Today we present to your attention twenty paintings that are worthy of attention and recognition. These paintings were painted by famous artists, and they should be known not only by the person who is engaged in art, but also by ordinary mortal people, since art paints our life, aesthetics deepens our view of the world. Give art its due place in your life...
1. "The Last Supper". Leonardo Da Vinci, 1495 - 1498
Monumental painting by Leonardo da Vinci depicting the scene of the last meal of Christ with his disciples. Created in the years 1495-1498 in the Dominican monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan.
The painting was commissioned by Leonardo from his patron, Duke Lodovico Sforza and his wife Beatrice d'Este. The coat of arms of Sforza is painted on the lunettes above the painting, formed by a ceiling with three arches. The painting was begun in 1495 and completed in 1498; work was intermittent. The date of commencement of work is not exact, because "the archives of the monastery were destroyed, and an insignificant part of the documents that we have dated 1497, when the painting was almost completed."
The painting became a milestone in the history of the Renaissance: the correctly reproduced depth of perspective changed the direction of development of Western painting.
It is believed that many secrets and hints are hidden in this picture - for example, there is an assumption that the images of Jesus and Judas are written off from one person. When Da Vinci painted the picture, in his vision, Jesus personified goodness, while Judas was pure evil. And when the master found “his Judas” (a drunkard from the street), it turned out that, according to historians, this drunkard had served as a prototype for painting the image of Jesus a few years before. Thus, we can say that this picture captured a person in different periods of his life.
2. "Sunflowers". Vincent van Gogh, 1887
Name of two cycles of paintings by the Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh. The first series was made in Paris in 1887. It is dedicated to lying flowers. The second series was completed a year later, in Arles. She depicts a bouquet of sunflowers in a vase. Two Parisian paintings were acquired by van Gogh's friend Paul Gauguin.
The artist painted sunflowers eleven times. The first four paintings were created in Paris in August-September 1887. Large cut flowers lie like some strange creatures dying before our eyes.
3. "The ninth wave". Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky?, 1850.
One of the most famous paintings by the Russian marine painter Ivan Aivazovsky is kept in the Russian Museum.
The painter depicts the sea after the strongest night storm and people who were shipwrecked. The rays of the sun illuminate the huge waves. The largest of them - the ninth shaft - is ready to fall on people trying to escape on the wreckage of the mast.
Despite the fact that the ship is destroyed and only the mast remains, the people on the mast are alive and continue to fight against the elements. The warm tones of the picture make the sea not so harsh and give the viewer hope that people will be saved.
Created in 1850, the painting "The Ninth Wave" immediately became the most famous of all his marinas and was acquired by Nicholas I.
4. "Nude Maja". Francisco Goya, 1797-1800
Painting by Spanish artist Francisco Goya, painted around 1797-1800. Pairs with the painting "Maja dressed" (La maja vestida). The paintings depict maja - a Spanish townswoman of the 18th-19th centuries, one of the artist's favorite objects of the image. "Nude Maja" is one of the early works Western art depicting a fully nude woman without mythological or negative connotations.
5. "Flight of lovers." Marc Chagall, 1914-1918
Work on the painting “Above the City” began in 1914, and the master applied the finishing touches only in 1918. During this time, Bella turned from a beloved not only into an adored spouse, but also the mother of their daughter Ida, forever becoming the main muse of the painter. The union of a rich daughter of a hereditary jeweler and a simple Jewish youth, whose father made a living by unloading herring, can only be called a misalliance, but love was stronger and overcame all conventions. It was this love that inspired them, lifting them to heaven.
Karina depicts Chagall's two loves at once - Bella and dear Vitebsk. The streets are presented in the form of houses, separated by a high dark fence. The viewer will not immediately notice a goat grazing to the left of the center of the picture, and a simple man with his pants down in the foreground - a humor from the painter, breaking out of the general context and romantic mood of the work, but this is the whole Chagall ...
6. "The face of war." Salvador Dali, 1940
Painting by Spanish artist Salvador Dali, painted in 1940.
The painting was created on the way to the USA. Impressed by the tragedy that broke out in the world, the bloodthirstiness of politicians, the master starts work on the ship. Located in the Boijmans-van Beuningen Museum in Rotterdam.
Having lost all hope for normal life in Europe, the artist from his beloved Paris leaves for America. War covers the Old World and seeks to take over the rest of the world. The master does not yet know that staying in the New World for eight years will make him truly famous, and his works - masterpieces of world art.
7. "Scream". Edvard Munch, 1893
The Scream (Norwegian Skrik) is a series of paintings created between 1893 and 1910 by the Norwegian Expressionist painter Edvard Munch. They depict a human figure screaming in despair against a blood-red sky and a highly generalized landscape background. In 1895, Munch created a lithograph on the same subject.
The red, fiery hot sky covered the cold fjord, which, in turn, gives rise to a fantastic shadow, similar to some kind of sea monster. Tension distorts space, lines break, colors don't match, perspective is destroyed.
Many critics believe that the plot of the picture is the fruit of a sick fantasy of a mentally ill person. Someone sees in the work a premonition of an ecological catastrophe, someone solves the question of what kind of mummy inspired the author to do this work.
8. "Girl with a pearl earring." Jan Vermeer, 1665
The painting "Girl with a Pearl Earring" (Dutch. "Het meisje met de parel") was written around 1665. Currently stored in the Mauritshuis Museum, The Hague, the Netherlands, and is the hallmark of the museum. The painting, nicknamed the Dutch Mona Lisa, or Mona Lisa of the North, is written in the Tronie genre.
Thanks to the 2003 film Girl with a Pearl Earring by Peter Webber, a huge number of people who are far from painting have learned about the wonderful Dutch artist Jan Vermeer, as well as his most famous painting, Girl with a Pearl Earring.
9. "Tower of Babel". Pieter Brueghel, 1563
Famous painting by Pieter Brueghel. The artist created at least two paintings on this subject.
The painting is in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.
There is a story in the Bible about how the inhabitants of Babylon tried to build a high tower in order to reach the sky, but God made them speak different languages, ceased to understand each other, and the tower remained unfinished.
10. "Algerian women." Pablo Picasso, 1955
"Women of Algeria" - a series of 15 paintings created by Picasso in 1954-1955 based on the paintings of Eugene Delacroix; the paintings are distinguished by the letters assigned by the artist from A to O. "Version O" was written on February 14, 1955; for some time it belonged to the famous American art collector of the 20th century, Victor Ganz.
Pablo Picasso's "Women of Algiers (version O)" was sold for $180 million.
11. "New planet". Konstantin Yuon, 1921
Russian Soviet painter, master of landscape, theater artist art theorist. Academician of the Academy of Arts of the USSR. People's Artist of the USSR. Laureate of the Stalin Prize of the first degree. Member of the CPSU since 1951.
