Popular Russian artists. Girl with a Pearl Earring - Jan Vermeer

"Mona Lisa". Leonardo da Vinci 1503–1506

One of the most recognizable and famous paintings in the world, its full name is Portrait of Mrs. Lisa del Giocondo. The portrait depicts the Italian Lisa del Giocondo, a representative of the middle class of the Renaissance, the mother of six children. The model has shaved eyebrows and hair on the top of the forehead, which corresponds to the Quattrocento fashion. Leonardo da Vinci attributed this portrait to his favorite works, often described it in his notes and undoubtedly considered it his own. best job. This picture rightfully tops the list of the most popular paintings in the world.

"The Birth of Venus". Sandro Botticelli 1482 - 1486

An excellent illustration of the myth of the birth of Aphrodite. Naked Venus is heading towards the earth in a shell, driven by the western wind Zephyr, the wind mixed with flowers - this symbolizes spring and beauty. On the shore, Aphrodite is met by one of the goddesses of beauty. After creating this painting, the artist Botticelli received world recognition, in this he was helped by his unique style of writing, he favorably differed from his contemporaries with his floating rhythms, which were not used by anyone except him.

"The Creation of Adam". Michelangelo 1511

Placed on the ceiling Sistine Chapel, the fourth of nine entries in the series. Michelangelo clarified the unreality of the symbiosis of the heavenly and the human, according to the artist, the image of God contains not a phenomenal heavenly power, but creative energy that can be conveyed without touching.

"Morning in pine forest". Ivan Shishkin, Konstantin Savitsky 1889

"Girl on the Ball". Pablo Picasso 1905

A picture of contrasts. It depicts a halt of a traveling circus in a scorched desert. The main characters are also very contrasting: A strong, sad, monolithic man sits on a cube. At that time, a fragile and smiling girl is balancing near him, on a ball.

"The last day of Pompeii". Karl Bryullov 1833

During a visit to Pompeii in 1828, Bryulov made many sketches and sketches, he already knew what the final work would look like. The painting was presented in Rome, but then it was moved to the Louvre, where many critics and art critics admired Karl's talent. After this work, world classics came to him, but unfortunately, most of his work is associated only with this painting.

One of the most recognizable paintings

"Starlight Night". Vincent van Gogh 1889

iconic painting Dutch artist, which he wrote according to his memoirs (which is not typical for Van Gogh), because at that time he was in the hospital. After all, when the attacks of rage passed, he was quite adequate and could draw. For this, his brother Theo agreed with the doctors, and they allowed him to work with paints in the ward. Why did Van Gogh cut off his ear? Read my article.

"The Ninth Wave". Ivan Aivazovsky 1850

One of the most famous paintings in maritime theme(marina). Aivazovsky was originally from the Crimea, so it is not difficult to explain his love for water and the sea. The ninth wave - artistic image, imminent danger and tension, you can still say: the calm before the storm.

"Girl with a Pearl Earring" Jan Vermeer 1665

The cult scene of the Dutch artist, she is also called the Dutch Mona Lisa. This work is not entirely portraiture, but rather belongs to the “touch” genre, where the emphasis is not on the portrait of a person, but on his head. Girl with a pearl earring is popular in contemporary culture and several films have been made about her.

"Impression. Rising Sun Claude Monet 1872

The painting that gave rise to the genre of "impressionism". Popular journalist Louis Leroy, after visiting the exhibition with this work, smashed Claude Monet, he wrote: "wallpaper hanging on the wall, and those look more finished than this" Impression "". It is considered the canonical representative of the genre, more popular than many other paintings by great artists.

Afterword and a small request

If you found this material useful and you liked it, please tell your friends on this page! This will greatly help to develop the site and delight you with new materials! In the event that you want to order a copy of a popular painting, then visit the page How to buy a painting. It often happens that a person at the beginning is interested in popular paintings, and then wants to have a copy of the masterpiece on his wall.

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In early December 2011, new price records were set at Russian auctions in London. Summing up the results of the year, we have compiled a list of the most expensive works by Russian artists based on the results of auction sales.

33 most expensive k. Source: 33 most expensive k.

According to the ratings, the most expensive Russian artist is Mark Rothko. His White Center (1950), sold for 72.8 million dollars, in addition, ranks 12th in the list of the most expensive paintings in the world in general. However, Rothko was Jewish, born in Latvia, and left Russia at the age of 10. Is it fairwith a similar stretch chase for the records? Therefore, Rothko, as well as other emigrants who left Russia before becoming artists (for example, Tamara de Lempicki and Chaim Soutine), we deleted from the list.

No. 1. Kazimir Malevich - $60 million

The author of "Black Square" is too important a person for his works to be often found on the free market. So this picture came up for auction in a very difficult way. In 1927, Malevich, about to arrange an exhibition, brought almost a hundred works from his Leningrad workshop to Berlin. However, he was urgently recalled to his homeland, and he left them for storage to the architect Hugo Hering. He saved the paintings during the difficult years of the fascist dictatorship, when they could well have been destroyed as "degenerate art", and in 1958, after Malevich's death, he sold them to the Stedelek State Museum (Holland).

