51 of the Most Famous Paintings in the History of Art – Ranked!

Fantastic artwork surrounds us. 

Some works are so ingrained in our cultural iconography that we see them in pop culture and don’t always realize there’s a famous painting behind them. Others are household names that even the most disinterested in art can point out.

We’ve developed a list of the most important artworks of all time to celebrate these paintings. Many of these paintings will be easily recognizable by name, others by sight, or numerous pop culture references.

They range throughout history, from the 13th century to the 20th century. Some were created by the world’s most famous artists, while others are one-hit wonders of the art world.

The 50 Most Famous Paintings of All Time

Dive into the most famous paintings of all time – ranked! (Well, kind of 😉)

The Voyage of Life: Manhood (Thomas Cole, 1842)

The American Naturalist movement is often forgotten in favor of the European impressionist movement that followed. Still, we can’t ignore the celebration of natural beauty, individualism, and the American spirit showcased in these impressive works. 

The Voyage of Life: Manhood is part of a four-part series representing life’s journey. This third part represents the trials and tribulations of adulthood as the man travels on a stormy river, praying up to the heavens for salvation. 

The work also represents man’s smallness compared to nature’s mighty forces. Though he’s the piece’s subject, he’s dwarfed by the towering cliffs, stormy sky, and roaring river. 

The Voyage of Life: Manhood is part of the National Gallery of Art collection in Washington, D.C. 

Jupiter and Io (Antonio da Correggio c. 1532-1533)

Correggio’s mythological scene shows Zeus as a dark cloud embracing the willing nymph Io, whose head rolls back in ecstasy. 

The work highlights the contrast between the ethereal, all-powerful Zeus, represented as a cloud, and the mortal, sensual human, depicted nude, to highlight her flesh and blood. 

Jupiter and Io resides in a collection at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. 

Napoleon Crossing the Alps (Jacques-Louis David 1801)

The iconic portrait of Napoleon charging forward on horseback evokes power, leadership, and masculinity. 

David’s original work was commissioned as a gift to Spain after the French army defeated the Austrians in Italy to commemorate the friendship between the two nations. Upon Napoleon’s request, David created three additional versions of the portrait and then made a fifth for himself. 

The five paintings are part of collections at the Österreichische Galerie Belvedere museum, the Museum of the Château de Malmaison, the Charlottenburg Palace, and the Palace of Versailles.

Self Portrait, Dedicated to Dr Eloesser (Frida Kahlo, 1940)

Frida Kahlo’s work enjoyed a revival in recent years, as the famous artist’s self-portrait graces everything from pillows to notebooks. 

Of course, most of Kahlo’s paintings are self-portraits, but we’re partial to the ones where she has flowers in her hair, even though the necklace of thorns betrays a darker intent. 

Self Portrait, Dedicated to Dr. Eloesser, is part of the collection for the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, Los Angeles, scheduled to open in 2026. 

Liberty Leading The People (Eugene Delacroix, 1830)

Liberty Leading the People celebrates French independence and the people’s fighting spirit. The work depicts the July Revolution of 1830, where the people replaced King Charles X with Louis-Philippe, Duke of Orleans, and instituted a constitutional monarchy. 

The iconic symbol of France depicts Lady Liberty holding a French flag, leading the charge. However, it doesn’t shy away from the horrors of war as the people march forth despite the bodies lying in their path. 

Liberty Leading the People resides at the Louvre in Paris.

Composition with Large Red Plane, Yellow, Black, Gray, and Blue (1921) Mondrian

Primary. Bold. Mondrian’s experimentations with the basic building blocks of art became masterpieces in their own right. 

The collection features straight lines, which make geometric squares and rectangles, some of which feature bright red, yellow, or blue paint. The use of only primary colors, black and white, highlights the deconstruction of art to its rawest form. 

Mondrian created numerous paintings with the same motif, and although we’ve labeled Composition with Large Red Plan, Yellow, Black, Gray, and Blue as the most famous, any in the series could fit the bill. The imagery appears everywhere, from the face of modern apartment buildings to fashion. 

Composition with Large Red Plan, Yellow, Black, Gray, and Blue is part of the Kunstmusuem Den Haag in the Hague collection. 

Composition VIII (Wassily Kandinsky 1923)

You may not have heard of Wassily Kandinsky or Composition VIII, but believe us, you’ll know the painting when you see it. 

Kandisnky’s famous work transcends the senses. It’s what music would look like if transferred to canvas. It’s a study in geometric expressionism that implies rhythm and motion with straight lines, arches, and circles. When viewing the work, you can’t help but sway with the music it evokes. 

Composition VIII is held in the collection at the Guggenheim Museum, New York. 