This amazing, created in 1921 and not at all characteristic of the realist artist Yuon, the painting “New Planet” is one of the brightest works that embodied the image of the changes that the October Revolution became in the second decade of the 20th century. New system, new way and new look thinking of the newly emerging Soviet society. What awaits humanity now? Bright future? This was not yet thought about then, but the fact that Soviet Russia and the whole world is entering an era of change is obvious, as is the rapid birth of a new planet.
12. "Sistine Madonna". Raphael Santi, 1754
Painting by Raphael, which has been in the Old Masters Gallery in Dresden since 1754. Belongs to the generally recognized peaks of the High Renaissance.
Huge in size (265 × 196 cm, as the size of the painting is indicated in the catalog of the Dresden Gallery) the canvas was created by Raphael for the altar of the church of the monastery of St. Sixtus in Piacenza, commissioned by Pope Julius II. There is a hypothesis that the painting was painted in 1512-1513 in honor of the victory over the French, who invaded Lombardy during the Italian Wars, and the subsequent incorporation of Piacenza into the Papal States.
13. "Penitent Mary Magdalene". Titian (Tiziano Vecellio), painted around 1565
Painting painted around 1565 Italian artist Titian Vecellio. Belongs to the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg. Sometimes the date of creation is given as "1560s".
The model of the painting was Giulia Festina, who struck the artist with a shock of golden hair. The finished canvas greatly impressed the Duke of Gonzaga, and he decided to order a copy of it. Later, Titian, changing the background and posing of the woman, painted a couple more similar works.
14. Mona Lisa. Leonardo Da Vinci, 1503-1505
Portrait of Mrs. Lisa del Giocondo, (ital. Ritratto di Monna Lisa del Giocondo) - a painting by Leonardo da Vinci, located in the Louvre (Paris, France), one of the most famous paintings in the world, which is believed to be a portrait of Lisa Gherardini, the wife of a silk merchant from Florence, Francesco del Giocondo, painted around 1503-1505 .
According to one of the put forward versions, "Mona Lisa" is a self-portrait of the artist.
15. “Morning in a pine forest”, Shishkin Ivan Ivanovich, 1889.
Painting by Russian artists Ivan Shishkin and Konstantin Savitsky. Savitsky painted the bears, but the collector Pavel Tretyakov erased his signature, so one painting is often listed as the author.
The idea for the painting was suggested to Shishkin by Savitsky, who later acted as a co-author and depicted the figures of cubs. These bears, with some differences in posture and number (at first there were two of them), appear in preparatory drawings and sketches. The animals turned out so well for Savitsky that he even signed the painting together with Shishkin.
16. "We didn't wait." Ilya Repin, 1884-1888
Painting by Russian artist Ilya Repin (1844-1930), painted in 1884-1888. It is part of the collection of the State Tretyakov Gallery.
Painting shown at XII traveling exhibition, is included in the narrative cycle dedicated to the fate of the Russian populist revolutionary.
17. Ball at the Moulin de la Galette, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, 1876.
Painting painted by French artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir in 1876.
The place where the painting is located is the Musée d'Orsay. The Moulin de la Galette is an inexpensive tavern in Montmartre where the students and working youth of Paris gathered.
18. Starry night. Vincent van Gogh, 1889
De sterrennacht- a painting by the Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh, written in June 1889, with a view of the predawn sky over a fictional town from the east window of the artist's dwelling in Saint-Remy-de-Provence. Since 1941 kept in the Museum contemporary art in NYC. Considered one of the best works Van Gogh and one of the most significant works of Western painting.
19. "Creation of Adam". Michelangelo, 1511.
Fresco by Michelangelo, painted around 1511. The fresco is the fourth of nine central compositions on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.
The Creation of Adam is one of the most outstanding mural compositions in the Sistine Chapel. In endless space, God the Father flies, surrounded by wingless angels, with a fluttering white tunic. Right hand outstretched towards Adam's hand and almost touching it. Lying on a green rock, Adam's body gradually begins to move, awakens to life. The whole composition is concentrated on the gesture of two hands. The hand of God gives the impulse, and the hand of Adam receives it, giving life energy to the whole body. By the fact that their hands do not touch, Michelangelo emphasized the impossibility of connecting the divine and the human. In the image of God, according to the artist, not a miraculous principle prevails, but a gigantic creative energy. In the image of Adam, Michelangelo sings of strength and beauty human body. In fact, it is not the very creation of man that appears before us, but the moment at which he receives a soul, a passionate search for the divine, a thirst for knowledge.
20. "Kiss in the starry sky." Gustav Klimt, 1905-1907
Painting by Austrian artist Gustav Klimt, painted in 1907-1908. The canvas belongs to the period of Klimt's work, called "golden", last work the author in his "golden period".
On a rock, on the edge of a flower meadow, in a golden aura, lovers stand completely immersed in each other, fenced off from the whole world. Due to the uncertainty of the place of what is happening, it seems that the couple depicted in the picture is moving into a cosmic state that is not subject to time and space, beyond all historical and social stereotypes and cataclysms. Complete solitude and the man's face turned back only emphasize the impression of isolation and detachment in relation to the observer.
Source - Wikipedia, muzei-mira.com, say-hi.me
20 paintings that everyone should know (the history of painting) updated: November 23, 2016 by: website
There are works of art that seem to hit the viewer on the head, dumbfounded and amazing. Others drag you into reflection and in search of semantic layers, secret symbolism. Some paintings are covered with secrets and mystical mysteries, while others surprise with an exorbitant price.
We carefully reviewed all the major achievements in world painting and selected two dozen of the strangest paintings from them. Salvador Dali, whose works completely fall under the format of this material and are the first to come to mind, were not included in this collection intentionally.
It is clear that “strangeness” is a rather subjective concept, and for everyone there are amazing paintings that stand out from a number of 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 seized with 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 picture is the fruit of a 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 the city. My friends went on, and I stood, trembling with excitement, feeling the endless cry that pierces 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.
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, "an old woman approaching death seems reconciled and given over to her thoughts", at her feet "a strange white bird ... represents the futility of words."
A deeply philosophical picture of the post-impressionist Paul Gauguin was written by him in Tahiti, where he fled from Paris. At the end of the work, he even wanted to commit suicide: "I believe that this canvas 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, atrocities, suffering and helplessness, without specifying their immediate causes, but they are obvious. It is said that in 1940 Pablo Picasso was summoned to the Gestapo in Paris. The conversation immediately turned to the picture. "Did you do that?" - "No, you did it."