At the beginning of the 21st century, a group of Malevich's heirs, almost forty people, began legal proceedings - because Hering was not the legal owner of the paintings. As a result, the museum gave them this painting, and will give away four more, which will surely cause a sensation at some auction. After all, Malevich is one of the most forged artists in the world, and the origin of the paintings from the Stedelek Museum is impeccable. And in January 2012, the heirs received another painting from that Berlin exhibition, taking it away from the Swiss museum.

#2 Wassily Kandinsky - $22.9 million

The auction price of a piece is affected by its reputation. It's not only big name artist, but also "provenance" (origin). An item from a famous private collection or good museum always worth more than a work from an anonymous collection. The "Fugue" comes from the famous Guggenheim Museum: once director Thomas Krenz removed this Kandinsky, a painting by Chagall and Modigliani from the museum collections, and put them up for sale. For some reason, with the money received, the museum acquired a collection of 200 works by American conceptual artists. Krenz was condemned for a very long time for this decision.

This painting by the father of abstract art is curious because it set a record back in 1990, when the auction halls of London and New York had not yet been filled with reckless Russian buyers. Thanks to this, by the way, it did not disappear into some very private collection in a luxurious mansion, but is located in permanent exhibition in the private Beyeler Museum in Switzerland, where anyone can see it. A rare occasion for such a purchase!

No. 3. Alexei Yavlensky - 9.43 million pounds

Approximately $18.5 million was paid by an unknown buyer for a portrait depicting a girl from a village near Munich. Shokko is not a name, but a nickname. The model, coming to the artist's studio, each time asked for a cup of hot chocolate. So “Shokko” took root behind her.

The sold painting is included in his famous cycle"Race", depicting the domestic peasantry of the first quarter of the twentieth century. And, right, portraying with such mugs that it's scary to look at. Here, in the form of a shepherd, the peasant poet Nikolai Klyuev, the forerunner of Yesenin, is revealed. Among his poems there are the following: "In the fire, the scarlet flower has become deaf and faded - The light-brat is daring Far from the sweetheart."

No. 19. Konstantin Makovsky - 2.03 million pounds

Makovsky - a salon painter, known for a huge number of hawthorn heads in kokoshniks and sundresses, as well as a painting "Children running from a thunderstorm", which at one time was constantly printed on gift boxes chocolates. Its sweet historical paintings are in stable demand among Russian buyers.

The subject of this painting- Old Russian "kissing rite" Notable women on Ancient Russia it was not allowed to leave the women's half, and only for the sake of honored guests could they go out, bring a glass and (the most pleasant part) allow themselves to be kissed. Pay attention to the picture hanging on the wall: this is the image of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, one of the first equestrian portraits that appeared in Russia. Its composition, although it was brazenly copied from the European model, was considered unusually innovative and even shocking for that time.

No. 20. Svyatoslav Roerich - $2.99 ​​million

The son of Nicholas Roerich left Russia as a teenager. Lived in England, USA, India. Like his father, he was interested in Eastern philosophy. Like his father, he painted many paintings on Indian themes. In general, his father occupied a huge place in his life - he painted more than thirty of his portraits. This picture was created in India, where the clan settled in the middle of the century. Paintings by Svyatoslav Roerich rarely appear at auctions, and in Moscow the works of the famous dynasty can be seen in the halls of the Museum of the East, to which the authors presented them, as well as in the museum museum "International Center of the Roerichs", which is located in a luxurious noble estate right behind the Pushkin Museum. Both museums do not like each other very much: the Oriental Museum claims both the building and the collections of the Roerich Center.

No. 21 Ivan Shishkin - £1.87m

The main Russian landscape painter spent three consecutive summers on Valaam and left many images of this area. This work is a little gloomy and does not look like a classic Shishkin. But this is explained by the fact that the picture refers to his early period when he did not find his style and was strongly influenced by the Düsseldorf school of landscape, in which he studied.

We have already mentioned this Düsseldorf school above, in the recipe for a fake "Aivazovsky". " Shishkins" are made according to the same scheme, for example, in 2004 at Sotheby's exhibited "Landscape with a Stream" of the painter's Dusseldorf period. It was estimated at $ 1 million and was confirmed by the examination of the Tretyakov Gallery. An hour before the sale, the lot was removed - it turned out to be a painting by another student of this school, the Dutchman Marinus Adrian Kukkuk, bought in Sweden for 65 thousand dollars.

No. 22. Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin - 1.83 million pounds

A portrait of a boy with an icon of the Virgin was found in a private collection in Chicago. After it was handed over to the auction house, experts began research in an attempt to determine its origin. It turned out that the painting was at exhibitions in 1922 and 1932. In the 1930s, the artist's works traveled around the States as part of an exhibition of Russian art. Perhaps it was then that the owners acquired this painting.

Note the empty space on the wall behind the boy. At first, the author thought to write a window with a green landscape there. This would have balanced the picture both in terms of composition and colors - the grass would have something in common with the green tunic of the Mother of God (by the way, according to the canon, it should be blue). Why Petrov-Vodkin painted over the window is unknown.

No. 23. Nicholas Roerich - 1.76 million pounds

Before visiting Shambhala and beginning to correspond with the Dalai Lama, Nicholas Roerich quite successfully specialized in ancient Russian theme and even made ballet sketches for Russian Seasons. The sold lot belongs to this period. Pictured scene - miraculous phenomenon over the water, which is observed by a Russian monk, most likely - Sergius of Radonezh. It is curious that the picture was painted in the same year as another vision of Sergius (then the youth Bartholomew), appearing in our list above. The stylistic difference is enormous.