The Garden Of Earthly Delights (Hieronymus Bosch, c. 1490-1510)

Bosch’s greatest masterpiece highlights the temptation surrounding humanity. The three-panel work on oak features the Garden of Eden on the left, “earthly delights” in the center, and the last judgment on the right. 

That center panel highlights Bosch’s surrealistic style centuries before Dali & co. made it a movement. It’s impossible to describe what’s happening in the piece, as each inch introduces a new act of confusing deprivation. 

The Garden of Early Delights is part of the Museo del Prado Museum collection in Madrid. 

Portrait of Henry VIII of England (Hans Holbein, the Younger, 1536-37)

Kings, queens, presidents, and emperors make ideal portrait models, as the combination of artistic mastery and historical significance guarantees at least a slight prominence. 

One such work is the Portrait of Henry VIII by Hans Holbein, the Younger. The painting depicts Henry VIII standing proudly in his royal regalia, representing the power and wealth of the British Empire at the time. 

Although the style and artistry highlight Holbein’s expertise, we can’t help but wonder if the work would be as famous if it depicted an ordinary soldier rather than a king. 

Portrait of Henry VIII is on display at the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool. 

Impression, Sunrise (Claude Monet, 1872)

One of the most famous art movements of all time began with an impression of a sunrise. 

Although it’s not Monet’s most well-known work, the piece lends its name to the movement that changed the face of art forever. It showcases the port of Le Harve, Monet’s hometown near Normandy. 

Impression, Sunrise debuted at a Paris exhibition led by a group now known as the Impressionists. After being rejected from the Paris Gallery exhibitions due to their unique style, they decided, “If you can’t join ‘em, beat ‘em,” and hosted their own show. 

Impression, Sunrise, is part of the collection at the Musee d’Orsay in Paris. 

Judith Slaying Holofernes (Artemisia Gentileschi, 1612-1613)

The 15th-century feminist painting depicts the biblical scene where Judith kills the Assyrian general Holofernes. Gentileschi, the most famous female Renaissance artist, showcases strong women in all their glory; this work is no exception. 

Judith completes her task with brave stoicism, her sleeves rolled up and ready to work, while her handmaiden towers over Holofernes, helping to hold him down. 

Judith Slaying Holofernes is held in the collection at Museo Capodimonte in Naples. 

The Rape of Europa (Titian, c.1560 – 1566)

Many famous Renaissance paintings depict scenes from classic mythology. Titian’s masterpiece captures the moment Zeus transforms into a bull to steal Europa away. 

The painting doesn’t romanticize the scene as we do today. Zeus is kidnapping a distraught Europa, who clings helplessly to his back, disheveled clothing on display. The tumultuous scene takes place on a backdrop of a clear blue sky, which does nothing to hide the stormy atmosphere inherent in the work. 

The Rape of Europe is part of the permanent collection of the Isabella Steward Gardner Museum in Boston.

The Wounded Deer (Frida Kahlo, 1946)

The Wounded Deer offers a depressing look into Kahlo’s psyche. In this iconic work, she places her own self-portrait on the body of a deer that’s been hunted, shot, and bleeding from the numerous arrows jutting out of its skin. The dark and dead forest adds to the sadness and desperation of the piece. 

The painting highlights Kahlo’s frustration with the pain and suffering she dealt with in her personal life. She created the work after an intensive back surgery failed to alleviate chronic pain. 

The Wounded Deer is in a private collection. 

The Bedroom (Vincent Van Gogh, 1888)

Van Gogh’s The Bedroom offers a glimpse into the troubled artist’s personal life. It’s a simple composition of a simple, normal-looking room, but that simplicity betrays the trauma taking place inside Van Gogh’s head. 

In a letter to his brother, Van Gogh described the scene as anything but simple. He described the colors in vivid detail, which he could only see and replicate on canvas, and explained that the structure represents the rest he’s supposedly trying to achieve. 

Van Gogh created three versions of his bedroom, each with slightly different colors and motion. 

The first version of The Bedroom is in the collection of the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, the second at the Art Institute of Chicago, and the third at the Musee d’Orsay in Paris. 

The Weeping Woman (Pablo Picasso, 1937)

Picasso is one of the most prolific artists of all time, creating over 13,000 original works and graphic prints, illustrations, and sculptures. Therefore, it’s nearly impossible to pinpoint which of his works are “most famous” (with the exception of one we discuss below!)

However, his style is so iconic we needed to include something that represents him more than the social and historical ideas of the time. Therefore, we decided upon The Weeping Woman. 

The Weeping Woman showcases Picasso’s unique approach to painting. Here, we see his obsession with geometry, hoping to represent dimensionality on a 2D plane in his subject’s tears, eyes, and fingers. 