The huge fresco "Guernica", painted by Picasso in 1937, tells about the raid of the Luftwaffe volunteer unit on the city of Guernica, as a result of which the six thousandth city was completely destroyed. The picture was painted in just a month - the first days of work on the picture, Picasso worked for 10-12 hours, and already in the first sketches one could see main idea. This is one of the best illustrations the nightmare of fascism, as well as human cruelty and grief.
"Portrait of the Arnolfinis"
Jan van Eyck. 1434, oil on wood.
London National Gallery, London.
famous painting completely filled with symbols, allegories and various references - up to the signature "Jan van Eyck was here", which turned the picture 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 past 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.
"Hands Resist Him"
Bill Stoneham. 1972.
This work, of course, cannot be ranked among the masterpieces of world art, but the fact that it is strange is a fact.
Around the picture with a boy, a doll and palms pressed against the glass, there are legends. From "because of this picture they die" to "the children in it are alive." The picture looks really creepy, which gives rise to a lot of fears and conjectures in people with a weak psyche.
The artist assured that the picture depicts himself at the age of five, that the door is a representation of the dividing line between the real world and the world of dreams, and the doll is a guide that can lead the boy through this world. The hands represent alternative lives or possibilities.
The painting gained notoriety in February 2000 when it was listed for sale on eBay with a backstory that said the painting was "haunted". "Hands Resist Him" was bought for $1,025 by Kim Smith, who was then inundated with letters with creepy stories and demands to burn the painting.
The mysterious world of art may seem confusing to an inexperienced person, but there are masterpieces that everyone should know. Talent, inspiration and painstaking work on every stroke give rise to works that are admired centuries later.
It is impossible to collect all the outstanding creations in one collection, but we tried to choose the most famous paintings, gathering giant queues in front of museums around the world.
The most famous paintings by Russian artists
"Morning in a pine forest", Ivan Shishkin and Konstantin Savitsky
Year of creation: 1889Museum
Shishkin was an excellent landscape painter, but he rarely had to draw animals, so Savitsky, an excellent animal painter, painted the figures of the cubs. At the end of the work, Tretyakov ordered Savitsky's signature to be erased, believing that Shishkin had done much more extensive work.
"Ivan the Terrible and his son Ivan on November 16, 1581" by Ilya Repin
Years of creation: 1883–1885Museum: Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow
To create a masterpiece, better known as "Ivan the Terrible kills his son", Repin was inspired by the symphony "Antar" by Rimsky-Korsakov, namely, its second movement called "The Sweetness of Revenge". Under the influence of the sounds of music, the artist depicted a bloody scene of murder and subsequent repentance, observed in the eyes of the sovereign.
Seated Demon, Mikhail Vrubel
Year of creation: 1890Museum: Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow
The painting was one of thirty illustrations drawn by Vrubel for the anniversary edition of the works of M.Yu. Lermontov. The "seated demon" personifies the doubts inherent in the human spirit, the subtle, elusive "mood of the soul." According to experts, the artist was to some extent obsessed with the image of a demon: this painting was followed by "Demon flying" and "Demon defeated".
"Boyar Morozova", Vasily Surikov
Years of creation: 1884–1887Museum: Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow
The plot of the Old Believer life "The Tale of the Boyar Morozova" formed the basis of the picture. The understanding of the key image came to the artist when he saw a crow spreading its black wings like a spot on a snowy canvas. Later, Surikov searched for a prototype for the noblewoman’s face for a long time, but could not find anything suitable, until one day he met an Old Believer woman with a pale, frantic face in the cemetery. The portrait sketch was completed in two hours.
"Bogatyrs", Viktor Vasnetsov
Years of creation: 1881–1898Museum: Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow
The future epic masterpiece was born as a small pencil sketch in 1881; for further work on the canvas, Vasnetsov painstakingly collected information about the heroes from myths, legends and traditions for many years, and also studied authentic ancient Russian ammunition in museums.
Analysis of Vasnetsov's painting "Three Heroes"
"Bathing the Red Horse", Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin
Year of creation: 1912Museum: Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow
Initially, the painting was conceived as an everyday sketch from the life of a Russian village, but during the work the artist’s canvas acquired a huge number of symbols. By the red horse, Petrov-Vodkin meant "The Fate of Russia"; after the country joined the First world war he exclaimed, "So that's why I painted this picture!". However, after the revolution, pro-Soviet art critics interpreted the key figure of the canvas as a "harbinger of revolutionary fires."
"Trinity", Andrey Rublev
Year of creation: 1411Museum: Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow
The icon that laid the foundation for the tradition of Russian icon painting of the 15th-16th centuries. The canvas depicting the Old Testament trinity of angels who appeared to Abraham is a symbol of the unity of the Holy Trinity.
The Ninth Wave, Ivan Aivazovsky
Year of creation: 1850Museum
A pearl in the "cartography" of the legendary domestic marine painter, who can be without hesitation classified as one of the most famous artists in the world. We can see how miraculously surviving sailors after the storm cling to the mast in anticipation of a meeting with the "ninth wave", the mythical apogee of all storms. But the warm shades that dominate the canvas give hope for the salvation of the victims.
"The Last Day of Pompeii", Karl Bryullov
Years of creation: 1830–1833Museum: Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
Completed in 1833, Bryullov's painting was originally exhibited in the largest cities of Italy, where it caused a real sensation - the painter was compared with Michelangelo, Titian, Raphael ... At home, the masterpiece was met with no less enthusiasm, securing Bryullov's nickname "Charles the Great". The canvas is truly great: its dimensions are 4.6 by 6.5 meters, which makes it one of the largest paintings among the creations of Russian artists.
The most famous paintings by Leonardo da Vinci
"Mona Lisa"
Years of creation: 1503–1505Museum: Louvre, Paris
A masterpiece of Florentine genius that needs no introduction. It is noteworthy that the painting received cult status after the incident with the abduction from the Louvre in 1911. Two years later, the kidnapper, who turned out to be a museum employee, tried to sell the painting to the Uffizi Gallery. The events of the high-profile case were covered in detail in the world press, after which hundreds of thousands of reproductions went on sale, and the mysterious Mona Lisa became an object of worship.
Years of creation: 1495–1498Museum: Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan
After five centuries, a fresco with a classical plot on the wall of the refectory of the Dominican monastery in Milan is recognized as one of the most mysterious paintings in history. As conceived by Da Vinci, the picture depicts the moment of the Easter meal, when Christ notifies the disciples of the imminent betrayal. The sheer quantity of hidden symbols has given rise to an equally vast array of studies, allusions, borrowings, and parodies.
"Madonna Litta"
Year of creation: 1491Museum: Hermitage, St. Petersburg
The painting, also known as the Madonna and Child, was kept in the collection of the Dukes of Litta for a long time, and in 1864 it was bought by the St. Petersburg Hermitage. Many experts agree that the figure of the baby was not painted personally by da Vinci, but by one of his students - a pose that is too uncharacteristic for a painter.