Roerich painted many paintings and the lion's share of them - in India. He donated several pieces to the Indian Institute of Agricultural Research. Recently two of them, "Himalaya, Kanchenjunga" and "Sunset, Kashmir appeared at an auction in London. It was only then that the Institute's junior researchers noticed that they had been robbed. In January 2011, Indians applied to a London court for permission to investigate the crime in England. The interest of thieves in Roerich's heritage is understandable, because there is a demand.

No. 24. Lyubov Popova- 1.7 million pounds

Lyubov Popova died young, so she failed to become famous like another Amazonian avant-garde Natalya Goncharova. Yes, and her legacy is smaller - therefore, it is difficult to find her work for sale. After her death, a detailed inventory of the paintings was compiled. This still life was known for many years only from black and white reproductions, until it surfaced in a private collection, being the most significant work artists in private hands. Pay attention to the Zhostovo tray - maybe this is a hint of Popova's taste for folk crafts. She came from a family of an Ivanovo merchant who was engaged in fabrics, and she herself created many sketches of propaganda textiles based on Russian traditions.

No. 25. Aristarkh Lentulov - 1.7 million pounds

Lentulov entered the history of the Russian avant-garde with a memorable image of St. Basil's Cathedral - either cubism, or a patchwork quilt. In this landscape, he tries to break up space in a similar way, but it doesn't come out as exciting. Actually, therefore Basil the Blessed» in the Tretyakov Gallery, and this picture- in the art market. Still, once museum workers had the opportunity to skim the cream.

No. 26. Alexei Bogolyubov - 1.58 million pounds

Selling it little-known artist, albeit a favorite landscape painter of Tsar Alexander III, for such crazy money - a symptom of market frenzy on the eve of the 2008 crisis. Then Russian collectors were ready to buy even minor masters. Moreover, first-class artists rarely sell.

Perhaps this picture was sent as a gift to some official: it has a suitable plot, because the Cathedral of Christ the Savior has long ceased to be just a church, and has become a symbol. And a flattering origin - the picture was kept in the royal palace. Pay attention to the details: the brick Kremlin tower is covered with white plaster, and the hill inside the Kremlin is completely unfurnished. Well, why bother trying? In the 1870s, Petersburg was the capital, not Moscow, and the Kremlin was not the residence.

No. 27. Isaac Levitan - 1.56 million pounds

Completely atypical for Levitan, the work was sold at the same auction as Bogolyubov's painting, but it turned out to be cheaper. This is due, of course, to the fact that the picture does not look like "Levitan ". Its authorship, however, is indisputable, a similar plot is in the Dnepropetrovsk Museum. 40,000 light bulbs, with which the Kremlin was decorated, were lit in honor of the coronation of Nicholas II. In a few days, the Khodynka disaster will happen.

No. 28. Arkhip Kuindzhi - $3 million

The famous landscape painter painted three similar paintings. The first is in the Tretyakov Gallery, the third is in the State Museum of Belarus. The second, presented at the auction, was intended for Prince Pavel Pavlovich Demidov-San Donato. This representative of the famous Ural dynasty lived in a villa near Florence. In general, the Demidovs, having become Italian princes, had fun as best they could. For example, Pavel's uncle, from whom he inherited the princely title, was so rich and noble that he married Napoleon Bonaparte's niece, and one day he whipped her in a bad mood. The poor lady struggled to get a divorce. The picture, however, did not get to Demidov, it was acquired by the Ukrainian sugar factory Tereshchenko.

No. 29. Konstantin Korovin- 1.497 million pounds

Impressionists a very “light”, sweeping style of writing is inherent. Korovin is the main Russian impressionist. It is very popular among scammers; according to rumors, the number of fakes at auctions reaches 80%. If a painting from a private collection was exhibited on personal exhibition artist in the famous state museum, then her reputation is strengthened, and at the next auction she costs much more. In 2012, the Tretyakov Gallery is planning a large-scale exhibition of Korovin. Maybe there will be works from private collections. This paragraph is an example of the manipulation of the reader's mind by the example of listing facts that do not have a direct logical connection with each other.

• Please note that from March 26 to August 12, 2012 the Tretyakov Gallery promises to arrangeKorovin's exhibition . More about the biography of the most charming of the artists Silver Age read in our review vernissages of the State Tretyakov Gallery in 2012.

No. 30. Yuri Annenkov - $2.26 million

Annenkov managed to emigrate in 1924 and made a good career in the West. For example, in 1954 he was nominated for an Oscar as a costume designer for the film "Madame de..." The most famous of his early Soviet portraits- the faces are cubist, faceted, but completely recognizable. For example, he repeatedly drew Leon Trotsky in this way - and even repeated the drawing many years later from memory, when the Times magazine wanted to decorate the cover with him.

The character depicted in the record portrait is the writer Tikhonov-Serebrov. He entered the history of Russian literature mainly through his close friendship with. So close that, according to dirty rumors, the artist's wife Varvara Shaikevich even gave birth to a daughter from the great proletarian writer. It is not very noticeable on the reproduction, but the portrait is made in the collage technique: on top of the layer oil paint glass and plaster go here, and even a real doorbell is attached.