The Weeping Woman is not currently in the public domain. You can view the work here.

The Weeping Woman is part of the Tate collection in London

Primavera (Sandro Botticelli, c. 1480)

Gloria Fossi describes Primavera as “One of the most written about, and controversial, paintings in the world.”

The masterpiece features nine figures from classical mythology enjoying a lush spring garden filled with plant life, though there’s no corresponding myth, baffling historians. 

Though there’s no consensus on the full meaning of the famed painting, Botticelli undoubtedly meant to represent fertility, springtime, and regrowth. 

Primavera is in the collection at the Uffizi in Florence. 

Marilyn Diptych (Andy Warhol, 1962)

The king of pop (art) used screen printing to create an iconic image of movie star Marilyn Monroe just weeks after she died in 1962. 

Though you’ve likely seen the image in numerous colors, the original, the Diptych, has only two color schemes: twenty-five Marilyns in black & white (negatives) and twenty-five in orange, yellow, and pink. 

The Marylyn Diptych is in the collection at the Tate in London. 

The Beheading Of Saint John The Baptist (Caravaggio, 1608)

Many famous paintings depict the execution of Saint John the Baptist as described in the Golden Legend, but none do so with as much realism, emotion, and atmosphere as Caravaggio. 

The baroque painting uses dark shadows to create a harrowing atmosphere, while the bright red cap draws the eye to the brutal scene on display. 

The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist resides at St. John’s Co Cathedra, Valletta in Malta. 

The Great Wave off Kanagawa (Katsushika Hokusai 1831)

From a Westerner’s perspective, Hokusai’s Great Wave is one of the most famous paintings from the Far East. Although technically a print rather than a painting, it deserves a spot on the list due to its prominence as possibly the most reproduced work in history.

Hokusai’s Great Wave depicts long boats trapped in a massive tidal wave. A tiny Mt. Fuji appears in the background, providing a little perspective and making the large wave seem so much more significant by comparison. 

Approximately 100 copies of the Great Wave are in collections at art museums worldwide. 

School Of Athens (Raphael 1509-1511)

The Renaissance artist’s massive fresco depicts a scholarly scene celebrating classical science, philosophy, and mathematics. The School of Athens features the ancient world’s most famous figures, including Socrates, Aristotle, Plato, and Archimedes. 

The work embodies the spirit of the Renaissance, a re-awakening of human creative spirit and a celebration of our collective past achievements. The School of Athens represents humanity’s escape from the Dark Ages into a brighter future. 

The School of Athens decorates the Apostolic Palace, part of the Vatican Museum in Vatican City. 

Irises (Vincent Van Gogh, 1889)

Nobody could capture the fluid movement of a field of flowers in the breeze like Van Gogh. The irises in the famous painting seem to move in the wind despite the static nature of the medium. 

But it’s not just the motion that creates a masterpiece. Van Gogh highlighted many of our still-life painting techniques in this image. The cool title flowers contrast with the warmth surrounding them, even though both have green stems. The irises feature a cool, blueish stem, which contrasts nicely with the warm, yellowish stems in the rest of the field.  

You can find iconography from the famous painting in nearly any commercial product you can imagine, from sweatshirts to pins; lunch boxes to coffee mugs. 

Irises is held in the J. Paul Getty Museum collection in Los Angeles. 

The Night Watch (Rembrandt van Rijn, 1642)

The Night Watch is one of the most famous Dutch Golden Age paintings. It was created on commission by one of the most skilled artists of all time, the Baroque master Rembrandt. 

The Night Watch was commissioned as a group portrait for a militia company by its leader, Captain Frans Banninck Cocq, who appears in regal attire with a red sash at the center. Though most group portraits at the time featured the subjects in a neat little row, Rembrandt captured their essence, depicting the militia in a dramatic pose as if capturing an authentic glimpse of their lives. 

Although the painting features over 30 figures, only a handful were actual militia members. Rembrandt added the rest of the figures for symbolism. 

The Night Watch belongs to the Amsterdam Museum and is on permanent loan to the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. 

Whistler’s Mother (James McNeill Whistler 1871)

In the 1997 film Bean, the title character pretends to be an art expert to explain the importance of Whistler’s Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1, better known as Whistler’s Mother. 

To the untrained eye, there’s nothing iconic about the piece. But Bean grasps the human appeal when he says, “It’s a picture of Whistler’s mother.”

The artist himself was confused as to why the public appreciated the subject matter, asking, “What can or ought the public to care about the identity of the portrait?”

Although he didn’t mean to at the time, he touched upon a vital aspect of artistic expression: the humanity and connection we all strive to achieve. 

