already in the first independent work Eakins showed himself to be a realist (“Max Schmit in a Boat,” 1871, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; “On a Sailboat,” 1874; “Sailing Boats on the Delaware,” 1874).

Kent Rockwell
(1882-1971)
Country: USA

Kent Rockwell is an American landscape painter, draftsman, graphic artist, and writer. He studied with a representative of the plein air school of artist William Merritt Chace in Shinnecock on Long Island, then with Robert Henry at the School of Art in New York, where he also attended the classes of Kenneth Miller.

Homer Winslow
(1836-1910)
Country: USA

Homer Winslow is an American painter and draftsman. He did not receive a systematic education, having only mastered the craft of lithographer in his youth. In 1859-1861 attended evening drawing school at the National Academy of Arts in New York. From 1857 he made drawings for magazines; during the Civil War (1861-1865) he collaborated in the illustrated weekly publication Harpers Weekly, for which he made realistic drawings with battle scenes, characterized by expressive and strict forms. In 1865 he became a member of the National Academy of Arts.

Bonnard Pierre
(1867-1947)
Country: France

Bonnard Pierre - French painter, draftsman, lithographer. Born in the vicinity of Paris. In his youth he studied law, while also studying drawing and painting at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts and the Académie Julian. He was interested in Japanese prints. Together with the artists E. Vuillard, M. Denis, P. Sérusier, they formed the core of a group that called itself “Nabi” - from the Hebrew word for “prophet”. The members of the group were supporters of a symbolism that was less complex and literary than the symbolism of Gauguin and his followers.

Marriage Georges
(1882-1963)
Country: France

Braque Georges - French painter, engraver, sculptor. In 1897-1899 studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Le Havre, then at the Ambert Academy and at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris (1902-1903). His early work marked by the influence of the Fauves, especially A. Derain and A. Matisse. It was during this period that the artist most often turned to the landscape genre: he painted harbors, sea bays with boats, and coastal buildings.

Gauguin Paul
(1848-1903)
Country: France

Gauguin Paul (1848-1903), outstanding French artist. Representative of impressionism. Born in Paris. His father was an employee of the moderate-republican newspaper Nacional. Change political course forced him to leave his homeland in 1849. On a ship heading to South America, he died suddenly. Gauguin spent the first four years of his life in Lima (Peru) with his mother's relatives. At the age of 17-23 he served as a sailor, fireman, helmsman in the merchant and navy, sailed to Rio de Janeiro and other distant cities.

Degas Edgar
(1834-1917)
Country: France

Edgar Degas was a contradictory and strange person at first glance. Born into a banker's family in Paris. The scion of an aristocratic family (his real name was de Ha), he refused the noble prefix from a young age. He showed interest in drawing as a child. Received a good education. In 1853 he passed the exams for a bachelor's degree and began to study law. But already at that time he studied with the painter Barrias, then with Louis Lamothe. Like Edouard Manet, he was groomed for a brilliant career, but he dropped out of law school for the École des Beaux-Arts.

Derain Andre
(1880-1954)
Country: France

Derain Andre - French painter, book illustrator, engraver, sculptor, one of the founders of Fauvism. He began painting in Shatou in 1895, his teacher was a local artist. In 1898-1900 studied in Paris at the Career Academy, where he met A. Matisse, J. Puy and A. Marquet. Very soon Deren left the academy and began studying on his own.

Daubigny Charles Francois
(1817-1878)
Country: France

Daubigny Charles Francois - French landscape painter, graphic artist, representative of the Barbizon school. He studied with his father, the artist E. F. Daubigny, then with P. Delaroche. Was influenced by Rembrandt. In the Louvre he copied the paintings of Dutch masters; he was especially attracted to the works of J. Ruisdael and Hobbema. In 1835-1836 Daubigny visited Italy, and in 1866 he went to Holland, Great Britain and Spain. But these trips were practically not reflected in the artist’s work; almost all of his works are devoted to French landscapes.