The most famous paintings of Salvador Dali
Year of creation: 1931Museum: Museum of Modern Art, New York
Paradoxically, the most notable work genius of surrealism, was born from thoughts of Camembert cheese. One evening, after a friendly dinner that ended with appetizers with cheese, the artist immersed himself in thoughts about the “spreading pulp”, and his imagination painted a picture like a melting clock with an olive branch in the foreground.
Year of creation: 1955Museum: National Gallery of Art, Washington
A traditional plot that received a surreal canvas using arithmetic principles studied by Leonardo da Vinci. The artist put the original magic of the number "12" at the forefront, moving away from the hermeneutical method of interpreting the biblical story.
The most famous paintings by Pablo Picasso
Year of creation: 1905Museum: Pushkin Museum, Moscow
The painting became the first signs of the so-called "pink" period in the work of Picasso. A rough texture and a simplified style are combined with a sensitive play of lines and colors, a contrast between the massive figure of an athlete and a fragile gymnast. The canvas was sold along with 29 other works for 2 thousand francs (in total) to the Parisian collector Vollard, changed several collections, and in 1913 it was acquired by the Russian philanthropist Ivan Morozov, already for 13 thousand francs.
Year of creation: 1937Museum: Reina Sofia Museum, Madrid
Guernica is the name of a city in the Basque country that was bombed by the Germans in April 1937. Picasso had never been to Guernica, but was stunned by the scale of the catastrophe, like a "blow of a bull's horn." The artist conveyed the horrors of war in an abstract form and showed the real face of fascism, veiling it with bizarre geometric shapes.
The most famous paintings of the Renaissance
"Sistine Madonna", Raphael Santi
Years of creation: 1512–1513Museum: Old Masters Gallery, Dresden
If you look closely at the background, which at first glance consists of clouds, you will notice that in fact Raphael depicted the heads of angels there. The two angels located at the bottom of the picture are known almost more than the masterpiece itself, due to the wide circulation in mass art.
The Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli
Year of creation: 1486Museum: Uffizi Gallery, Florence
At the heart of the painting ancient greek myth about the birth of Aphrodite from the sea foam. Unlike many masterpieces of the Renaissance, the canvas has survived to this day in excellent condition thanks to the protective layer of egg yolk with which Botticelli prudently covered the work.
The Creation of Adam by Michelangelo Buonarotti
Year of creation: 1511Museum: Sistine Chapel, Vatican
One of the nine frescoes on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, illustrating the chapter from Genesis: "And God created man in his own image." It was Michelangelo who first portrayed God as a wise-haired old man, after which this image became archetypal. Modern scientists believe that the contours of the figure of God and angels represent the human brain.
"Night Watch", Rembrandt
Year of creation: 1642Museum: Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
The full title of the painting is "Speech of the Rifle Company of Captain Frans Banning Cock and Lieutenant Willem van Ruytenbürg." The painting received its modern name in the 19th century, when it was found by art historians, who, because of the layer of dirt covering the work, decided that the action in the painting takes place under the cover of night darkness.
The Garden of Earthly Delights Hieronymus Bosch
Years of creation: 1500–1510Museum: Prado Museum, Madrid
Perhaps the most famous Bosch triptych, named after the central part of the composition: the figures depicted on it selflessly indulge in the sin of voluptuousness. In contrast to the full of small, "bustling" details of the middle part, depicting a true paradise, the left wing of the picture conveys an atmosphere of peace and tranquility, and the right wing, full of diabolical mechanisms, on the contrary, recalls hellish torments.
The most famous paintings of the XX century
"Black Square", Kazimir Malevich
Year of creation: 1915Museum: Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow
Malevich wrote Black Square for several months; the legend says that a painting is hidden under a layer of black paint - the artist did not have time to finish the work on time and, in a fit of anger, smeared over the image. There are at least seven copies of the "Black Square" made by Malevich, as well as a kind of "continuation" of the Suprematist squares - "Red Square" (1915) and "White Square" (1918).
"Scream", Edvard Munch
Year of creation: 1893Museum: National Gallery, Oslo
Due to the inexplicable mystical effect on the viewer, the painting was stolen in 1994 and 2004. There is an opinion that the picture created at the turn of the 20th century anticipated numerous catastrophes of the coming century. The deep symbolism of The Scream has inspired many artists, including Andy Warhol, directors, musicians, and even animators.
Walk, Marc Chagall
Year of creation: 1918Museum: Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
If you were also tormented by the question: “Why do people in the painting by Marc Chagall soar in the air?”, Here is the answer from the artist himself - the power that can give a person the opportunity to fly is nothing more than love. It is believed that the man and woman on the canvas are Marc Chagall and his wife.
"No. 5, 1948", Jackson Pollock
Year of creation: 1948Museum: Private collection, New York
This painting still causes a lot of controversy. Some art historians believe that the hype around the painting, painted in the proprietary spatter technique, was artificially created. The canvas was not sold until all the other works of the artist were bought, respectively, the price for a non-objective masterpiece skyrocketed. Number Five was sold for $140 million, making it the most expensive painting in history.
Diptych Marilyn, Andy Warhol
Year of creation: 1962Museum: Tate Gallery, London
A week after the death of Marilyn Monroe, the scandalous artist began work on the canvas. 50 stencil portraits of the actress were applied to the canvas, stylized in the pop art genre based on a 1953 photograph.
Subscribe to our channel in Yandex.Zen
100 great paintings (Part 1)
Great canvases are always a mirror of time, in whatever complex allegorical form the artist may clothe them. Not every picture is clear to the viewer at first sight, some of them require close attention, reflection, certain preparation and knowledge.
We want on our site not only to tell about the most famous works of world art, but to provide an opportunity for everyone to order a high-quality reproduction on natural canvas of a favorite masterpiece.
Jan van Eyck(1390-1441) is considered to be the largest Netherlandish painter of the 15th century, who laid the foundation for the realistic tradition in altar painting. Originally from a small Dutch town on the Meuse River, in 1422, already a respected master, he entered the service of Count John of Bavaria and until 1424 participated in the decoration of the count's palace in The Hague. In 1425, Van Eyck moved to Lille, where he became the court painter of the Duke of Burgundy, Philip III the Good. At the court of the duke, who highly appreciated the artist, he not only painted, but also carried out many diplomatic missions, repeatedly traveling to Spain and Portugal.
In 1431, Van Eyck moved to Bruges, where he lived until the end of his days, performing work both as a court painter and as an artist of the city. The greatest number of works that have come down to us was written by the master at a time when he was in the service of the Duke of Burgundy.