#31 Lev Lagorio - £1.47m

Another minor landscape painter, for some reason sold for a record price. One of the indicators of the success of the auction is the excess of the estimate ("assessment") - the minimum price that the experts of the auction house set for the lot. The estimate of this landscape was 300-400 thousand pounds, and it was sold 4 times more expensive. As one London auctioneer said: "Happiness is when two Russian oligarchs compete for the same subject.

No. 32. Viktor Vasnetsov - 1.1 million pounds

The heroes of steel calling card back in the 1870s. He returns to his stellar theme, like other veterans of Russian painting, during the years of the young Soviet republic - both for financial reasons and to feel in demand again. This picture is the author's repetition "Ilya Muromets" (1915), which is kept in the House-Museum of the Artist (on Prospekt Mira).

No. 33. Eric Bulatov - 1.084 million pounds

The second living artist on our list (he also said that for an artist The best way to raise the price of your work is to die). By the way, this is the Soviet Warhol, underground and anti-communist. He worked in the genre of Sots Art, which was created by the Soviet underground, as our version of Pop Art. "Glory to the CPSU" is one of the most famous works artist. According to his own explanations, the letters here symbolize the lattice that blocks the sky from us, that is, freedom.

Bonus: Zinaida Serebryakova - £1.07m

Serebryakova loved to paint nude women, self-portraits and her four children. This ideal feminist world is harmonious and calm, which cannot be said about the life of the artist herself, who with difficulty escaped from Russia after the revolution and spent a lot of energy to get her children out of there.

"Nude" is not an oil painting, but a pastel drawing. This is the most expensive Russian drawing. Such a high amount paid for graphics is comparable to the prices for Impressionist drawings and caused great surprise at Sotheby's, who started trading with 150 thousand pounds sterling, and received a million.

The list is based on the prices indicated on the official websites of the auction houses. This price is the sum of the net worth (voiced when the hammer comes down), and« Buyer's premium" (additional percentage of the auction house). Other sources may indicate "pure» price. The dollar to pound exchange rate often fluctuates, so British and American lots are located relative to each other with approximate accuracy (we are not Forbes).

Additions and corrections to our list are welcome.

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

Under the paintings with the artists they belong to, there are links to 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 creative.
There are certainly more world-famous paintings than 33. There are several hundred of them, and all of them would not fit in one review. Therefore, for the convenience of viewing, we have selected several paintings that are most significant for world culture and often copied in advertising. Each work is accompanied by an interesting fact, an explanation artistic sense or history of its creation.

Stored in the Old Masters Gallery in Dresden.

The picture has a little secret: the background, which looks like clouds from a distance, upon closer examination turns out to be the heads of angels. And the two angels depicted in the picture below have become the motif of numerous postcards and posters.

Rembrandt "The Night Watch" 1642
Stored in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.

The true name of the painting by Rembrandt 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 against a dark background, and they called it “Night Watch”. Later it turned out that a layer of soot makes the picture dark, and the action actually takes place during the day. However, the picture has already entered 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 existence of the work, the fresco was repeatedly destroyed: a doorway was made through the painting, and then a doorway was laid, the refectory of the monastery, where the image is located, was used as an armory, a prison, and bombed. famous fresco restored at least five times, with the last restoration taking 21 years. Today, to view the work of art, visitors must book tickets in advance and can only spend 15 minutes in the refectory.

Salvador Dali "The Persistence of Memory" 1931

According to the author himself, the picture 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 who saw "The Persistence of Memory" once would forget it.

Pieter Bruegel the Elder The Tower of Babel 1563
Stored at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.

According to Brueghel, the failure that befell the construction of the Tower of Babel is not to blame for the suddenly arising according to biblical story language barriers; and mistakes made during the construction process. At first glance, the huge structure seems solid enough, but upon closer inspection, 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 the "Black Square" (according to some sources, seven). According to one version, the artist was unable to complete the work on the painting in the right time, so he had to cover up the work with black paint. Subsequently, after the recognition of the public, Malevich painted new "Black Squares" already on blank canvases. Malevich also painted the paintings "Red Square" (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 picture turned out to be visionary. The red horse acts as the Destiny 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
Stored in the Alte Pinakothek in Munich.

The painting "The Abduction of the Daughters of Leucippus" is considered the personification of courageous passion and bodily beauty. The strong, muscular arms of young men pick up young naked women to put them on horseback. The sons of Zeus and Leda steal the brides of their cousins.

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

At the direction of Gauguin himself, the picture should be read from right to left - the 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 intention, “an old woman approaching death seems reconciled and indulged in her thoughts”, at her feet there is a “strange White bird...represents the futility of words."

Eugene Delacroix "Liberty Leading the People" 1830
Stored 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 the Motherland, then at least I will write for her." The bare chest of a woman leading the people symbolizes the selflessness of the French people of that time, who, with “ bare chested' went to the enemy.

Claude Monet Impression. Rising Sun" 1872
Stored at the Musée Marmottan in Paris.

The title of the piece is "Impression, soleil levant" with light hand journalist L. Leroy became the name of the artistic direction "impressionism". The painting was painted from nature in the old outport of Le Havre in France.