Dufy Raoul
(1877-1953)
Country: France

Dufy Raoul - French painter and graphic artist. He studied in Le Havre, in evening classes at the Municipal Art School, where Luyer taught (1892-1897). Here Dufy met O. J. Braque and O. Fries. During this period, he painted portraits of his family members, as well as landscapes similar to the paintings of E. Boudin.

Isabey Louis Gabriel Jean
(1803-1886)
Country: France

Isabey Louis Gabriel Jean (1803-1886) - French painter romantic direction, watercolorist, lithographer. He studied with his father, the miniaturist J.-B. Izabe. Was influenced by the painting of English marine painters and small Dutch XVII V. Worked in Paris. In search of new impressions, Isabey visited Normandy, Auvergne, Brittany, Southern France, Holland, England, and as an artist accompanied an expedition to Algeria.

Courbet Gustave
(1819-1877)
Country: France

Gustave Courbet is an outstanding French painter, a wonderful master of realistic portraiture. “...never belonged to any school, to any church... to any regime, except the regime of freedom.”

Manet Edouard
(1832-1883)
Country: France

Edouard MANET (1832-1883), an outstanding French artist who rethought the traditions of narrative realistic painting. “Brevity in art is both necessity and elegance. A person who expresses himself concisely makes one think; a verbose person is boring.”

Marche Albert
(1875-1947)
Country: France

Marche Albert (1875-1947) - French painter and graphic artist. In 1890-1895 studied in Paris at the School decorative arts, and from 1895 to 1898 - at the School of Fine Arts in the workshop of G. Moreau. He painted portraits, interiors, still lifes, landscapes, including views of the sea, images of harbors and ports. In the landscapes created by the artist from the late 1890s to the early 1900s. the strong influence of the Impressionists is noticeable, in particular A. Sisley (“Trees at Billancourt”, ca. 1898, Museum of Art, Bordeaux).

Monet Claude
(1840-1926)
Country: France

Claude Monet, French painter, founder of impressionism. “What I write is a moment.” Born in Paris in the family of a grocer. He spent his childhood in Le Havre. In Le Havre he began making caricatures, selling them in a stationery shop. E. Boudin drew attention to them and gave Monet his first lessons in plein air painting. In 1859, Monet entered the Paris School of Fine Arts, and then the Gleyer atelier. After a two-year stay in Algeria military service(1860-61) returned to Le Havre and met Ionkind. Landscapes of Ionkind, full of light and air, made a deep impression on him.

Pierre Auguste Renoir
(1841-1919)
Country: France

Pierre Auguste Renoir was born into the family of a poor tailor with many children and from the very beginning early childhood I learned to “live happily” even when there was no piece of bread in the house. At the age of thirteen he already mastered the craft - he painted cups and saucers on porcelain factory. He was wearing his work blouse, stained with paint, when he arrived at the School of Fine Arts. In Gleyre's atelier, he picked up empty paint tubes thrown by other students. Squeezing them to the last drop, he hummed something carefree and cheerful under his breath.

Redon Odilon
(1840-1916)
Country: France

Redon Odilon is a French painter, draftsman and decorator. He studied architecture in Paris, but did not complete the course. For some time he attended the School of Sculpture in Bordeaux, then studied in Paris in the studio of Jerome. As a painter, he was formed under the influence of the art of Leonardo da Vinci, J. F. Corot, E. Delacroix and F. Goya. The botanist Armand Clavo played a big role in his life. Having a rich library, he introduced the young artist to the works of Baudelaire, Flaubert, Edgar Poe, as well as Indian poetry and German philosophy. Together with Clavo, Redon studied the world of plants and microorganisms, which was later reflected in his engravings.

Cezanne Paul
(1839-1906)
Country: France

Until now, one of the participants in the first exhibition on the Boulevard des Capucines, the most silent of the visitors to the Guerbois café, Paul Cézanne, remained in the shadows. It's time to get closer to his paintings. Let's start with self-portraits. Let's take a closer look at the face of this high-cheeked, bearded man, who looks either like a peasant (when he is wearing a cap) or like a scribe-sage (when his steep, powerful forehead is visible). Cézanne was both at the same time, combining the hard work of a peasant with the searching mind of a scientific researcher.