One of Van Eyck's most famous works, Portrait of the Arnolfinis, is in the collection of the London National Gallery. In the picture depicting the marriage ceremony of two wealthy young people, the artist found a place for several symbols - for example, for a dog located at the feet of the newlywed, a symbol of fidelity. In a round mirror hanging on the wall in the depths of the composition, two people are reflected - obviously, the witnesses of the marriage. In one of them, the artist depicted himself, as the inscription above the mirror says. The artist performed the newlyweds in full growth. The painter lovingly depicts things surrounding the newlyweds. These items tell a lot about the lifestyle of their owners, emphasizing their burgher virtues - thrift, modesty, love of order.
The content of the painting described above is only the most common version, but for some researchers, another one is attractive: This is a self-portrait of the artist. Back in 1934, the well-known Austrian art critic Erwin Panofsky suggested that the painting depicts not a marriage, but an engagement. In addition, it was established that Giovanni Arnolfini and his wife did not exist, and the woman depicted in the picture is clearly waiting for the addition of the family. And Margarita van Eyck (the artist's sister) on June 30, 1434 gave birth to a son.
So who is the hero of the picture? Or is it really a family scene, and not a custom portrait at all? The question is still open...
Van Eyck introduces the viewer to privacy people showing beauty everyday life. By doing this, he opened up new, realistic possibilities of fine art, which were fully realized only in the 17th century, when many similar paintings were created in Holland.
This greatest creation of the artist, like his "Spring", for more than three hundred years was in deep oblivion in the quiet villa of Castello in the vicinity of Florence. The picture was noticed only in the middle of the last century, when the Pre-Raphaelite painters Milles and Rossetti rediscovered Botticelli as one of the rarest talents of Italy in the 15th century.
The Birth of Venus was written for Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de' Medici, cousin of Lorenzo the Magnificent and Botticelli's most important patron. Florence, where the artist spent most of his life, was ruled by the powerful Medici family. The plot of the picture is connected with the culture of the court of Lorenzo Medici, imbued with the philosophy of Neoplatonism. This time of the stanzas of Poliziano and the sonnets of Lorenzo the Magnificent, the time of tournaments and carnival processions was the heyday of Botticelli.
In The Birth, Sandro Botticelli depicted the image of Aphrodite Urania - the heavenly Venus, the daughter of Uranus, born from the sea without a mother. The picture captures not so much the birth itself, but the moment that followed when, driven by the breath of the geniuses of the air, Venus reaches the promised shore. The beauty of the naked figure is crowned by the nymph Ora, who is the embodiment of nature, she is ready to cover her with a cloak. Ora is one of the three Mountains, the nymphs of the seasons. This Mountain, judging by the flowers that cover her clothes, patronizes that time of the year when the power of Venus reaches its peak. Perhaps this picture of the artist was inspired by one of the Homeric hymns, which describes how Zephyr, the god of the west wind, brought Venus to the island of Cyprus, where the Mountains accepted her.
According to Lorenzo Medici's circle, Venus, the goddess of love, is also the goddess of humanity. It is she who teaches people reason, valor, she is the mother of Harmony, born from the union of matter and spirit, nature and ideas, love and soul.
The world's most famous painting, the Mona Lisa, by Leonardo da Vinci, is in the Louvre.
The Mona Lisa was created between 1503 and 1506 and completed in 1510. It is still unclear who exactly posed for the great master. The artist received an order for the painting from Francesco del Giocondo, a Florentine silk merchant, and most historians and art historians believe that the portrait depicts Lisa Gherardini, Giocondo's wife, who commissioned the portrait in honor of the birth of their second son, who was born in December 1502. Nevertheless, for 500 years, disputes have not subsided about who is really depicted in this famous painting.
The word "Mona" is most likely an abbreviated form of "monna" or "mia donna", that is, "milady" or "madame". In French it is called "La Joconde", and in Italian - "La Gioconda" (merry), but this is only a play on words, a coincidence with the name of the one that served as the prototype of the picture.
The portrait is an excellent example of Leonard's favorite technique, the so-called sfumato - "smoky chiaroscuro", a gentle half-light with a soft range of tones that seem to be slightly smeared and smoothly transition from one to another. At the same time, Leonardo marks the corners of the mouth and eyes with such precision and grace that the picture acquires a truly fantastic quality.
Some researchers argue that the picture is a self-portrait of Leonardo himself, who gave his appearance feminine features or even features of a hermaphrodite. And indeed, if the image of Mona Lisa to remove the hair, you get a strange sexless face. This hypothesis was confirmed by the work done by independent researchers - Lillian Schwartz from the Bell Labs laboratory and Digby Quest from the Maudsley clinic in London, who confirmed the hypothesis that Leonardo could portray himself in the image of Mona Lisa. The researchers compared using special computer programs"Mona Lisa" and a self-portrait of Leonardo, made when he was already at a venerable age. The result is amazing. "Mona Lisa" turned out to be almost a mirror image of the face of the great master. Almost all facial features matched perfectly, including the tip of the nose, lips and eyes.
In 1911, the Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre by the Italian Vincenzo Perugia, who worked as a carpenter in the museum. He simply carried the painting out of the gallery, hiding it under his clothes. The famous painting was found only in 1913, when the kidnapper tried to sell it to a certain collector. Prior to this, Leonardo's masterpiece was kept in a suitcase with a double bottom. The attacker explained what he had done by saying that he wished to return to Italy a painting that had been illegally exported by Napoleon Bonaparte.
From Robert Cumming's Great Artists:
"Commonly known as the 'Venus of Dresden', this painting was extremely original, unparalleled in the art of classical antiquity. The work demonstrates the artist's interest in a new ideal of beauty, where the poetic mood prevails over the rational content.
This reclining nude has become one of the most popular images of European painting. Giorgione depicts a figure sleeping under a tree with closed eyes, immersed in dreams and unaware that she is being watched. Almost all later variations on this theme depict her awake. In particular, Manet in his "Olympia" depicted "Venus" offering sexual services.
The soft shades and rounded shapes of Venus speak of the influence of Leonardo da Vinci, which can also be seen in the solution of the folds of the draperies. "Dresden Venus" was written in one decade in "Mona Lisa" - and both immediately gave rise to many copies and imitations.
Skillfully rendered chiaroscuro and highlights on luxurious drapery demonstrate Giorgione's mastery of oil painting techniques.
The smooth contours of the body enhance the feeling of deep sleep and, as it were, invite you to caress the figure with your eyes.
The erotic nature of the image indicates that the painting was commissioned for a private bedroom.
X-rays and records of restorers of the 19th century indicate that Giorgione originally depicted (or was going to depict) the figure of Cupid on the right side of the canvas.