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

One of the most famous paintings Dutch artist Jan Vermeer is often referred to as the northern or Dutch Mona Lisa. Very little is known about the painting: it is not dated, the name of the depicted girl is not known. In 2003 by novel of the same name Tracey Chevalier 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
Stored in St. Petersburg in the State Russian Museum.

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

Andrei 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. The tsars (Ivan the Terrible, Boris Godunov, Mikhail Fedorovich) “overlaid” the icon with gold, silver and precious stones. Today the salary is stored in the Sergiev Posad State Museum-Reserve.

Mikhail Vrubel "Seated Demon" 1890
Stored in the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow.

The plot of the picture 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
Stored in the British Museum in London.

The name 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 pictures - God at the moment of creation, who does not establish order, but limits freedom and marks the limits of the imagination.

Edouard Manet "Bar at the Folies Bergère" 1882
Stored at the Courtauld Institute of Art in London.

The Folies Bergère is a variety show and cabaret in Paris. Manet frequented the Folies Bergère and ended up painting this painting, his last before his death in 1883. Behind the bar, in the midst of a crowd of drinking, eating, talking and smoking, is a bartender absorbed in her own thoughts, watching a trapeze acrobat, who can be seen in the upper left corner of the picture.

Titian "Earthly Love and Heavenly Love" 1515-1516
Stored 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 that time, the painting had various titles: "Beauty embellished and unadorned" (1613), "Three types of love" (1650), "Divine and secular women" (1700), and, finally, "Love on earth and Love in heaven" (1792 and 1833).

Mikhail Nesterov "Vision to the youth Bartholomew" 1889-1890
Stored 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 “The Vision of the Young Bartholomew” was his best work. In his old age, the artist liked to repeat: “I will not live. "Young Bartholomew" will live. Now, if in thirty, fifty years after my death he will still say something to people, then he is alive, then I am also alive.

Pieter Brueghel the Elder "The Parable of the Blind" 1568
Stored in the Capodimonte Museum in Naples.

Other names of the painting are “The Blind”, “Parabola of the Blind”, “The Blind Leading the Blind”. It is believed that the plot of the picture is based on the biblical parable of the blind: "If the blind lead the blind, then both of them will fall into the pit."

Viktor Vasnetsov "Alyonushka" 1881
Stored in the State Tretyakov Gallery.

The fairy tale "About sister Alyonushka and brother Ivanushka" is taken as a basis. Initially, Vasnetsov's painting was called "Fool Alyonushka". Orphans were called “fools” at that time. “Alyonushka,” the artist himself later said, “as if she had been living in my head for a long time, but in reality I saw her in Akhtyrka when I met one simple-haired girl who struck my imagination. There was so much longing, loneliness and purely Russian sadness in her eyes ... Some kind of special Russian spirit emanated from her.

Vincent van Gogh Starry Night 1889
Stored at 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-Remy hospital, tormented by bouts of insanity.

Karl Bryullov "The Last Day of Pompeii" 1830-1833
Stored in the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg.

The picture shows famous eruption Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. e. and the destruction of the city of Pompeii near Naples. The image of the artist in the left corner of the picture 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 the industrialist Ivan Abramovich Morozov, who bought it in 1913 for 16,000 francs. In 1918, the personal collection of I. A. Morozov was nationalized. AT this moment the painting is in the collection State Museum Fine Arts named after A.S. Pushkin.

Leonardo da Vinci Madonna Litta 1491

Stored in the Hermitage in St. Petersburg.

The original title of the painting is Madonna and Child. Modern name painting comes from the name of its owner - Count Litt, the 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 manner.

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

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

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

“Morning in a Pine Forest” is a painting by Russian artists Ivan Shishkin and Konstantin Savitsky. Savitsky painted bears, but the collector Pavel Tretyakov, when he acquired the painting, erased his signature, so now only Shishkin is indicated as the author of the painting.

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

The picture was painted on the basis of the stage image of the heroine of the opera by N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov "The Tale of Tsar Saltan" according to the plot fairy tale of the same name A. S. Pushkin. Vrubel created sketches for the scenery and costumes for the premiere of the opera in 1900, and his wife sang the part of the Swan Princess.

Giuseppe Arcimboldo "Portrait of Emperor Rudolf II as Vertumn" 1590
Located in Skokloster Castle in Stockholm.

One of the few surviving works of the artist, who made 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 the 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 might not have gained worldwide fame if it had not been stolen in 1911 by an employee of the Louvre. The painting was found two years later in Italy: the thief responded to an ad in a newspaper and offered to sell the Gioconda to the director of the Uffizi Gallery. All this time, while the investigation was going on, the Mona Lisa did not leave the covers of newspapers and magazines around the world, becoming an object of copying and worship.

Sandro Botticelli "The Birth of Venus" 1486
Stored in Florence at the Uffizi Gallery

The painting illustrates the myth of the birth of Aphrodite. The naked goddess floats to the shore in an open shell, driven by the wind. On the left side of the picture, Zephyr (the west wind), in the arms of his wife Chlorida, 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 to the picture protective layer from egg yolk.

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“Every portrait painted with feeling is, in essence, a portrait of the artist, and not of the one who posed for him” Oscar Wilde

What does it take to be an artist? Mere imitation of work cannot be considered art. Art is something that comes from within. The author's idea, excitement, searches, desires and sorrows, which are embodied on the artist's canvas. Throughout the history of mankind, hundreds of thousands, and perhaps millions of paintings have been written. Some of them are truly masterpieces, known all over the world, even people who are not related to art know them. Is it possible to single out 25 of the most outstanding among such paintings? The task is very difficult, but we tried ...