Whistler’s Mother is part of the Musee d’Orsay collection in Paris. 

The Kiss (Gustav Klimt 1907-1908)

Klimt’s The Kiss features a couple in a passionate embrace. The art nouveau influence is apparent in the flowery decor and swirly designs. At the same time, the use of gold leaf and flat background evokes the reminiscence of earlier medieval or Byzantine works. 

Though there’s no consensus on what the painting depicts, art historians see Greek mythology themes. Possible depictions include Apollo and Daphne or Orpheus and Eurydice. 

The Kiss features heavily in pop culture fan art, with couples ranging from Han and Leia to Superman and Lois replacing the passionate figures.  

The Kiss resides in the Österreichische Galerie Belvedere museum in Vienna.

Arnolfini Portrait  (Jan van Eyck, 1434)

Though you likely don’t know it by name, you probably recognize the pregnant woman in a brilliant green dress holding hands with a man dressed in black. 

The work highlights van Eyck’s mastery, showcasing a talent and complexity well ahead of his time. It features impressive realism, using perspective and depth to transform the two-dimensional panel into a 3D space. But the tiny, round mirror on the back wall is one of the most remarkable yet sometimes ignored (except by art historians) features. Van Eyck reflected the figures in the mirror, and beyond them, the viewer in a tiny portion of the work that forces the viewer themselves into the painting. 

The Arnolfini Portrait is in the collection at the National Gallery in London. 

Untitled Red (Mark Rothko 1956)

Rothko deconstructed art, stripping it down to the most basic components and laying it bare for all to see. 

Untitled Red is a massive vertical piece featuring swaths of red, pink, and orange. It’s almost geometrical, but the messy brushstrokes give the impression of painting outside the lines or not caring as much about form and structure as about the bold colors. 

Untitled Red is not in the public domain, but you can view it here. 

Untitled Red is in the collection of the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne. 

The Son of Man (Renee Magritte, 1964)

This surrealist painting features a dapper man wearing a business suit with an apple in front of his face. The imagery and title instantly connect the work to the biblical story of Adam and Eve, where the apple is often considered the forbidden fruit that led to man’s fall.

Magritte considered The Son of Man a self-portrait. The apple purposefully only partially hides the face, and Magritte was trying to showcase that humanity can become obsessed with trying to see the hidden things that might be right outside our view.

The Son of Man is currently in a private collection

Las Meninas (Diego Velazquez 1656)

Las Meninas (The Ladies in Waiting) is an epic work depicting the children of the Spanish court. The central figure of the painting is Margaret Theresa, then age 5, daughter of King Philippe IV.

The painting is renowned for its intricacies and details in composition. Velazquez painted himself in the background as a viewer of the scene, looking towards the viewer of the painting, which offers a unique perspective of the artist watching the viewer. Additionally, the King and Queen are in the image, but only as small reflections in the mirror on the wall, which creates the impression that they are standing with the viewer, seeing the scene unfold in the same way.

Las Meninas is on display at the Museo del Prado in Madrid

Girl with a Pearl Earring (Johannes Vermeer, 1665)

Girl with a Pearl Earring is a masterpiece from the Dutch Golden Age. Although this period also includes Rembrandt, a more well-known artist, Girl with a Pearl Earring is often more widely celebrated in art history and current culture than most of Rembrandt’s works.

The painting depicts a young girl wearing an orange-tinted dress and blue turban, with the namesake pearl earring dangling from an ear. The dress is not typical of the period and location, which gives the girl a sense of exotic intrigue.

Often referred to as the Dutch Mona Lisa, Girl with a Pearl Earring is often referred to and parodied in pop culture. Famous stand-ins include Marge Simpson, Squidward, and Kermit the Frog, in addition to various people and animals. Even the famed street artist Banksy parodied this painting in spray paint, replacing the earring with an alarm box.

Girl with a Pearl Earring is on display at Mauritshuis, The Hague, Netherlands.

Madame X (Madame Pierre Gautreau) (John Singer Sargent, 1183-1884)

Madame X is widely regarded as Sargent’s best work. It depicts Madame Pierre Gautreau, an American socialite in Paris, in an elegant black dress and standing in what was considered a sexually suggestive pose.

The original painting was scandalous. Sargent’s original composition depicted one shoulder strap falling off the shoulder in what was a highly suggestive scene at the time. The poor reception led Sargent to revise the painting with an intact strap, which is how it is currently displayed.

Although an embarrassment for both Sargent and the model Gautreau at the time, the scandal led to the painting’s (and arguably the artist’s) notoriety. Art scholars and historians debate why the artwork was received so poorly and examine it through the lenses of history, politics, and high society at the time.