According to rumors, Giorgione did not have time to finish the painting during his lifetime, and it is generally accepted that the order to complete the landscape was given to Titian. The "layered" landscape and the blue hills on the horizon are characteristic of Titian's early style. The premature death of a rival contributed to the rise of Titian's star."
I. Bosch turned out to be a very difficult artist, even now there is no established point of view on the interpretation of plots and individual images of his paintings.
For medieval artists (as well as for their viewers), all objects and phenomena had a symbolic meaning, each object received its symbolic interpretation based on the texts of the Bible. So, for example, based on the phrase: “The Word of God is strong as a lion,” the lion was considered a symbol of the omnipotence of the Christian faith, because the figures of lions adorn the portals of many Romanesque cathedrals in France, and in Italy, sculptors of the 13th-14th centuries placed lions at the foot of church pulpits . Bosch's work, perhaps, is also difficult for direct perception in our time, because the artist, in addition to traditional medieval symbols (known to everyone), used other symbols - less studied and difficult to decipher.
Bosch's artistic language never fit entirely into medieval symbolic interpretations. The artist often used certain symbols in a meaning opposite to the generally accepted one, and also invented new symbols. Maybe that's why he was called the "gloomy science fiction writer", "honorary professor of nightmares", but modern surrealists saw in Bosch their spiritual father and forerunner. Here is one such scene. A loving couple secluded themselves in a transparent bubble. A little higher, a young man hugs a huge owl, to the right of the bubble in the middle of the pool, in the water, another man stands on his head, legs wide apart, between which the birds have built a nest. Not far from him, a young man, leaning out with his beloved from a pink hollow apple, feeds a monstrous bunch of grapes to people standing up to their necks in water. This is the "Garden of Earthly Delights" - one of the most famous paintings by Hieronymus Bosch.
Hieronymus Bosch created his triptych "Garden of Earthly Delights", or "Garden of Delights" (it is often called the most "Bosch" work) in 1503, and in it his peculiar vision of the world was fully manifested. The title of the painting is given in contemporary literature, and in the second half of the 16th century, when it came into the possession of King Philip II, it was called "The Diversity of the World", in the 17th century it had the name "Vanity and Glory".
Paradise is depicted on the left side of this triptych, Hell is depicted on the right side, and an image of earthly existence was placed between them. Left-hand side The Garden of Delights depicts the scene of the Creation of Eve, and Paradise itself glistens and shimmers with bright, sparkling colors. Against the backdrop of a fantastic landscape of Paradise. filled with a variety of animals and plants, the master shows the awakening Adam Adam, who has just awakened, rises from the ground and looks in amazement at Eve, whom God shows him. The well-known art historian C. de Tolnay notes that the surprised look that Adam throws at the first woman is already a step on the path to sin. And Eve, extracted from Adam's rib, is not just a woman, but also an instrument of seduction. The contradiction between a calm and sinless man and a woman bearing the seeds of sin in herself is reproduced in the nature around them. A stunted palm growing on a mysterious orange rock is diagonally opposite to a blooming palm. Several incidents cast a dark shadow on peaceful life animals: a lion devours a deer, a wild boar pursues a mysterious beast. And above it all rises the Source of Life, a hybrid of a plant and a marble rock, a soaring gothic structure set on the dark blue stones of a small island. At the very top of it there is still a barely noticeable crescent moon, but already from inside it peeps out, like a worm, an owl - a messenger of misfortune.
The central part of the triptych - the "Garden of Earthly Delights" itself - depicts a grandiose landscape covered with naked figures of men and women. Animals of unnatural proportions, birds, fish, butterflies, algae, huge flowers and fruits stand out in the composition of the "Garden of Earthly Delights". three shots: in the foreground, “various joys” are shown, the second is occupied by a cavalcade of numerous riders who ride various animals, the third (farthest) is crowned with a blue sky, where people fly on winged fish and with the help of their own wings It would seem that against the background nothing could be more chaste than such a landscape love games But, like psychoanalysis (the psychiatrist R. Khaikin even suggested a psychopathological analysis of I. Bosch’s work), the dream books of that time reveal the true meaning of these earthly pleasures: cherries, strawberries, strawberries and grapes, eaten with such joy by people, symbolize the sinful sexuality devoid of the light of divine love; the apple-boat in which lovers retire is shaped like a woman's breasts; birds become the personification of lust and debauchery, the fish is a symbol of restless lust, the shell is the feminine principle.
At the bottom of the picture, a young man hugged a huge strawberry. The meaning of this image will become clear to us if we remember that in Western European art strawberries served as a symbol of purity and virginity. The scene with a bunch of grapes in the pool is a sacrament, and a giant pelican, picking up a cherry (a symbol of sensuality) on its long beak, teases with it people sitting in the bud of a fantastic flower. The pelican itself symbolizes love for one's neighbor. The artist often gives the symbols of Christian art a concrete sensual sound, reducing them to the material and bodily plane.
Hieronymus Bosch creates an amazing world of ephemeral desires and sensual pleasures: aloe digs into naked flesh, coral firmly grips bodies, the shell slams shut and turns the love couple into its captives. In the Tower of Adultery, which rises from the Lake of Lust and whose yellow-orange walls sparkle like crystal, deceived husbands sleep among the horns. The steel-coloured glass sphere in which lovers indulge in caresses is surmounted by a crescent-moon crown and pink marble horns. The sphere and the glass bell that shelters the three sinners illustrate the Dutch proverb. "Happiness and glass - how short-lived they are!" And they are also symbols of the heretical nature of sin and the dangers that it brings to the world.
The right wing of the triptych - Hell - is dark, gloomy, disturbing, with separate flashes of light piercing the darkness of the night, and with sinners who are tormented by some giant musical instruments. In the center of Hell is a huge figure of Satan, this is a sort of "guide" through Hell - the main "narrator" with a deathly pale face and an ironic smile on thin lips. Its legs are hollow tree trunks, and they rest on two ships. Satan's body is an open eggshell, on the brim of his hat, demons and witches either walk or dance with sinful souls ... Or they lead people guilty of an unnatural sin around a huge bagpipe (a symbol of the masculine principle). Around the ruler of Hell, punishment occurs sins: they crucified one sinner, piercing him with harp strings; next to him, a red-bodied demon conducts a rehearsal of an infernal orchestra from notes written on the buttocks of another sinner. A demon sits in a high chair, punishing gluttons and gluttons. He put his feet in beer jugs, and a bowler hat is put on his bird's head. And he punishes sinners by devouring them.