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25

The Persistence of Memory, Salvador Dali

Thanks to this painting, Dali became famous at a fairly young age, he was 28 years old. The picture has several other names - " soft watch”, “The hardness of memory”. This masterpiece has attracted the attention of many art historians. Basically, they were interested in the interpretation of the picture. It is said that the idea of ​​Dali's canvas is connected with Einstein's theory of relativity.

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24

"Dance", Henri Matisse

Henri Matisse was not always an artist. He discovered his love for painting after receiving a degree in law in Paris. He studied art so zealously that he became one of the greatest artists in the world. This picture has very little negative criticism of art critics. It reflects a combination of pagan rituals, dance and music. People are dancing in a trance. Three colors - green, blue and red - symbolize the Earth, Sky and Humanity.

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23

The Kiss, Gustav Klimt

Gustav Klimt has often been criticized for being nude in his paintings. "The Kiss" was noticed by critics, as it merged all forms of art. The painting could be an image of the artist himself and his lover, Emilia. Klimt painted this canvas under the influence of Byzantine mosaics. The Byzantines used gold in their paintings. Similarly, Gustav Klimt mixed gold in his paints to create his own style painting.

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22

Sleeping Gypsy, Henri Rousseau

No one but Rousseau himself could describe this picture better. Here is his description - “a nomadic gypsy who sings her songs to a mandolin, sleeps on the ground from fatigue, her jug ​​of drinking water lies nearby. A lion passing by came up to sniff her, but did not touch her. Everything is bathed in moonlight, a very poetic atmosphere.” It is noteworthy that Henri Rousseau is self-taught.

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21

"The Last Judgment", Hieronymus Bosch

Without extra words– the picture is simply magnificent. This triptych is the largest of Bosch's surviving paintings. The left wing shows the story of Adam and Eve. The central part is doomsday» on the part of Jesus - who should go to heaven and who should go to hell. The earth we see here is on fire. On the right wing is depicted a disgusting image of hell.

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20

Everyone knows Narcissus from Greek mythology - a man who was obsessed with his appearance. Dali wrote his own interpretation of Narcissus.

The story is like this. The beautiful young man Narcissus easily broke the hearts of many girls. The gods intervened and, to punish him, showed him his reflection in the water. Narcissus fell in love with himself and ended up dying because he couldn't hug himself. Then the Gods regretted that they had done this to him, and decided to immortalize him in the form of a narcissus flower.

On the left side of the picture is Narcissus looking at his reflection. Then he fell in love with himself. The right panel shows the events that unfolded after, including the resulting flower, the daffodil.

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19

The plot of the picture is based on the biblical beating of the babies in Bethlehem. After the birth of Christ became known from the Magi, King Herod instructed to kill all the small male children and babies in Bethlehem. In the picture, the carnage is at its peak, the last few children taken from their mothers are waiting for their merciless death. Also visible are the corpses of children for whom everything is behind them.

Through the use of rich colors, the painting by Rubens has become a world-famous masterpiece.

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18

Pollock's work is very different from other artists. He placed his canvas on the ground and moved around the canvas and walked on it, dripping paint from above onto the canvas with sticks, brushes and syringes. Thanks to this unique technique, he was nicknamed "Sprinkler Jack" in artistic circles. For some time this painting held the title of the most expensive painting in the world.

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17

Also known as "Dancing at Les Moulins de la Galette". This painting is considered one of Renoir's most joyful paintings. The idea of ​​the picture is to show the audience a fun side. Parisian life. With a detailed study of the picture, you can see that Renoir placed several of his friends on the canvas. Because the painting appears slightly washed out, it was initially criticized by Renoir's contemporaries.

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16

The story is taken from the Bible. In the picture " The Last Supper” depicts the last supper of Christ before his arrest. He had just spoken to his apostles and told them that one of them would betray him. All the apostles are saddened and tell him that it is certainly not them. It was this moment that da Vinci beautifully portrayed with his lively image. It took the great Leonardo four years to complete this painting.

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15

Monet's "Water Lilies" can be found everywhere. You've probably seen them on wallpapers, posters, and art magazine covers. The fact is that Monet was obsessed with lilies. Before he started painting them, he had grown countless of these flowers. Monet built a bridge in Japanese style in his garden over a lily pond. He was so pleased with what he did that he drew this story seventeen times in one year.

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14

There is something sinister and mysterious in this picture, there is an aura of fear around it. Only such a master as Munch was able to portray fear on paper. Munch made four versions of The Scream in oils and pastels. According to Munch's diary entries, it is pretty clear that he himself believed in death and spirits. In the painting “The Scream”, he depicted himself at the moment when one day, walking with friends, he felt fear and excitement, which he wanted to paint.

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13

The painting, which is usually referred to as a symbol of motherhood, should not have become one. It is said that Whistler's model, who was supposed to pose for the painting, did not show up, and he decided to paint his mother instead. We can say that the sad life of the artist's mother is depicted here. This mood is due to the dark colors that are used in this painting.