Madame X is on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Dogs Playing Poker (Cassius Marcellus Coolidge, 1894)

It might be odd to see Dogs Playing Poker on the list of most famous paintings in the world. There is no doubt that other paintings are better and more influential, but often, fame isn’t about being good; it’s about being well-known. Dogs Playing Poker is one of the most well-known paintings of all time.

What might not be well known is that it is more than one painting. The original was created in 1894, and there are 18 versions of the series. Coolidge was commissioned to create these to advertise cigars, but they became pop culture icons and still are today.

This painting has appeared in shows such as Cheers, Roseanne, and The Simpsons, commercials, album covers, and films. Its imagery is everywhere, so ubiquitous that many people don’t realize that the original work was created in the 1800s.

The original “Poker Game” is currently in a private collection.

Nighthawks (Edward Hopper, 1942)

Although it might not be known by name, the 1942 work by Edward Hopper is known well by the imagery. Nighthawks is a painting that features a diner with four people inside, lighting an otherwise empty and abandoned street.

This painting is often parodied and reimagined for pop culture. The most famous rendition is Gottfried Helnwein’s 1984 poster, Boulevard of Broken Dreams, which replaces the original patrons with Hollywood’s dearly departed stars of the 1950s – Humphry Bogart, Marylin Monroe, Elvis Presley, and James Dean.

Nighthawks has been featured and parodied in various media. Poems and short stories have been written about the patrons, and it’s been featured in television shows from the Simpsons and That 70’s Show to CSI.

Nighthawks is currently on display at the Art Institute of Chicago.

No 5 (Jackson Pollock, 1948)

Pollock’s drip paintings are not known by name. It’s hard to remember a name when it’s only “No 5” or “No 7“. However, the imagery and style from the drip paintings are iconic, regardless of what we call it.

We chose No 5 for this list because it is one of the most expensive paintings sold. In 2006, it sold for 140 million and was the top-grossing painting at the time (and is still in the top 10!). Number 11, Blue Poles, is almost equally as famous.

Pollock’s drip paintings changed the face of art. Their 1949 feature in Life Magazine thrust abstract expressionism into the mainstream and started an entire movement. We can trace most of the drip painting imagery we see in pop culture to Pollack’s work. These paintings are famous even without world-renowned names.

No 5 is not currently in the public domain, but it can be viewed here. 

No 5 is currently in a private collection.

Guernica (Pablo Picasso, 1937)

Guernica is Picasso’s most famous painting, even more renowned than the cubist weeping woman featured earlier. Created in response to the Germans’ bombing of Guernica, Spain, in World War II, the painting is a haunting reminder of the pain and suffering caused by war.

This work is not pretty. It’s grotesque and, at times, challenging to view. The deformed figures Picasso is known for convey pain and suffering in this image. Depictions of screaming women, dead babies, and figures caught in the flame are impossible to forget, but a powerful reminder of the horrors war inflicts, particularly on the innocent.

Guernica is currently on display at Museo Reina Sofia, Madrid.

Nymphs and Satyr (William-Adolphe Bouguereau, 1873)

Bouguereau is known for sticking to the classical and academic painting style during the impressionist wave of the 19th century. His most famous painting, Nymphs and Satyr, features nude nymphs pulling a reluctant satyr into a pool. According to art historians, the satyr is the villain of this piece. He was spying on the bathing nymphs, and they were pulling him to the pool to “cool him off.”

This painting is renowned for its classical subject matter, academic artistry, and brilliant use of light. Although it might not be known by name, most people will recognize the imagery in the painting. It was highly acclaimed at its first showing in the Parison Salon but hidden away in storage for nearly a half-century due to the nudity depicted.

Nymphs and Satyr is on display at the Clark Institute in Williamstown

Relativity (M.C. Escher, 1953)

Though not technically a painting, the imagery depicted in M.C. Escher’s lithographic print is so ingrained in the collective consciousness that it needed to be included on this list.

Many people might not immediately recognize the name but know what you are talking about when you mention the image of the random staircases that seem to defy the laws of physics. The print depicts seven stairways and three different gravity sources, with people on the stairs going about their days as this is normal.

The imagery from Relativity is heavily used in pop culture. It’s appeared in cartoons like Futurama and Family Guy, the new hit television series Squid Game, older movies like Labyrinth, video games, shows, and even record covers.

Relativity is not in the public domain, but you can view it here.

As a print, there are numerous copies of the first run, one of which is in the MOMA collection in Los Angeles, though it’s not currently on display.

Café Terrace at Night (Vincent van Gogh, 1888)

Van Gogh is one of the most important and influential artists of all time, so it makes sense that his work would be featured. Café Terrace at Night depicts a café in the French city of Arles lit under the evening stars. The café Van Gogh used as a source image is still standing and was redecorated in the 1990s to replicate the painting.