The gate of Hell represents the third stage of the fall, when the earth itself turned into hell. Items that previously served sin have now become instruments of punishment. These chimeras of bad conscience have all the specific meanings of the sexual symbols of dreams. The hare (in the picture it exceeds the size of a person) in Christianity was a symbol of the immortality of the soul. At Bosch, he plays the horn and lowers the sinner head down into the infernal fire. Giant ears serve as an omen of misfortune. A huge key, attached to the shaft by a monk, betrays the latter's desire for marriage, which is forbidden for members of the clergy. Inside the monster is a tavern, over which a banner flutters - the same bagpipe. At some distance, a man sits in a state of melancholy, leaning over chaos. If you see the features of Hieronymus Bosch himself in it, then the whole picture may appear before the viewer in a different light: the artist himself invented this nightmare, all these agony and torment are committed in his soul. Some art historians insist on this, for example, Charles de Tolnay, already mentioned. However, Bosch was a deeply religious person, and he could not even think of placing himself in Hell. Most likely, the artist should be looked for among those images that carry Light and Goodness in his paintings, not without reason he belonged to the Brotherhood of the Virgin.
To our contemporaries, the actions of the characters in The Garden of Delights are largely incomprehensible, but for Bosch's contemporaries (as already mentioned above), they were filled with deep symbolic meaning. His paintings (including The Garden of Earthly Delights) often frighten the viewer with the unnatural compatibility of human and animal, living and dead in one character, and at the same time they can amuse. His characters are similar to the nightmarish images of the Apocalypse and at the same time - to the cheerful devils of the carnival. However, with all the many interpretations of the meaning of the Garden of Earthly Delights, none of them can
completely cover all the images of the picture.
This altarpiece is the last of Raphael's major works on his favorite subject. Even in the early period of creativity, he turned to the image of the Madonna and Child, each time looking for a new approach. The predominant nature of the genius of Raphael was expressed in the desire for a deity, for the transformation of the earthly, human into the eternal, divine.
It seems that the curtain has just parted and a heavenly vision has opened up to the eyes of believers - the Virgin Mary walking on a cloud with baby Jesus in her arms. The Madonna is holding trustingly clinging to her Jesus in a motherly way, carefully and carefully. The genius of Raphael seemed to have enclosed the divine baby in a magic circle formed by the left hand of the Madonna, her falling veil and the right hand of Jesus. Her gaze, directed through the viewer, is full of disturbing foresight. tragic fate son. The Madonna's face is the embodiment of the ancient ideal of beauty combined with the spirituality of the Christian ideal.
Pope Sixtus II, martyred in 258 AD and numbered among the saints, asks Mary for intercession for all who pray to her in front of the altar. The pose of Saint Barbara, her face and downcast eyes express humility and reverence. In the depths of the picture, in the background, barely distinguishable in a golden haze, the faces of angels are vaguely guessed, enhancing the overall sublime atmosphere. The eyes and gestures of the two angels in the foreground are directed towards the Madonna. The presence of these winged boys, more reminiscent of mythological cupids, gives the canvas a special warmth and humanity.
The "Sistine Madonna" was commissioned by Raphael in 1512 as an altarpiece for the chapel of the monastery of Saint Sixtus in Piacenza. Pope Julius II, at that time still a cardinal, raised funds for the construction of a chapel where the relics of St. Sixtus and St. Barbara were kept.
In Russia, especially in the first half of the 19th century, Raphael's "Sistine Madonna" was very revered, enthusiastic lines of such different writers and critics as V. A. Zhukovsky, V. G. Belinsky, N. P. Ogarev are dedicated to her. Belinsky wrote from Dresden to V.P. Botkin, sharing with him his impressions of the “Sistine Madonna”: “What nobility, what grace of the brush! You can't look! I involuntarily remembered Pushkin: the same nobility, the same grace of expression, with the same severity of outline! No wonder Pushkin loved Raphael so much: he is kindred to him by nature. Two great Russian writers, L. N. Tolstoy and F. M. Dostoevsky, had reproductions of the Sistine Madonna in their offices. The wife of F. M. Dostoevsky wrote in her diary: “Fyodor Mikhailovich put the works of Raphael above all else in painting and recognized the Sistine Madonna as his highest work.”
Carlo Maratti expressed his surprise at Raphael in this way: “If they showed me a picture of Raphael and I would not know anything about him, if they told me that this was the creation of an angel, I would believe it.”
The great mind of Goethe not only appreciated Raphael, but also found an apt expression for his assessment: "He always created what others only dreamed of creating."
This is true, because Raphael embodied in his works not only the desire for an ideal, but the very ideal available to a mortal.
From the book "100 Great Pictures" by Ionina N.A.:
Augsburg, where at that time the whole Spanish court and many German princes gathered. In Augsburg, Titian painted a huge equestrian portrait of Charles V on the morning before the battle in which the monarch won one of his most brilliant victories. This portrait struck Titian's contemporaries with its unexpectedness: it was strange to see the emperor - a subtle armchair diplomat and melancholic - in the form of a knight and a hero with a spear in his hand, with a raised visor, galloping lonely among the fields. But such was the will of the monarch.
At the battle of Mühlberg, this fanatic of Catholicism seemed to be driven by some kind of ecstasy: he did not lead the battle from a distance, sitting in a stretcher under the protection of the fortifications. He rushed ahead of his troops to attack and even crossed the dangerous ford of the Elbe, dragging his colonels with him. This memorable day and the only heroic deed of the emperor was supposed to be immortalized by Titian. The portrait does not depict the gloomy, silent and sick Charles V, as they say about him in the narrations of his contemporaries. This is not Karl, who was depicted by the same Titian in a portrait now in the Munich Pinakothek. This is not a miserable ruin, not a cunning sly, not a sad “ruler of the universe”, not the son of insane Joanna and magnificent Philip ... This is the grandson of the “last knight” - Maximilian, and therefore Titian depicted in the portrait a separate flash, and not a whole psychological character.
It was striking and the most daring of all the works of Titian. In the reddish mist of a spring morning, alone on a vast plain stretching to the hills of the Elbe, the emperor, clad in chased and gilded steel, with a raised blockage above a pale and determined face, gallops out of the forest with a spear facing forward. How impressive and majestic the rider looks! But how terribly lonely he is in this field. And where he rushed on a beautifully prancing horse. Commanding the peoples, punishing the recalcitrant with fire and sword, bringing down armadas of troops on enemies, a man whose even lazy gesture could elevate or destroy - he is depicted in the portrait tired and lonely.
The spectator looks at his characteristic, strong-willed face with a sharply protruding chin, and suddenly clearly distinguishes in the emperor’s gaze a diffused sadness, some kind of inner fatigue, which are transmitted to his entire figure and seem even in the measured running of a horse. His appearance gives the impression of an evil spirit, and this vision takes one by surprise and frightens. Even the colors of the portrait contain something sinister, militant. In the face of Charles V, one sees something terrible, “ghostlike”: one in the field, one in the world, one with a broken soul. This is how Titian understood and portrayed the emperor. Perhaps he himself did not yet realize his great fatigue, and the artist showed him his own soul - without embellishment.