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12

Picasso met Dora Maar in Paris. It is said that she was intellectually closer to Picasso than all his previous mistresses. Using cubism, Picasso was able to convey movement in his work. It seems that Maar's face is turning to the right, towards the face of Picasso. The artist made the woman's presence almost real. Maybe he wanted to feel that she was there, always.

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11

Van Gogh painted Starry Night while in treatment, where he was only allowed to paint when his condition improved. Earlier in the same year, he cut off his left earlobe. Many considered the artist insane. Of Van Gogh's entire collection of works, Starry Night is the most famous, perhaps due to the unusual spherical light around the stars.

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10

In this painting, Manet recreated Titian's Venus of Urbino. The artist had a bad reputation for depicting prostitutes. Although the gentlemen at that time visited the courtesans quite often, they did not think that it would occur to someone to draw them. Then it was preferable for artists to paint pictures on historical, mythical or biblical themes. However, Manet, contrary to criticism, showed the audience their contemporary.

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9

This picture - historical painting, which depicts Napoleon's conquest of Spain.

Having received an order for paintings depicting the struggle of the people of Spain with Napoleon, the artist did not paint heroic and pathetic canvases. He chose the moment of execution of the Spanish rebels by French soldiers. Each of the Spaniards is experiencing this moment in his own way, someone has already reconciled, but for someone the main battle has just come. War, blood and death, that's what Goya actually portrayed.

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8

It is believed that the depicted girl is eldest daughter Vermeer, Maria. Her features are present in many of his works, but it is difficult to compare them. A book with the same title was written by Tracey Chevalier. But Tracy's version of who is depicted in this picture is completely different. She claims that she took this topic because there is very little information about Vermeer and his paintings, and this particular painting has a mysterious atmosphere. Later, a film was made based on her novel.

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7

The exact name of the painting is “The performance of the rifle company of Captain Frans Banning Cock and Lieutenant Willem van Ruytenbürg.” The rifle society was a civilian militia that was called upon to defend the city. In addition to the militias, Rembrandt added several extra people. Considering that he bought an expensive house at the time of writing this picture, it may well be true that he received a huge fee for The Night Watch.

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6

Although the painting contains an image of Velázquez himself, it is not a self-portrait. The main character of the canvas is Infanta Margherita, daughter of King Philip IV. It depicts the moment when Velazquez, working on a portrait of the king and queen, is forced to stop and look at the Infanta Margherita, who has just entered the room with her retinue. The picture looks almost alive, awakening curiosity in the audience.

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5

This is the only painting by Brueghel that was painted in oils and not in tempera. There are still doubts about the authenticity of the painting, mainly for two reasons. Firstly, he did not paint in oils, and secondly, latest research showed that under the layer of painting there is a sketchy drawing of poor quality, which does not belong to Brueghel.

The painting depicts the history of Icarus and the moment of his fall. According to the myth, Icarus' feathers were attached with wax, and as Icarus rose very close to the sun, the wax melted and he fell into the water. This landscape inspired Wystan Hugh Auden to write his own famous poem on the same topic.

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4

The "School of Athens" is perhaps the most famous fresco Italian artist Renaissance, Raphael.

On this mural in the School of Athens, all the great mathematicians, philosophers and scientists gathered under one roof, they share their theories and learn from each other. All heroes lived in different time, but Rafael placed them all in one room. Some of the figures are Aristotle, Plato, Pythagoras and Ptolemy. A closer look shows that there is a self-portrait of Raphael himself in this picture. Every artist would like to leave their mark, the only difference is the form. Although maybe he considered himself one of these great figures?

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3

Michelangelo never considered himself an artist, he always thought of himself more as a sculptor. But, he managed to create an amazing exquisite fresco, before which the whole world reveres. This masterpiece is on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. Michelangelo was commissioned to paint several biblical stories, one of which is the creation of Adam. In this picture, the sculptor in Michelangelo is just visible. Human body Adama is conveyed with incredible accuracy with the help of bright colors and precise muscular form. So, one can agree with the author, after all, he is more of a sculptor.

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2

"Mona Lisa", Leonardo da Vinci

Although it is the most studied painting, the Mona Lisa is still the most mysterious. Leonardo said that he never stopped working on it. Only his death is said to have completed the painting. "Mona Lisa" is the first Italian portrait in which the model is shown to the waist. Mona Lisa's skin seems to glow due to the use of several layers of transparent oils. Being scientist Leonardo da Vinci applied all his knowledge to make the image of the Mona Lisa realistic. As for who exactly is depicted in the painting, it still remains a mystery.

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1

The painting depicts Venus, the goddess of love, floating on a shell in the wind, which is blown by Zephyr, the god west wind. On the shore, Ora, the goddess of the seasons, meets her, she is ready to dress the newborn deity. The model for Venus is Simonetta Cattaneo de Vespucci. Simonetta Cattaneo died at 22, and Botticelli wished to be buried next to her. He had an unrequited love for her. This picture is the most exquisite work art ever created.

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Conclusion

It was an article TOP 25 most famous paintings in the world. Thank you for your attention!