Although not prominently highlighted in pop culture, it has been featured in film and television. It made its first appearance in the 1950s Kirk Douglas film A Lust for Life and was shown in a 21st-century episode of Dr. Who.

Despite its lack of movie fame, the imagery in the painting is hard to forget. The bright yellows of the café lights are a splendid juxtaposition against the dark alley and dark blue sky. The energetic brushstrokes that Van Gogh is known for making the café come to life, letting viewers feel like they are there at the café.

Café Terrace at Night is on display at the Kroller-Muller Museum, Otterlo

Water Lilies (Claude Monet, 1897-1926)

Monet enjoyed painting the same scene numerous times to create a series. He painted the image at different times of the day and in different seasons to highlight how light and atmosphere affect our perception of a scene. Nowhere is this more apparent than in his Water Lilies series.

Water Lilies is a series of 250 paintings depicting water lilies in various lights and reliefs. Some are up close, while others are full scenes of the pond with a Japanese bridge. The paintings with the bridge are the most recognizable and showcase the impressionistic style Monet made famous.

Paintings in the Water Lilies series are on display at various art museums around the world, and some are in private collections.

Campbell Soup Cans (Andy Warhol, 1961-1962)

The Campbell Soup Cans painting is renowned for its simplicity and innovation in bringing art into pop culture commercialism. Warhol spearheaded the pop art movement, creating images showcasing American culture and consumerism in a new light. The Campbell Soup Cans are the most recognizable of these works.

The soup can paintings are actually 32 images of Campbell soup cans placed together in one display. They are all the same, except for the soup flavor displayed on the packaging. According to Warhol, the work was meant to celebrate modern culture and showcase artistry in the everyday.

Although the paintings were not well received at their first opening, they are now celebrated as the forerunners of the pop art movement. This painting led to changes in how we, as a culture, view and use art. It made lasting impacts on art, fashion, film, and industry.

The original soup can paintings are displayed at the Museum of Modern Art, New York.

Washington Crossing the Delaware (Emanuel Leutze, 1851)

If there’s a painting that every American has seen, it’s the image of George Washington crossing the Delaware River as a celebration of America’s war for independence. This painting is featured in history books and various venues promoting American exceptionalism.

The iconic image of bravery and perseverance displayed in Washing Crossing the Delaware is so famous that it appears on US currency, on the back of the New Jersey State Quarter. It’s also been parodied extensively in pop culture and political commentary.

There were originally three versions of this painting, but the first was on display at the Kunsthalle in Bremen and was destroyed in an air raid during World War II. One hung in the West Wing of the White House for many years before being sold to an art museum.  

The surviving iterations of Washington Crossing Delaware are on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY, and the Minnesota Marine Art Museum, Winona.

A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte (Georges Seurat, 1884-1886)

Everyone recognizes this painting, but few know the name. Do you recall a painting of a spring picnic along a river, with a woman in the foreground in a black dress with a large bustle holding an umbrella? It’s eerily reminiscent of impressionist paintings but a tiny bit too crisp to be considered one. It’s Seurat’s A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte.

This painting was crafted using the pointillism technique, a form of painting in which the artist uses small dots, or points, of color on the canvas to create an overarching image. Seurat was one of the first to use this method and the first to execute it on such a large scale. This work is widely regarded as the start of the neo-impressionist movement.

Pop culture often references A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte. It’s appeared in shows such as The Simpsons and The Office, films like Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, and even video games. A park in Ohio was designed based on the painting, and it also inspired a 1984 Broadway musical, Sunday in the Park with George.

A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte is on display at the Art Institute, Chicago.

Vitruvian Man (Leonardo DaVinci, 1490)

The Vitruvian Man by Leonardo DaVinci is famous for its use in popular culture and depiction of human anatomy. As one of the earliest works showcasing realistic proportions, it’s often used as a symbol of modern medicine, health, and fitness.

The image portrays a man with his arms and legs spread, housed inside a circle and a square. It’s the earliest realistic depiction of human proportions in relation to math and anatomy that survives today. Vitruvian Man is often considered a work in science and medicine rather than a work of art.

Though the Vitruvian Man is a drawing rather than a painting, its incorporation into our cultural iconography makes it essential to include it on this list. The fact that a drawing survived for over 500 years and is seared into our collective consciousness is a testament to its relevance.

Vitruvian Man is located at the Gallerie Dell’Accademia in Venice but is only displayed every six years to protect the work from damaging light.

American Gothic (Grant Wood, 1930)

Is there anything more ingrained in American cultural imagery than the painting of a man and woman standing outside their farmhouse, pitchfork in hand? Although many assume that American Gothic portrays husband and wife, it was initially intended to be an image of a father and daughter. 