Toulouse Lautrec Henri Marie Raymond de
(1864-1901)
Country: France

Toulouse Lautrec Henri Marie Raymond de, an outstanding French artist. Born in Albi in the south of France into a family that belonged to the largest aristocratic family, which once headed crusades. Since childhood, his talent as an artist has manifested itself. However, he took up painting after a fall from a horse (at the age of fourteen), as a result of which he became disabled. Soon after his father introduced him to Princeto, Henri began to regularly come to the workshop on the rue Faubourg Saint-Honoré. For hours he could watch the artist draw or write.

Foreign artists

Dali Salvador
(1904-1989)
Country: Spain

Dali Salvador, the great Spanish artist, the largest representative of surrealism. Born in Figueres (Catalonia) in the family of a famous lawyer. At the age of sixteen, Dali was sent to a Catholic college in Figueres. The development of his personality was greatly influenced by the Pichot family. All family members owned musical instruments, organized concerts. Ramon Pichot is a painter who worked in Paris and knew P. Picasso closely. In the Pichots' house, Dali was engaged in drawing. In 1918, his first exhibition took place in Fegeras, which was favorably noted by critics.

Kalnins Eduardas
(1904-1988)
Country: Latvia

Kalnins Eduardas is a Latvian marine painter. Born in Riga into the family of a simple artisan, he began to draw early. Kalnins' first teacher was the artist Evgeniy Moshkevich, who opened a studio for aspiring painters in Tomsk, where the boy's family moved at the beginning of the First World War. After 1920, Kalnins returned to Riga with his parents and in 1922 entered the Latvian Academy of Arts. His teacher was Vilhelme Purvitis, a student of A.I. Kuindzhi.

Artists are people who are able to speak publicly with society through the language of visual images and forms. However, their popularity and demand do not seem to depend at all on talent. Who was the most famous artist in history?

Edouard Manet (1832-1883)

Edouard Manet was one of the founders of impressionism. His creative path, as befits the path of a real artist, was not the easiest - the paintings caused controversy and scandals, in the 1860s he exhibited in the so-called “Salon of the Rejected.” It was an alternative exhibition for artists who were not accepted into the official Paris Salon.

Such was the fate of the film “Olympia” that shocked the public. They wrote that the heroine of the canvas looks at the viewer with such a challenge and holds it like that left hand, as if there is a wallet in this hand, and the heroine herself does not care what they think about her. The picture was considered too flat, its plot was vulgar, and the heroine was even compared to... a female gorilla. Who would have thought that after one and a half hundred years this painting would become one of the most recognizable in the world!

Kazimir Malevich (1879-1935)

Oddly enough, the most famous Russian artist can be called Kazimir Malevich. Despite the fact that the Russian school of painting gave dozens of names to art - Repin, Aivazovsky, Vereshchagin and many others - in the memory of the mass audience there remained a man who was more likely a deconstructor of classical painting than a continuer of its traditions.

Kazimir Malevich was the founder of Suprematism - and therefore, in some way, the father of everything contemporary art. His textbook work “Black Square” was exhibited in 1915 and became a programmatic piece. But Malevich is not the only one famous for the Black Square: he worked as a production designer in Meyerhold’s grotesque performances, directed art studio in Vitebsk, where another great artist, Marc Chagall, began to work.

Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890)

The world knows the post-impressionist Vincent van Gogh as a madman and a deeply unhappy man, who at the same time left a rich cultural heritage. He worked actively for only a little over 10 years, but during this time he managed to paint more than two thousand canvases. The long-term struggle with depression was interrupted by bright periods; in the second half of the 1880s, Van Gogh moved to Paris and found there the only social circle he needed - among like-minded artists.

