These famous paintings are masterpieces that convey deep emotions and powerful stories. Sunflowers by Vincent van Gogh uses vibrant yellow flowers to symbolize dedication and the stages of life, reflecting the artist’s emotional journey. Gustav Klimt’s The Kiss is an allegorical portrayal of love, blending oil paint and gold leaf to create a radiant, intimate embrace. Claude Monet’s Impression, Sunrise, with its soft brushstrokes, captures the fleeting beauty of dawn, marking the beginning of the Impressionist movement. Michelangelo’s The Creation of Adam, a fresco on the Sistine Chapel ceiling, depicts the divine moment of creation, symbolizing life and divine intelligence. Pablo Picasso’s Guernica is a powerful anti-war statement, showing the anguish and chaos of the Spanish Civil War with stark black-and-white imagery. Each painting not only showcases the artist’s unique style but also encapsulates profound themes such as love, creation, and the horrors of war.
The World’s Famous Paintings
6. Sunflowers; by Vincent van Gogh
Sunflowers is a set of 12 paintings executed by Vincent van Gogh in Paris and Arles from 1886 through 1889. Done in Paris, the first sunflowers in this series are shown laying in a vase or placed on a flat surface, or tablecloth; afterwards, the ones in Arles were placed in a vase upright. It is said that he identified himself with the sunflowers, thus painting his symbolic self-portrait when painting these flowers. His state could be tracked through this progression of works.
The bright yellow oil paint, so characteristic of his late paintings, was new to artists at the time, and van Gogh seized upon these bright yellow colors with glee. Sunflowers have the meaning of dedication, loyalty, and friendship in Dutch literature. The flower is shown here in all its stages, from bud to withering, and forms a powerful allegory of life-from birth to death. The whole series of Sunflowers he painted are kept in separate museums. Three paintings were of 15 sunflowers and are in the Tokyo Museum of Art, National in London, and Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. Those with 12 sunflowers are found in Munich.
Sunflowers
7. The Kiss; by Gustav Klimt
Austrian Symbolist painter Gustav Klimt created The Kiss in 1907. While most of the work is painted with oil on canvas, it is considered a mixed media piece because it incorporates gold, platinum, and silver leaf. One of the best works representative of the Symbolist movement is The Kiss by Klimt; he applied gold leaf so delicately and made the piece really radiant. Byzantine influences of art could be well viewed in the ornate robes worn by the lovers depicted in this painting.
In The Kiss, a man and woman embrace and kiss on the brink of a meadow, with a tranquil and flat background. A man bends forward to kiss a kneeling woman, who is sitting on a flower ground, but she is more receptive to the kiss rather than an active participant. On the man’s garment, there are black-and-white rectangular shapes, while the robe worn by the woman shows bright floral patterns. The Kiss by Klimt, according to the Upper Belvedere Museum, is an allegorical representation of love as a central element of the human spirit.
8. Impression, Sunrise; by Claude Monet
Impression, Sunrise was painted in 1872 by the celebrated French painter Claude Monet. Showing the port of the artist’s hometown in Le Havre, France, this painting gave rise to the name of the Impressionist movement. It was publicly shown for the first time in 1874 during the first independent exhibition of the Impressionists.
In Impression, Sunrise, Monet painted soft, fluid, and irregular touches on the canvas. He painted the sun as having the same value or lightness as that of the surrounding sky-an effect possible only when there is a high humidity in the atmosphere. The artist created this effect through the juxtaposition of the cool and warm complementary colors rather than altering the value or shade of hues. The boats and the figures in the painting are flat and without shadow, while the red sun on the water reflects palpable brushstrokes, typical for Monet’s impressionism.
Sunrise
9. The Creation of Adam; by Michelangelo
The Creation of Adam by Michelangelo, painted on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican, is one of the most remarkable and iconic works of art in the world. This masterpiece, created in the fresco style, was painted between 1508 and 1512. Michelangelo worked tirelessly for hours each day on scaffolding to complete the entire ceiling, which covers approximately 500 square meters and includes over 300 figures. The central section of the ceiling features nine scenes from the Book of Genesis, with The Creation of Adam as the fourth panel.
This painting illustrates a biblical story from Genesis in which God breathes life into Adam, the first man. Michelangelo depicts God and Adam reaching out to each other, their hands almost touching. Eve is also portrayed, calmly watching while God’s hand rests around her neck, gazing curiously at Adam. The nearly touching fingers of God and Adam have become a universally recognized symbol of creation. Viewing this masterpiece requires gazing upward at the ceiling—a sight that leaves a lasting impression. Notably, in the right half of the painting, a cross-section of the human brain is visible in intricate detail, showcasing Michelangelo’s deep understanding of human anatomy. Some believe this suggests a philosophical message: “God is the mind of each individual.”
The Creation of Adam has been recreated countless times throughout history. Over the centuries, the Sistine Chapel ceiling suffered damage from candle soot and other factors. It was cleaned and restored in 1989, revealing vibrant colors that astonished viewers and revitalized Michelangelo’s brilliance.
10. Guernica; by Pablo Picasso
Guernica was created in 1937 by Pablo Picasso at the request of the Spanish nationalists while he was in France. This powerful anti-war artwork shows the bombing of the Basque town of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War by Nazi German and Fascist Italian forces. The chaotic and disorienting composition speaks of death, violence, brutality, agony, and despair. Executed in a stark black-and-white palette that is akin to newspaper photographs, the painting issues a harrowing commentary on war.
Picasso himself commented on the symbolic elements of Guernica: “If you give meaning to certain elements in my paintings, it may come very close to the truth, but it will never approach my intentions. Any guesses, interpretations, or conclusions you draw may align with feelings I’ve experienced—unconsciously or involuntarily. I paint for the sake of painting. I draw objects as they are.” The themes of Guernica—death, violence, brutality, agony, and despair—are masterfully interwoven within its imagery.
First shown in France, the painting went on a world tour to raise funds for Spanish war relief. During World War II, Guernica was transferred to the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York to protect it from wartime destruction. Picasso stipulated that it should remain in New York until democracy was restored in Spain. In 1981-six years after the death of Spanish dictator Francisco Franco-the piece went back to Madrid where it remains today.
“To be continued…
