Wednesday 17 April 2013

10 of the most famous paintings in the world

I researched ten of the most famous paintings in the world and it wasn't really a surprise, they are internationally recognisable. This does not mean that they are the best paintings in the world- just the most known. Trying to find the best painting in the world is something that can never be achieved because people will always disagree on what is the best, as we all have different ideas of what makes a painting good.


10. 'Birth of Venus' by Sandro Botticelli


It was created around 1485-87.  It depicts the birth of the goddess Venus. The myth that explains her birth says that she emerged from a shell! I think many of us have seen this painting but didn't really know the name of it, I didn't! It is now located in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy.




9. 'Water Lilies' by Claude Monet.


'Water Lilies' is a series of paintings by the French artists Claude Monet.(250 to be exact!) The painting is of his own garden in Giverny in 1893. He did this over a period of years. He said 'I have come back to the things that are impossible to do: water with weeds waving in the depths. Apart from painting and gardening I am nothing. My garden is my greatest masterpiece.'                                                                        



8. 'Night Watch' by Rembrandt Van Rijn.


This was completed in 1642, during the Dutch Golden Age and on of Rembrandt's most famous paintings.


7. 'The Scream' by Edvard Munch.





Many Versions of this painting were done by the artist.
This particular one was painted in 1893 and is in the National Gallery of Norway.


6. 'Girl with the Pearl Earring' by Johannes Vermeer.



Ahh, the Girl with the Pearl Earring, tried on many occasions to draw or paint her, but with no success. It is branded as the 'Dutch Mona Lisa'. I don't know what it is about this that I love! I suppose paintings with mysteries are always the more attractive ones. There is so much uncertainty around this painting- when it was made, whether it was a commissioned piece, and if it was , for whom? I just love a mystery but it may never be figured out!


5. 'Guernica' by Pablo Picasso.


This is one Pablo Picasso's most famous paintings. Picasso painted this to highlight the effect war has on people, especially innocent civilians. He wanted to bring attention to the Basque town of Guernica by German Bombers. When you look at every thing that is put in and all the people in it, you do get a sense of what the bombing was like, and the effect it had.  The painting was completed in 1937.

4.'The Creation of Adam' by Michelangelo.


This a very recognisable painting. As we all know it was panted by the Italian artist Michelangelo for the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. The ceiling is abundant in murals but this is the most famous and the subject of many parodies. He worked on it between 1508 and 1512, at the commission of Pope Julius II.

3. 'The Last Supper' by Leonardo Da Vinci.



We focused on this painting in Art class in Second Year, and I thought it was really interesting! It is a mural painting in Milan, made in the 15th Century. It is safe to say that it is very old and it has been through a lot. It was made by Da Vinci in a monastery. It was on a wall that was infront of the Kitchen in the monastery. Because paints back then were made with flour and egg, the paint started to get warm and cook!
During the World War I, the monastery around it was bombed but it remained standing, and since then it was treated as a treasure and was properly reserved.


2. 'The Starry Night' by Vincent Van Gogh.


This is another painting that we studied, and we had to do an essay on it. To tell you the truth I actually enjoyed writing an essay on it.I loved the composition of the painting and the story of Van Gogh.  It hangs in the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Czara actually did a reproduction of this painting, but you wouldn't be able to tell that it was a reproduction. We must upload a picture of it soon.



AND DRUM ROLL PLEASE................

1. 'Mona Lisa' by Leonardo Da Vinci!



'Mona Lisa' is the most famous painting of all time- it's the most recognisable painting in the world.
It was made during the Renaissance, in Florence and was finished in 1519. It is named for Lisa del Giocondo. a member of a wealthy family in Florence. It is displayed in the Louvre in Paris where over 6 million people visit it every year.

No you know the ten most famous paintings in the world. And hopefully you know a bit more about them, their story and who made them.

-Aneta!





No comments:

Post a Comment