The most artists. The most famous paintings in the world

Thursday, December 08, 2016 11:56 + to quote book

British newspaper The Times made a rating 200 best artists who lived from the beginning of the 20th century to the present day.

As a result, according to British readers, first place occupied by the great Spanish artist Pablo Picasso.

Second place given to post-impressionist Paul Cezanne, the third - the founder of Austrian Art Nouveau Gustav Klimt. The last line is occupied by a contemporary Japanese artist Hiroshi Sujimoto.

French artists appear in the top ten Claude Monet, Henri Matisse, Marcel Duchamp and American artist Jackson Pollock.
The top ten is completed by the legend of pop art Andy Warhole, representative of abstract art Willem de Kooning and famous modernist Piet Mondrian.
One cannot help but notice that some artists are overrated and others, no less talented, are ignored. The editors of The Times, summing up the results of the survey, are perplexed: “What is Martin Kippenberger doing in the top 20? Why is he rated higher than Rothko, Schiele and Klee? Is Munch (46th place) worse than Frida Kahlo? Most likely, this is explained by the desire of women to place the fair sex as high as possible in the ranking.

From Russian artists appear in the ranking Basil Kandinsky(15th), creator of "Black Square" " Casimir Malevich(17th). Ukrainian-American artist Alexander was awarded 95th Archipenko. 135th - one of the founders of constructivism Alexander Rodchenko. Also on the list were Marc Chagall-71st, and Vladimir Tatlin- 145th.

Here 20 best artists of the 20th century, according to British art lovers

Twenty best artists of the 20th and early 21st centuries

1. Pablo Picasso

2. Paul Cezanne

3. Gustav Klimt

4. Claude Monet

5. Marcel Duchamp

6. Henri Matisse

7. Jackson Pollock

8. Andy Warhol

9. Willem de Kooning

10. Piet Mondrian

11. Paul Gauguin

12. Francis Bacon

13. Robert Rauschenberg

14. Georges Braque

15. Wassily Kandinsky

16. Constantin Brancusi

17. Kazimir Malevich

18. Jasper Johns

19. Frida Kahlo

20. Martin Kippenberger
………………
Yes, if such a survey had been conducted here, the list would have been completely different. Just like the lists of the best literary works, they differ significantly in each country.
But so far we only have this list, in which we do not know many of the artists.
Therefore, here is a short story about the first twenty artists.
And the complete list 200 best artists of the 20th and early 21st centuries- at the end of the post.
...................
1.Picasso Pablo- Spanish artist, graphic artist

8. Andy Warhol(real name - Andrew Warhola, Rusyn. Andriy Vargola; 1928-1987) - American artist and producer, a prominent person in the history of pop art and modern art in general. Founder of the “homo universale” ideology.
Warhol created several paintings that became a sensation in the art world. In 1960, he created a design for Coca-Cola cans, which brought him fame as an artist with an extraordinary vision of art. And in 1960-1962 a series of works appeared depicting cans of Campbell's soup.


Warhol one of the first to use screen printing and silk-screen printing as a method for creating paintings.
Warhol created a number of paintings in which he depicted the idols of modern society. Among the stars that Andy painted: repeated Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, The Beatles, Michael Jackson, Lenin and others. These drawings in bright colors became Warhol’s “calling card”. recreating the atmosphere of America in the 60s.


According to critics, these paintings reflected the vulgarity of mass consumer culture and the mentality of Western civilization. Warhol is considered one of the representatives of pop art and conceptual art, such as Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns and Roy Lichtenstein. Currently, prices for his paintings reach tens of millions of dollars. An entire subculture has gathered around the figure of Warhol.

In 2015, the painting was sold to the Qatar Museum Authority for $300 million. 287\237\225

12. Francis Bacon-(1909-1992) - English artist- expressionist. Bacon's painting is always expressive, it is a kind of cry that conveys the tragedy of existence. The main theme of his works is the human body - distorted, elongated, enclosed in geometric shapes. Several works are included in the list of the most expensive paintings.

On May 14, 2008, Francis Bacon's 1976 Landmark of the Canonical 20th Century triptych sold at Sotheby's for $86.3 million. Sold by the Muy family, owners of Château Pétrus wine production, to Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich. And the painter received the title of the most expensive post-war artist and took third place in the top ten most expensive artists in the world in general, behind only Picasso and Klimt. 180\122\96

13.Robert Rauschenberg(1925, Port Arthur -2008, Captiva Island, Florida) - American artist. A representative of abstract expressionism, and then conceptual art and pop art, in his works he gravitated towards collage and readymade techniques, and used garbage.
Like other representatives of pop art, he tried to express his vision of the world in unusual, shocking forms. For this purpose, canvases, collages, and installations were used.
In the early 50s, Rauschenberg went through three stages of creating paintings:
“White painting” - black numbers and some symbols are depicted on a white background.
“Black painting” - scraps of newspapers were glued onto the canvas, and the whole thing was covered with black enamel.
“Red painting” - abstract paintings in red tones, partly with stickers made from newspapers, nails, photographs, etc.
In 1953, Rauschenberg erased Willem de Kooning's drawing and exhibited it under the title "De Kooning's Erased Drawing," raising questions about the nature of art.

Since the mid-50s, Rauschenberg has been creating spatial objects that he calls “combined paintings,” for example:
“Odalisque” (satin pillow, stuffed chicken, photographs and reproductions)
“Bed” - a bed splattered with paint and placed upright...


In the late 50s, he mastered the technique of frottage (rubbing, introduced into art by Max Ernst) to transfer magazine photographs onto paper. Rauschenberg used it to create a graphic series of 34 illustrations for Dante's Inferno in the pop art style. In 1962, he mastered the silk-screen printing technique and created a number of large works using it. One of the paintings in this series " Path to Heaven» ( Skyway, 1964). On it, pop cultural symbols (for example, American astronauts) are side by side with images of Rubens.