Titian in this portrait did not allow his passion, his scope of solemnity to unfold, but fettered himself within the boundaries of the requirements of the customer, treating the task with a rare coldness for himself. Perhaps that is why some researchers note both in the portrait and in the pose of the emperor some unnaturalness, as on mannequins in the arsenal of old weapons. But the psychological penetration of Titian reached its highest limit in this portrait. By confidence artistic techniques this portrait is striking, in the expression of the character and spirit of the era - nothing can compare with it. It seems that Clio herself, the muse of History, led the hand of the artist in those days.
Perseus - in Greek mythology the son of Danae, who suffered from Jupiter when he turned himself into a stream of golden rain. His heroic deeds included beheading Medusa, one of the snake-haired Gorgons, and saving the beautiful Andromeda from a sea monster. last topic- a common non-native legend. Perseus is depicted either as a typical hero of classical antiquity, or as a warrior in armor. He holds a rounded sword - a gift from Mercury - and a shiny shield given to him by Minerva, his protector.
Ovid in his Metamorphoses tells how Andromeda, the daughter of an Ethiopian king, was chained to a rock on the shore as a sacrifice to a sea monster. Perseus, flying in the sky, fell in love with her at first sight. He rushed down just in time, killed the monster and freed Andromeda. The picture “Perseus and Andromeda” Rubens created at a time when his work was especially emotional and cheerful. By the perfection of painting and the high skill of execution, this work is one of the artist's masterpieces. And here for Rubens the main thing remains for what man is born: struggle, victory and love.
Rubens was not interested in the feat of Perseus itself, not in the struggle and resistance, but in jubilation over the already accomplished victory, when joyful cries were heard from the shore and everyone praised the mighty hero. In this picture, Perseus appears as a triumphant, the winged goddess Victoria (Glory) with a palm branch and a laurel wreath in her hands crowns the winner. The apotheosis of Perseus becomes the triumph of life, no longer overshadowed by anything, beautiful and joyful. And Rubens solves this artistic task with such completeness, with such a captivating power, which until now he has hardly encountered. The intense internal dynamics of each line, each form, their growing rhythm reach exceptional expressiveness here. An irresistible force, bursting in like a whirlwind, from somewhere outside, gives the whole composition and swirling movements, like in a whirlpool, a single direction.
S.M. Sandomirsky
Robert Wallace in the book World of Leonardo, M., 1997 writes: “Of the two problems that the authors of The Last Supper faced for centuries, Leonardo solved the problem of identifying Judas with the greatest ease. He placed Judas on the same side of the table as everyone else, but psychologically separated him from others with a loneliness that is much whiter crushing than mere physical separation. Gloomy and concentrated, Judas recoiled from Christ. On it, as it were, an age-old seal of guilt and loneliness.
Judas sits with everyone, like an apostle in the row of apostles. Christ is lonely, that's why he is sad, but who is the least lonely is Judas. Hence his confident strength. And he is not guilty, because the conversation in the picture is not about betrayal, but about saving the souls of people who are least concerned about this.
Consider the apostles, although after what has been said they no longer decide anything.
12 11 10 9 8 7 Christ 1 2 3 4 5 6
Bartholomew John Thomas Philip Matthew
Peter Jacob Simeon
Judas
1.Foma in the doorway on a light background. The right hand is compressed, the index finger is up: "God will not allow such a crime."
2. Jacob looks with horror at the blood of the new covenant gushing from his wrist. Widely spread arms and hands hold back the words of Christ and try to protect those behind him.
3. Philip presses his fingers to his chest and in the face of a plea: "Trust me, it's impossible on my part."
4. Both hands accept the words of Christ and with a glance ask the 6th: "Is it possible what he says."
5. Simeon accepts the words of Christ with his right palm and asks on the 6th.
6. Matthew, both palms are directed at Christ, - he returns his words back: "It's impossible!"
7. John. The fingers are clasped and lie on the table, showing anguish, weakness. He swung sharply to the left, his eyes closed. The head rests helplessly on the shoulder.
8. Peter. Left hand accepts the words of Christ and reassures the 7th. In his right hand is a knife - he is ready to kill the traitor.
9. Judas: stable low strength, self-righteousness, determination, energy.
10. Raised palms at chest level: "Who is the traitor?" His gaze squinted at the knife.
11. Right hand on the shoulder of the 10th: he agrees with him. She accepts the words of Christ.
12. Bartholomew resolutely stood up and is ready to act.
In general, the right group of apostles does not allow betrayal; the left one admits such a possibility and is determined to punish the traitor.
In how much John swayed to the left, completely freeing the window - the light of the truth of Christ, and Thomas, being in the window at the level of Christ, but relying not on himself, but on God; how the 2nd apostle was thrown to the right, how the rest of the disciples got mixed up, confused, petty fussed, give out the thought of Leonardo da Vinci that the ideas of sacrifice and salvation, the commandments of the new testament of Christ by the apostles - these weak people - will not be carried out and his sacrifice will be in vain. This is the reason for the despondency of Christ. Moreover, the artist himself pays tribute to the high aspiration and sacrifice of the earthly God.
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 main 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 interesting fact, an explanation of the artistic meaning or the 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 at the sight of 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 was not due to language barriers that suddenly arose according to the biblical story, but to mistakes made during the construction process. At first glance, the huge building 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; the middle group symbolizes the daily existence of maturity; in the final group, according to the artist, "an old woman approaching death seems reconciled and given over to her thoughts", at her feet "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 chest” went to the enemy.
Claude Monet Impression. Rising Sun" 1872
Stored at the Musée Marmottan in Paris.
The name of the work "Impression, soleil levant" with the light hand of the journalist L. Leroy became the name 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 by the 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 filmed the feature film Girl with a Pearl Earring, which hypothetically restored the history of the creation of the canvas in the context of Vermeer's biography and family life.
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) “encased” 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, a barmaid is absorbed in her own thoughts, watching a trapeze acrobat, which 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 Worldly Women" (1700), and, in the end, "Earthly Love and Heavenly Love » (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 painting depicts the famous eruption of 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. The painting is currently in the collection of the 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. The modern name of the painting comes from the name of its owner, Count Litta, owner of a 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 pine forest"- 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 "The Tale of Tsar Saltan" by N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov based on the plot of the fairy tale of the same name by 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 a protective layer of egg yolk to the painting.
...
Part 21 -
Part 22 -
Part 23 -