The public, however, was not delighted with Van Gogh's paintings, and the paintings did not sell. The artist spent the last years of his life in Arles in the south of France, where he hoped to create a commune of artists. The plan, alas, remained unfulfilled. The mental disorder progressed, and one day, after a quarrel, Van Gogh attacked a friend who had come to visit with a razor. A friend, the artist Paul Gauguin, turned his friend into an insane asylum. There Van Gogh ended his days - he shot himself a year after his imprisonment.

It is noteworthy that during this period perhaps Van Gogh’s most famous works were written - “Wheat Field with Crows”, “Starry Night” and others. But real fame came to the artist after his death - in the late 1890s. Now his works are considered among the most expensive in the world.

Edvard Munch (1863-1944)

The Norwegian expressionist Edvard Munch could have painted just one painting, but even then he would have gone down in the history of painting. His most recognizable work is the terrifying "Scream", painted between 1893 and 1910. Interestingly, there are four different author's versions of "Scream". In 2012, the painting was sold at auction for a then-record $120 million.

“The Scream” was written after Munch was walking home along the road one evening and turned around - the red sunset he saw amazed him. The path that Munch returned ran past a slaughterhouse and a hospital for the mentally ill, where the artist’s sister was kept.

Contemporaries wrote that the groans of patients and the screams of killed animals were unbearable. It is believed that “The Scream” became a kind of prophecy for the art of the 20th century, permeated with motifs of loneliness, despair and existential nightmare.

Hieronymus Bosch (1450-1516)

One of the main artists of the Renaissance in Northern Europe Hieronymus Bosch is considered. His style of painting is certainly recognizable, despite the fact that only a dozen paintings remain from the entire corpus of paintings. It was true Renaissance art, multifaceted and filled with symbols and allusions. To Bosch's contemporaries his paintings spoke much more than people XXI century, as he abundantly used medieval biblical and folklore motifs.

To understand that this is a Bosch painting, you don’t need to be an art critic. For example, in the most famous work Bosch’s triptych “The Garden of Earthly Delights” contains many details: it depicts the seven deadly sins, reproduced several times, talks in great detail about the hellish torment that awaits sinners (on the right side), and on the left panel shows the fall of Adam and Eve. Bizarre figures, a large number small parts and the specific imagination of the artist leave no doubt about who the author of the painting is.

Andy Warhol (1928-1987)

Everyone deserves their 15 minutes of fame - said joker and postmodernist Andy Warhol. His own fame, however, proved more durable. Perhaps this versatile person has become a symbol of the pop art movement. The most recognizable works of the second half of the 20th century belong to his authorship (not counting, of course, “real” artists).

Andy Warhol created dozens of works and was one of the main cultural leaders of the sixties. However, in the public consciousness he will almost certainly remain as the author of canvases with duplicated identical objects - in one case, such an object was a can of canned tomato soup, and in another, the sex symbol of the 50s and the symbol of the sexist era of Hollywood, Marilyn Monroe.

Salvador Dali (1904-1989)

Surrealist Salvador Dali was also a brilliant manager and PR man. He promoted what is now called “personal branding” long before the term was coined. Everyone remembers his prominent mustache, crazy look and numerous shocking antics - just walks with an anteater on a leash are worth it.

At the same time, Salvador Dali remains one of the main artists of his era. Choosing between two Spaniards in our rating (Dali and Pablo Picasso), the editors of the site still settled on the first - the paintings of Salvador Dali play a much larger role in popular culture; to the average person the names "Persistence of Memory" or "Premonition" civil war"says more than "Guernica" or "The Portrait of Dora Maar."

Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564)

Michelangelo was an artist, a sculptor, and an architect. His personality fully reflected what is commonly called “the nature of the Renaissance.” One of his most famous sculptural works - the statue of David - is often used as an illustration of the very word “Renaissance” as a reflection of the views and achievements of skill and thought of that time.