The property of the world art collection is estimated at several tens of thousands of canvases, of which more than one hundred are recognized as the world's greatest masterpieces. It is believed that if a person is familiar with the work of at least ten or fifteen artists, whose hand these numerous works belong to, then he can already be called cultured and educated (at least in the field of painting). But the point is not the pretentious swallowing of “a grade mark” – these canvases depict wisdom, subtlety, individuality, success, greatness, labor… The paintings of great artists contain sacred meaning, and truly educated and wise is he who is able to consider it. Next, we will talk about the ten most famous paintings in the world. This list is not a rating or its likeness - only a small fraction of the universe, whose name is Art.

1. Mona Lisa (Leonardo da Vinci)

There are probably few civilized people in the world (not to mention wild tribes in the pristine places of the planet) who do not know what the Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vicni looks like, and even more so those who have not heard of this famous painting. Today it is located in the Louvre (Paris). Mona Lisa owes its fame to a fatal event - at the beginning of the last century, the painting was stolen by one of the employees of this museum. For two years, the entire world press tirelessly talked about this case. Another interesting point worthy of many years of worldwide discussions is the smile of the Mona Lisa. In addition, there are even statements that the picture depicts a young man.

2. The Last Supper (Leonardo da Vinci)

The Last Supper is one of the best paintings in world art. If the previous canvas was stolen from the museum and disappeared from public view for two years, then this painting has a truly tragic past. It is a fresco located in one of the Milanese monasteries. The Last Supper was an adornment of the building even at a time when it served as an armory, a prison, and was bombed. The fresco has been restored at least five times. It depicts Jesus with his twelve disciples at a table. The picture has great value not only for world art, but also for religion - Orthodoxy in particular.

3. Sistine Madonna (Rafael Santi)

A contemporary of Leonardo da Vicni was Rafael Santi, who painted one of the most famous paintings - the Sistine Madonna. It is noteworthy that not a wooden board was used as a “platform” for the painting, as in the vast majority of cases in the painting of that time, but a canvas. The second point is its size: 265x196 centimeters. A huge picture, handmade, the finest details (for example, the background of the picture is made up of the faces of angels, which many initially mistake for clouds) - this is a gigantic work! The canvas depicts the Madonna and Child, surrounded by St. Sixtus and St. Barbara. It is known that sitters for Sistine Madonna became his sweetheart (for main character), Pope Julius and the artist's niece (for the other two characters, respectively).

4. Night Watch (Rembrandt)

The Night Watch is one of Rembrandt's most famous paintings. Initially, this work was called completely different. However, art historians who discovered it about two centuries ago thought that the action takes place at night, and the canvas got its current name. In reality, the action takes place during the day, and its darkness is a consequence of soot. But the world recognized the picture as "Night Watch", and to this day this name has remained unchanged. Among the greatest paintings of the world, this is the rare case when the name of the work was not preserved primordial, but was practically invented “on abum”.

5. Starry night (Vincent van Gogh)

property contemporary art Van Gogh's painting "Starry Night" also became. An interesting fact is that the artist wrote this work from memory, although he, and many other artists, mostly paint from nature - something or someone. It is also interesting that at this time the artist was in a psychiatric hospital, because he suffered from bouts of insanity. This is how the mad artist wrote a world masterpiece, this is how he practically created a new direction in fine arts so he immortalized his name. And the world saw quite a few crazy and insane people who turned out to be geniuses. And the world continues to laugh at the madmen!

6. Persistence of memory (Salvador Dali)

The Persistence of Memory is one of the most famous works Salvador Dali. The painting is in the New York Museum of Modern Art. In the continuation of the madmen and geniuses, it is worth saying that the artist got the idea for writing a work at the sight of melted cheese! The associations that the product evoked in Dali prompted the artist to express his ideas on the canvas in this form. Dali personally admitted this to the public, not even trying to hide the peculiar strangeness that prompted him to paint the picture. And, returning in the evening on the day of writing the canvas from the cinema, Salvador's beloved, prophetically declared that anyone who once sees "The Persistence of Memory" will never be able to forget it.

7. Birth of Venus (Sandro Botticelli)

Among the most famous paintings in the world is The Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli. The canvas is located in the equally famous Uffizi Gallery, which is located in Florence. In the picture, the artist depicted the mythology of the birth of the goddess Aphrodite: she floats along the sea to the shore on one of the halves of the shell, driven by Zephyr (the god of the west wind), who, being in the arms of his wife, fills the wind with flowers. On the shore, grace awaits her, preparing to cover the goddess with a mantle. Botticelli used egg yolk as a protective layer of the painting, thanks to which it has been perfectly preserved to this day.

8. Ninth Wave (Aivazovsky)

The outstanding work of the Russian artist Ivan Aivazovsky "The Ninth Wave" allows us to be truly proud of the fact that our contribution is among the world's greatest works of fine art. Aivazovsky is known for the fact that his pictorial predilection lay in the field of depicting the sea - he devoted all his activity as an artist to this. The Ninth Wave received a huge worldwide vocation and was included in the list of the hundred greatest paintings in the world.

9. Impression. Rising Sun (Claude Monet)

Painting by Claude Monet “Impression. Rising Sun, stored in Parisian museum, marked the beginning of a whole direction of painting - impressionism. This work was born in the early morning on one of the old French outports, as you know, from nature. Clone Monet, using all his skill, tried to portray a fleeting feeling of pleasure from a single moment, which is the essence of impressionism, which began to develop in subsequent years. And this direction in fine arts got its name thanks to the first word in the title of the picture, which in French sounds like “impressio”.