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What is the most significant painting in history?

by YouPickBest

Dive into a vibrant clash of artistic expressions where timeless masterpieces meet bold innovations, each vying for the title of the ultimate painting in history. Discover the hidden gems, iconic marvels, and even the controversial picks that have shaped the art world—who will reign supreme in your eyes?

  1. Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci — ranked #11
    Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci
    Renaissance portrait, Louvre Museum, most famous painting in the world
  2. The Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh — ranked #22
    The Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh
    Post-Impressionist masterpiece, Museum of Modern Art
  3. The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci — ranked #33
    The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci
    Renaissance fresco in Milan, depicting Jesus and disciples
  4. Guernica by Pablo Picasso — ranked #44
    Guernica by Pablo Picasso
    Cubist anti-war painting, Museo Reina Sofía
  5. The Scream by Edvard Munch — ranked #55
    The Scream by Edvard Munch
    Expressionist painting symbolizing human anxiety
  6. Girl with a Pearl Earring by Johannes Vermeer — ranked #66
    Girl with a Pearl Earring by Johannes Vermeer
    Dutch Golden Age portrait, Mauritshuis
  7. The Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli — ranked #77
    The Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli
    Renaissance painting, Uffizi Gallery
  8. Sunflowers by Vincent van Gogh — ranked #88
    Sunflowers by Vincent van Gogh
    Series of still life paintings, Van Gogh Museum
  9. The Night Watch by Rembrandt — ranked #99
    The Night Watch by Rembrandt
    Dutch Golden Age group portrait, Rijksmuseum
  10. Water Lilies by Claude Monet — ranked #1010
    Water Lilies by Claude Monet
    Impressionist series, Musée de l'Orangerie
  11. Les Demoiselles d'Avignon by Pablo Picasso — ranked #1111
    Les Demoiselles d'Avignon by Pablo Picasso
    Proto-Cubist painting, Museum of Modern Art
  12. The Persistence of Memory by Salvador Dalí — ranked #1212
    The Persistence of Memory by Salvador Dalí
    Surrealist painting with melting clocks
  13. American Gothic by Grant Wood — ranked #1313
    American Gothic by Grant Wood
    American Regionalist painting, Art Institute of Chicago
  14. The Garden of Earthly Delights by Hieronymus Bosch — ranked #1414
    The Garden of Earthly Delights by Hieronymus Bosch
    Early Netherlandish triptych, Prado Museum
  15. Las Meninas by Diego Velázquez — ranked #1515
    Las Meninas by Diego Velázquez
    Baroque painting, Prado Museum
  16. The Creation of Adam by Michelangelo — ranked #1616
    The Creation of Adam by Michelangelo
    Renaissance fresco on Sistine Chapel ceiling
  17. The School of Athens by Raphael — ranked #1717
    The School of Athens by Raphael
    Renaissance fresco in Vatican, depicting philosophers
  18. Impression, Sunrise by Claude Monet — ranked #1818
    Impression, Sunrise by Claude Monet
    Painting that gave name to Impressionism movement
  19. A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte by Georges Seurat — ranked #1919
    A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte by Georges Seurat
    Pointillist masterpiece, Art Institute of Chicago
  20. The Great Wave off Kanagawa by Katsushika Hokusai — ranked #2020
    The Great Wave off Kanagawa by Katsushika Hokusai
    Japanese ukiyo-e woodblock print
  21. Nighthawks by Edward Hopper — ranked #2121
    Nighthawks by Edward Hopper
    American realist painting, Art Institute of Chicago
  22. The Kiss by Gustav Klimt — ranked #2222
    The Kiss by Gustav Klimt
    Art Nouveau painting, Österreichische Galerie Belvedere
  23. Whistler's Mother by James McNeill Whistler — ranked #2323
    Whistler's Mother by James McNeill Whistler
    Portrait painting, Musée d'Orsay
  24. The Hay Wain by John Constable — ranked #2424
    The Hay Wain by John Constable
    Romantic landscape painting, National Gallery
  25. Liberty Leading the People by Eugène Delacroix — ranked #2525
    Liberty Leading the People by Eugène Delacroix
    Romantic painting, Louvre Museum
  26. The Raft of the Medusa by Théodore Géricault — ranked #2626
    The Raft of the Medusa by Théodore Géricault
    Romantic painting, Louvre Museum
  27. Olympia by Édouard Manet — ranked #2727
    Olympia by Édouard Manet
    Realist painting that shocked Paris, Musée d'Orsay
  28. The Dance by Henri Matisse — ranked #2828
    The Dance by Henri Matisse
    Fauvist painting, Hermitage Museum
  29. Composition VII by Wassily Kandinsky — ranked #2929
    Composition VII by Wassily Kandinsky
    Abstract painting, Tretyakov Gallery
  30. No. 5, 1948 by Jackson Pollock — ranked #3030
    No. 5, 1948 by Jackson Pollock
    Abstract Expressionist drip painting
  31. Campbell's Soup Cans by Andy Warhol — ranked #3131
    Campbell's Soup Cans by Andy Warhol
    Pop art series, Museum of Modern Art
  32. Woman I by Willem de Kooning — ranked #3232
    Woman I by Willem de Kooning
    Abstract Expressionist painting, Museum of Modern Art

#Historical Figures37#Painting4#Art37

Comments

Francis I most probably acquired the Mona Lisa in 1518, and it reached the Louvre only in 1793, after a revolution: https://youpick.best/articles/leonardo-da-vinci-ranked-many-ways

YP
ypb-team·Aug 21·
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