The fresco “The Creation of Adam” is one of the most recognizable paintings of all times. In addition to its very obvious cultural significance, this image also played a role in the popular culture of the 21st century: what only Internet jokers put into Adam’s outstretched hand: from the remote control remote control to the Jedi lightsaber.

Leonardo Da Vinci (1452-1519)

Of course, the most famous artist in the world is the Italian Leonardo da Vinci. At the same time, he himself did not give preference to any one field of activity and considered himself a scientist, engineer, sculptor... - in a word, a man of the Renaissance, like his contemporary and colleague Michelangelo.

It is known that Leonardo worked on paintings for a long time, often put them off “for later” and in general, apparently, treated painting as another type of creativity, not distinguishing it too much from others. Therefore, a relatively small number of his paintings have reached us. One cannot help but recall the textbook “La Gioconda”, as well as “The Lady with an Ermine”, “Madonna Litta” - and, of course, the fresco “The Last Supper” in the monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan.

It is not surprising that famous artists often attract imitators - both those who want to touch the glory of geniuses and those who want to make money from it. We invite you to read about the most famous painting forgers in history.
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There are works of art that seem to hit the viewer over the head, stunning and amazing. Others draw you into thought and a search for layers of meaning and secret symbolism. Some paintings are shrouded in secrets and mystical mysteries, while others surprise with exorbitant prices.

We carefully reviewed all the main achievements in world painting and selected from them two dozen of the most strange paintings. Salvador Dali, whose works completely fall within the format of this material and are the first to come to mind, were not included in this collection on purpose.

It is clear that “strangeness” is a rather subjective concept and everyone has their own amazing paintings that stand out from other works of art. We will be glad if you share them in the comments and tell us a little about them.

"Scream"

Edvard Munch. 1893, cardboard, oil, tempera, pastel.
National Gallery, Oslo.

The Scream is considered a landmark expressionist event and one of the most famous paintings in the world.

There are two interpretations of what is depicted: it is the hero himself who is gripped by horror and silently screams, pressing his hands to his ears; or the hero closes his ears from the cry of the world and nature sounding around him. Munch wrote four versions of “The Scream,” and there is a version that this painting is the fruit of manic-depressive psychosis from which the artist suffered. After a course of treatment at the clinic, Munch did not return to work on the canvas.

“I was walking along the path with two friends. The sun was setting - suddenly the sky turned blood red, I paused, feeling exhausted, and leaned against the fence - I looked at the blood and flames over the bluish-black fjord and city. My friends moved on, and I stood, trembling with excitement, feeling an endless scream piercing nature,” Edvard Munch said about the history of the painting.

“Where did we come from? Who are we? Where are we going?

Paul Gauguin. 1897-1898, oil on canvas.
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

According to Gauguin himself, the painting should be read from right to left - three main groups of figures illustrate the questions posed in the title.

Three women with a child represent the beginning of life; the middle group symbolizes the daily existence of maturity; in the final group, according to the artist’s plan, “the old woman, approaching death, seems reconciled and given over to her thoughts,” at her feet “a strange white bird ... represents the uselessness of words.”

The deeply philosophical painting of the post-impressionist Paul Gauguin was painted by him in Tahiti, where he fled from Paris. Upon completion of the work, he even wanted to commit suicide: “I believe that this painting is superior to all my previous ones and that I will never create something better or even similar.” He lived another five years, and so it happened.

"Guernica"

Pablo Picasso. 1937, oil on canvas.
Reina Sofia Museum, Madrid.

Guernica presents scenes of death, violence, brutality, suffering and helplessness, without specifying their immediate causes, but they are obvious. They say that in 1940, Pablo Picasso was summoned by the Gestapo in Paris. The conversation immediately turned to the painting. “Did you do this?” - “No, you did it.”

The huge fresco painting “Guernica,” painted by Picasso in 1937, tells the story of a raid by a Luftwaffe volunteer unit on the city of Guernica, as a result of which the city of six thousand was completely destroyed. The painting was painted literally in a month - the first days of work on the painting, Picasso worked for 10-12 hours, and already in the first sketches one could see main idea. This is one of the best illustrations of the nightmare of fascism, as well as human cruelty and grief.