Wood meant the painting to celebrate America’s rural Midwest communities, but many people from the communities were offended by how they were depicted. However, as the Great Depression grew, the painting morphed into a symbol of America’s resiliency. It came to represent the pioneering spirit of Middle America and the resolve to persevere regardless of or even despite the odds.

American Gothic is one of the most parodied paintings in pop culture. Thousands of famous characters have been recreated in front of the farmhouse, from Homer and Marge Simpson to Darth Vader and Princess Leia. The representation is not limited to fictional characters, as celebrities, artists, and even political figures have been featured in front of the farmhouse.

The original imagery is also often used to make a political or cultural statement. The original characters have been represented donning masks, using cell phones, dressed for Christmas, or displayed with any number of items intended to make a statement about the current state of the world.

American Gothic is on display at the Art Institute, Chicago.

The Persistence of Memory (Salvador Dali, 1931)

Better known as Melting Clocks, the Persistence of Memory created imagery now ingrained in the collective consciousness. This surrealist painting depicts various clocks melting in a dreamlike desert landscape. Although often interpreted to represent the relative nature of time, Dali himself claimed that his inspiration was cheese melting in the hot sun.

Dali leaned into the fame that the Persistence of Memory brought. In 1954, he produced a sequel, The Disintegration of the Persistence of Memory, and created various sculptures and lithographs carrying the same theme.

The Persistence of Memory is consistently referenced, parodied, and featured in pop culture iconography. It conveys dreamlike states and the concept of wasted time. This painting has appeared in cartoons, video games, and movies and has been parodied with various animals, foodstuffs, and cartoon imagery.

The Persistence of Memory is displayed at the Museum of Modern Art, New York.

The Scream (Edvard Munch, 1893)

The Scream is one of the most well-known and parodied artworks of all time and one of the most important pieces by an artist who isn’t typically well-known. The painting depicts a human figure with his hands on his cheeks, screaming on a bridge, with a wild, expressionistic background.

The screaming man appears to be in agony. The painting is often interpreted to symbolize the anxiety associated with the human condition. Munch himself indicated that anxiety was the inspiration for this piece, noting that he was overcome with anxiety while out on a walk watching the sky turn blood red at sunset.

As noted, The Scream is one of the most parodied works of art. Fictional characters, animals, political figures, cartoons, and nearly everything else have replaced the figure portrayed in the original work. The imagery has been used to poke fun, convey moods, and make viewers laugh and think. Amateur artists often put their original characters on the bridge in place of Munch’s original figure. The imagery is replicated repeatedly in pop culture and the art world.

There are two versions of The Scream: one is on display at the National Gallery in Oslo, and the other is on display at the Munch Museum in Oslo.

Sistine Madonna (The Two Cherubs, Raphael, 1513-1514)

Although the complete painting, the Sistine Madonna, may not be seared into our pop culture brains, the image of the two cherubs at the bottom of the picture is. The cherubs are only a tiny portion of the painting as a whole, but they appear extensively in pop culture imagery, especially around Valentine’s Day.

The two cherubs from the Sistine Madonna are the adorable cupids you see on Valentine’s Day calendars. They are lying next to each other, each looking rather bored, one with his hand on his chin and the other with his head resting on crossed arms. Both cherubs are looking up, and those familiar with the whole painting will know that they are looking up at the angels in the scene above. 

The Sistine Madonna is on display at the Gemaldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden

The Starry Night (Vincent Van Gogh, 1889)

Arguably Van Gogh’s most famous painting, The Starry Night, is a brilliant masterpiece of movement and color. It is one of the most widely acclaimed and recognized paintings globally, featuring whirls of blue to represent the night sky and bright circles of yellow to represent the moon and stars.

Van Gogh painted this masterpiece during a stay at the asylum of Saint-Paul-de-Mausole, where he was being treated for what we now understand to be depression and possibly bipolar disorder. The image likely depicts the view from his window at the asylum, though he fabricated much of the town for the piece.

The Starry Night imagery is everywhere. It’s on t-shirts, coffee mugs, refrigerator magnets, blankets, and anything else people buy, and it has been referenced in songs, films, and other artworks. The work is often parodied, with the tree in the foreground becoming either a hero or a villain. Even the hit game series Super Mario Brothers pays homage to this fantastic piece. “The Painted Swampland” level in Super Mario Wii U was clearly inspired by The Starry Night.

The Starry Night is on display at the Museum of Modern Art, New York.

The Creation of Adam (Michelangelo, 1508-1512)

The Creation of Adam is the most iconic part of the Sistine Chapel. This fresco on the chapel ceiling depicts the biblical Adam reaching towards, but not quite touching, the God that just created him.

