Thursday, March 4, 2010

Top 10 Most Famous Paintings Ever

Famous paintings inspire a sense of culture and history. World renowned artists like Van Gogh, Picasso, Vermeer, Renoir, Da Vinci, and Monet have captivated people for centuries. If you are looking for a popular oil painting reproduction, take a look at this list of the top 10 famous reproductions.

10. From the Lake by Georgia O’Keeffe

Georgia O’Keefe spent her days at Lake George, New York in the early 1900s, which has inspired many of her works. This painting displays the gentle waves and ripples of Lake George.

9. The Persistence of Memory by Salvador Dali

 

Probably the most famous painting  by Salvador Dali, The Persistence of Memory was created in 1931 and is now displayed in the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Dali introduced the melting pocket watches in this piece. You can also make out a human figure in the middle of the painting.

8. The Dream by Pablo Picasso

  

Pablo Picasso pioneered the modern art movement called Cubism and is widely acknowledged as the most important artist of the 20th century.

7. Corner of the Garden at Montgeron by Claude Monet

  

This famous painting by Monet was originally created in 1877. Monet is known as the classic impressionist. In the Corner of the Garden at Montgeron, Monet has captured the ever-changing nature of light and color.

6. Café Terrace at Night by Vincent Van Gogh
  
  

In this painting Van Gogh depicts a cafe in Arles, then Cafe Terrace and today it is called Cafe van Gogh. The style of the painting is unique for Van Gogh with warm colors and depth of perspective.

5. Girl with a Pearl Earring by Jan Vermeer

  

This is a plain portrait of a girl, presumably before her wedding. The lack of background and color showcases her tear drop pearl earrings.

4. Luncheon of the Boating Party by Pierre Auguste Renoir

  

The painting depicts a group of Renoir’s friends relaxing on a balcony along the Seine River. In this painting Renoir has captured the joy of the middle class of late 19 century France, it is a lively painting that brings happiness and excitement to any room.

3. The Kiss by Gustav Klimt

  

Gustav Klimt, the Vienna master painted the Kiss painting in 1907. The painting depicts a couple surrounded by a gold blanket and ornaments sharing a moment of shear passion – the perfect kiss.

2. Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh

  

One of the today’s most recognized paintings, Van Gogh’s Starry Night is a classic painting that invokes emotions from the serenity of the church steeple to the wild abandon of color used for his late night sky.

1. Mona Lisa by Leonardo Da Vinci

 

The Mona Lisa, the world’s most famous painting, is owned by the French government and hangs in the Louvre in Paris. The painting shows a woman looking out at the viewer with what is often described as an “enigmatic smile”. The Mona Lisa is perhaps the most famous piece in art history; few other works of art are as romanticized, celebrated, or reproduced.