"Portrait of the Arnolfini couple"

Jan van Eyck. 1434, wood, oil.
London national gallery, London.

The famous painting is completely filled with symbols, allegories and various references - right down to the signature “Jan van Eyck was here”, which turned the painting not just into a work of art, but into a historical document confirming the reality of the event at which the artist was present.

The portrait supposedly of Giovanni di Nicolao Arnolfini and his wife is one of the most complex works Western school of painting of the Northern Renaissance.

In Russia, in the last few years, the painting has gained great popularity due to Arnolfini’s portrait resemblance to Vladimir Putin.

"Demon Seated"

Mikhail Vrubel. 1890, oil on canvas.
State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow.

"The hands resist him"

Bill Stoneham. 1972.

This work, of course, cannot be ranked among the masterpieces of world painting, but the fact that it is strange is a fact.

There are legends surrounding the painting with a boy, a doll and his hands pressed against the glass. From “people are dying because of this picture” to “the children in it are alive.” The picture looks really creepy, which gives rise to a lot of fears and speculation among people with weak psyches.

The artist assured that the picture depicts himself at the age of five, that the door is a representation dividing line between real world and the world of dreams, and the doll is a guide who can guide the boy through this world. The hands represent alternative lives or possibilities.

The painting gained notoriety in February 2000 when it was put up for sale on eBay with a backstory saying that the painting was “haunted.” “Hands Resist Him” was bought for $1,025 by Kim Smith, who was then simply inundated with letters from creepy stories and demands to burn the painting.

Includes painters and graphic artists Russian Federation, Soviet Union And Russian Empire, whose priority genre was landscape. Contents 1 List 2 See also 3 Notes ... Wikipedia

Here is a list of artists from the Russian Federation, the Soviet Union and the Russian Empire of the 20th century. Names are given in alphabetical order. The basis for inclusion in the list is recognition by the artistic community, confirmed by ... Wikipedia

A collection of postcards from Russian artists at the PostCardExpo 2008 exhibition in Moscow ... Wikipedia

Boris Kustodiev. “Group portrait of members of the World of Art association.” List of artists Silver Age includes painters and graphic artists... Wikipedia

Here is a list of women painters from the Russian Federation, the Soviet Union and the Russian Empire. The names of the artists are given in alphabetical order. The basis for inclusion in the list is recognition by the artistic community, confirmed by... ... Wikipedia

Here is a list of painters members of the Leningrad Union of Artists (founded on August 2, 1932 as the Leningrad Regional Union Soviet artists; since 1959, Leningrad branch of the Union of Artists of the RSFSR; with... ... Wikipedia

Vladimir Putin presents Metropolitan Kirill with the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, II degree. Moscow, Kremlin, December 21, 2006 Main article ... Wikipedia

On July 16, 1943, the honorary title “People’s Artist of the RSFSR” was established. The title was awarded by Decrees of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR, after the President of the RSFSR took office on July 10, 1991, by Decrees of the President of the RSFSR. After the change... ... Wikipedia

Main article: Order of Francisk Skaryna Order of Francisk Skaryna The Order of Francisk Skaryna is one of the orders of Belarus. Established by the Supreme Council of the Republic of Belarus in 1995. Awarded either for the development of Belarusian... Wikipedia

This is a list of holders of the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, III degree (after the date there is the number of the decree of the President of the Russian Federation by which the award was made) Cavaliers of the Order of the 3rd degree, awarded according to published decrees # ... Wikipedia

Books

• City of the Silver Age, Volodina T.I.. City space in Russian fine arts and literature of the Silver Age. The book is the first interdisciplinary study of the topic in modern Russian science...
• About outfits and rituals, Kirillov Ivan Borisovich. National holidays- the heritage of our ancestors. Once upon a time, people believed that with the help of rituals they could solve economic problems and attract good luck. Revival of holiday traditions...