Commissioned by Pope Julius II, The Creation of Adam is only one panel in an epic masterpiece meant to visually showcase the biblical story of Genesis. The complete painting consists of nine separate panels and covers the entire ceiling.

The Creation of Adam is frequently parodied and reproduced in pop culture. It’s often used to celebrate a creator, with Jim Henson or Shigeru Miyamoto replacing the god figure and their beloved creations (Kermit the frog and Mario, respectively) replacing Adam. It’s also used to poke fun at pop culture or make a political or religious statement. The God image has been replaced with the Flying Spaghetti Monster, the Adam has been recreated rudely rebuffing God, and cats have replaced both figures in the image.

The Creation of Adam is on display at the Sistine Chapel, Vatican City.

The Birth of Venus (Sandro Botticelli, 1480s)

According to myth, the Goddess Aphrodite arose fully formed out of seafoam. Botticelli’s 15th-century painting, Birth of Venus, represents the goddess’s arrival on land.

The painting portrays Venus standing atop a giant clamshell, blown to shore by two lesser gods. An attendant waits on the coast, cloak in hand, ready to cover the goddess when she arrives. The painting more aptly showcases Venus’s arrival rather than her birth, but it was dubbed “The Birth of Venus” in the 19th century, and the name stuck.

As you would expect, The Birth of Venus is highly parodied and recreated. Many fictional characters have found themselves in the clamshell, from Ms. Piggy to Black Widow. The imagery is also often used to celebrate female celebrities. On numerous occasions, Marilyn Monroe was featured in the clamshell, and even Beyonce used the painting as inspiration for some maternity photos.

The painting has also been used to make a social statement about cultural beauty standards. In this version, the Venus is much thinner, and her breasts are larger. Artist Lauren Wade edited a photo of the painting to expose the ridiculous way that fashion magazines photoshop models to fit their arbitrary standards.

The Birth of Venus is on display at the Uffizi Gallery, Florence.

The Last Supper (Leonardo Da Vinci, 1490s)

The Last Supper is undoubtedly the most famous and iconic religious painting ever created. The Duke of Milan commissioned this massive Renaissance mural to renovate the Santa Maria Delle Grazie, a vital area church.

The Last Supper depicts the biblical Jesus dining with his 12 apostles when he breaks the news that one will betray him. Part of the artistry of the piece is the variety of reactions visibly apparent in the apostles. Some react with anger, others with shock and disbelief. These emotions are still prominent in the painting even after five centuries.

As such an iconic piece, it’s no surprise that it’s often recreated in pop culture. Many movies and television shows, from The Simpsons to The Sopranos, have used the imagery of The Last Supper. Although it’s often used for promotional purposes, it’s also been used to pay homage to the original work, make a statement, or poke fun at pop culture.  

The Last Supper is a mural at the Santa Maria Delle Grazie, Milan.

The Mona Lisa (Leonardo Da Vinci, c 1506)

There is no doubt that the Mona Lisa is the most famous painting of all time. Even people who know nothing about art know of The Mona Lisa. Although the property of the French Republic is not for sale, it was insured for as much as 100 million dollars back in 1962! If you adjust for inflation, it would be worth over $800 million in today’s dollars. To put that in perspective, the most expensive painting sold (according to public records) was bought for about half that, at $450 million.

The Mona Lisa is considered Da Vinci’s greatest masterpiece. Thought to be a portrait of Italian noblewoman Lisa Gherardini, the painting showcases the idealized version of womanhood celebrated in the Renaissance period. She is poised and noble, yet the corners of her mouth turn up in an almost mysterious smile.

It’s not just the portrait that makes this work so masterful—the detailed background and perfect blending showcase da Vinci’s expertise. The viewer can get a glimpse of a whole different world behind the enigmatic beauty, and this method of exposition in a painting was unheard of for the time.

The Mona Lisa is on display at the Louvre Paris.

Why Are These the Most Famous Paintings?

It’s challenging to look at humankind’s entire body of work over the last thousand years and pick 50 to call the most famous paintings of all time. Hundreds of other works could have been included on this list.

We chose these paintings because they are household names, often recreated and parodied in pop culture or because of their importance and influence in the art world. Some were included because the imagery is seared into our collective subconscious, even if we don’t know the work or artist by name. 

The world has a staggering amount of influential artwork, and although we have to limit our lists of the “best” and “most important,” that isn’t meant to diminish some of the other notable works of art that didn’t make the list.

If you had to list 50 paintings and call them the most famous paintings of all time, how many from this list would you include? 

Which ones would you replace, and what would you replace them with?