
Since the emergence of the Italian Renaissance, the history of western art began a fascinating course through different stylistic genres. While 15th-century painting focused on portraying the ideal, the subsequent movements explored many other aesthetics and ideas, often in reaction to their historical predecessor. And although there are many remarkable paintings to study from these different art movements, we've narrowed down the expansive list to 20 iconic works that span from the end of the 15th century all the way to the first half of the 1900s.
Among this list of masterpieces are some that are so well known they've become a part of popular culture, as well as others that, while famous in art circles, may not be as familiar. For instance, René Magritte's Surrealist painting Treachery of Images, which features a rendering of a brown pipe accompanied by the recognizable phrase “This is not a pipe,” has been referenced in film as well as video games. Similarly, Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa continues to inspire authors and filmmakers from around the world. On the other hand, some paintings that have eluded the same attention include Pierre-Auguste Renoir's Impressionist gem, Bal du Moulin de la Galette and Marcel Duchamp's Nude Descending a Staircase.
Want to brush up on your art history knowledge? Scroll down to take a short-listed tour of 20 of western art history's most famous paintings.
Brush up on your art history knowledge by learning about these famous paintings.
Italian Renaissance
Sandro Botticelli, The Birth of Venus, c. 1484-6

Sandro Botticelli, “The Birth of Venus,” c. 1484–1486. (Photo: Uffizi via Wikimedia Commons [Public Domain])
Leonardo da Vinci, The Mona Lisa, c. 1503-1506

Leonardo da Vinci, “The Mona Lisa,” c. 1503–6. (Photo: Louvre via Wikimedia Commons [Public Domain])
Michelangelo, The Sistine Chapel ceiling, 1508-1512

Photo: Stock Photos from Creative Lab/Shutterstock
Michelangelo spent four years painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel for Pope Julius II. It is not only renowned for its incredible scale, but also for its complex composition and Classical inspirations.
Baroque
Diego Velázquez, Las Meninas, 1656-7

Diego Velázquez, “Las Meninas,” 1656-7. (Photo: Museo del Prado via Wikimedia Commons [Public Domain])
Dutch Golden Age
Rembrandt van Rijn, The Night Watch, 1642

Rembrandt, “The Nightwatch,” 1642. (Photo: Rijksmuseum via Wikimedia Commons [Public Domain])
Johannes Vermeer, Girl With a Pearl Earring, c. 1665

Johannes Vermeer, “Girl with a Pearl Earring,” c. 1665. (Photo: Mauritshuis via Wikimedia Commons [Public Domain])
Romanticism
Théodore Géricault, The Raft of the Medusa, 1818-9

Théodore Géricault, “The Raft of Medusa,” 1818-9. (Photo: Louvre via Wikimedia Commons [Public Domain])
Eugéne Delacroix, Liberty Leading the People, 1830

Eugéne Delacroix, “Liberty Leading the People,” 1830. (Photo: Louvre via Wikimedia Commons [Public Domain])
Realism—Impressionism
Édouard Manet, Le Déjeuner sur l'Herbe, 1863

Édouard Manet, “Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe,” 1863. (Photo: Musée d'Orsay via Wikimedia Commons [Public Domain])
Impressionism
Claude Monet, Impression, Sunrise, 1872

Claude Monet, “Impression, Sunrise,” 1872. (Photo: Musée Marmottan Monet via Wikimedia Commons [Public Domain])
Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Bal du Moulin de la Galette, 1876

Pierre-Auguste Renoir, “Bal du moulin de la Galette,” 1876. (Photo: Musée d'Orsay via Wikimedia Commons [Public Domain])
Post-Impressionism
Vincent van Gogh, The Starry Night, 1889

Vincent van Gogh, “The Starry Night,” 1889. (Photo: MoMA via Wikimedia Commons [Public Domain])
Georges Seurat, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, 1884-6

Georges Seurat, “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte,” 1884-6. (Photo: Art Institute of Chicago via Wikimedia Commons [Public Domain])
Expressionism
Edvard Munch, The Scream, 1893

Edvard Munch, “The Scream,” 1893. (Photo: National Gallery of Norway via Wikimedia Commons [Public Domain])
Cubism
Pablo Picasso, Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, 1907

Pablo Picasso, “Les Demoiselles d'Avignon,” 1907. (Photo: MoMA via Wikimedia Commons [Fair Use])
Marcel Duchamp, Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2, 1912

Marcel Duchamp, “Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2,” 1912. (Photo: Philadelphia Museum of Art via Wikimedia Commons [Fair Use])
Pablo Picasso, Guernica, 1937
Painted towards the end of the Cubist art movement, Picasso's Guernica is one of the most prominent examples of anti-war art. It captures the anguish of both people and animals that is caused by unnecessary violence.
Surrealism
René Magritte, The Treachery of Images, 1929
Magritte's Surrealist paintings are known for their unique sense of irony and wit. One of his most famous pieces, The Treachery of Images, insists that the pipe depicted “is not a pipe” because it is simply a representation of one.
Salvador Dalí, The Persistence of Memory, 1931
The Persistence of Memory was painted at the height of the Surrealist art movement and considered to be Salvador Dalí's most iconic works. It displays outlandish subject matter evocative of a dreamscape. Even today, the melting clock is synonymous with the Spanish artist's name.
Frida Kahlo, The Two Fridas, 1939
Many of Frida Kahlo‘s paintings explored her personal life through Surrealist imagery. The Two Fridas was created after the Mexican artist separated from her husband Diego Rivera and explores two sides of herself joined by clasped hands and a long vein. Although it is classified as Surrealist in style, Kahlo insisted that it portrayed her life, and was quoted as saying, “I never paint dreams or nightmares. I paint my own reality.”
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