Rauschenberg is the winner of many awards, including: the main prize at the Venice Biennale, Grammy, US National Medal, Japanese Imperial Prize and others.
In the 60s and 70s, Rauschenberg was involved in the field of performance art, happenings and other theatrical events.

1 Pablo Picasso 21587
2 Paul Cézanne 21098
3 Gustav Klimt 20823
4 Claude Monet 20684
5 Marcel Duchamp 20647
6 Henry Matisse 17096
7 Jackson Pollock 17051
8 Andy Warhol 17047
9 Willem de Kooning 17042
10 Piet Mondrian 17028
11 Paul Gauguin 17027
12 Francis Bacon 17018
13 Robert Rauschenberg 16956
14 Georges Braque 16788
15 Wassily Kandinsky 16055
16 Constantin Brancusi 14224
17 Kazimir Malevich 13609
18 Jasper Johns 12988
19 Frida Kahlo 12940
20 Martin Kippenberger 12784
21 Paul Klee
22 Egon Schiele
23 Donald Judd
24 Bruce Nauman
25 Alberto Giacometti
26 Salvador Dali
27 Auguste Rodin
28 Mark Rothko
29 Edward Hopper
30 Lucian Freud
31 Richard Serra
32 Rene Magritte
33 David Hockney
34 Philip Gaston
35 Gery Cartier-Bresson 8779
36 Pierre Bonnard
37 Jean-Michel Basquiat
38 Max Ernst
39 Diane Arbus
40 Georgia O'Keefe
41 Cy Twombly
42 Max Beckmann
43 Barnett Newman
44 Giorgio de Chirico
45 Roy Lichtenstein 7441
46 Edvard Munch
47 Pierre August Renoir
48 Man Ray
49 Henry Moore
50 Cindy Sherman
51 Jeff Koons
52 Tracey Emin
53 Damien Hirst
54 Yves Klein
55 Henry Rousseau
56 Chaim Soutine
57 Archil Gorky
58 Amadeo Modigliani
59 Umberto Boccioni
60 Jean Dubuffet
61 Eva Hesse
62 Edward Willard
63 Carl Andre
64 Juan Gris
65 Lucio Fontana
66 Franz Klein
67 David Smith
68 Joseph Beuys
69 Alexander Calder
70 Louise Bourgeois
71 Marc Chagall
72 Gerhard Richter
73 Balthus
74 Joan Miró
75 Ernst Ludwig Kirchner
76 Frank Stella
77 Georg Baselitz
78 Francis Picabia
79 Jenny Saville
80 Dan Flavin
81 Alfred Stieglitz
82 Anselm Kiefer
83 Matthew Bernie
84 Georges Gros
85 Bernd and Hilla Becher
86 Sigmar Polke
87 Bryce Marden
88 Maurizio Catellan
89 Sol LeWitt
90 Chuck Close 2915
91 Edward Weston
92 Joseph Cornell
93 Karel Appel
94 Bridget Riley
95 Alexander Archipenko
96 Anthony Caro
97 Richard Hamilton
98 Clifford Still
99 Luc Tuymans
100 Class Oldenburg
101 Eduardo Luigi Paolozzi
102 Frank Auerbach
103 Dinos and Jake Chapman
104 Marlene Dumas
105 Anton Tapies
106 Giorgio Morandi
107 Walker Evans
108 Nan Goldin
109 Robert Frank
110 Georges Rouault
111 Arp Hans
112 August Sender
113 James Rosenquist
114 Andreas Gursky
115 Eugene Atget
116 Jeff Wall
117 Ellsworth Kelly
118 Bill Brandt
119 Christo and Jean-Claude
120 Howard Hodgkin
121 Josef Albers
122 Piero Manzoni
123 Agnes Martin
124 Anish Kapoor
125 L. S. Lowry
126 Robert Motherwell
127 Robert Delaunay
128 Stuart Davis
129 Ed Ruscha
130 Gilbert and George 2729
131 Stanley Spencer
132 James Ensor
133 Fernard Ledger
134 Brassaï (Gyula Halas)
135 Alexander Rodchenko
136 Robert Ryman
137 Ed Reinhard
138 Hans Bellmer
139 Isa Genzken
140 Kees van Dongen
141 Ouija
142 Paula Rego
143 Thomas Hart Benton
144 Hans Hoffman
145 Vladimir Tatlin
146 Odilon Redon
147 George Segal
148 Jörg Imendorf
149 Robert Smithson
150 Peter Doig 2324
151 Ed and Nancy Kienholz
152 Richard Prince
153 Ansel Adams
154 Naum Gabo 2256
155 Diego Rivera 2239
156 Barbara Hepworth 2237
157 Nicola de Stael 2237
158 Walter de Maria 2229
159 Felix Gonzalez-Torres 2228
160 Giacomo Balla 2225
161 Ben Nicholson 2221
162 Antony Gormley 2218
163 Lionel Feininger 2216
164 Emil Nolde 2213
165 Mark Wallinger 2211
166 Hermann Nietzsch 2209
167 Paul Signac 2209
168 Jean Tigli 2209
169 Kurt Schwitters 2209
170 Grayson Perry 2208
171 Julian Schnabel 2208
172 Raymond Duchamp-Villon 2208
173 Robert Gober 2208
174 Dwayne Hanson 2208
175 Richard Diebenkorn 2207
176 Apex Katz 2207
177 Alighiero Boetti 2206
178 Gaudier-Brzeska Henry 2206
179 Laszlo Moholy-Nagy 2205
180 Jacques-Henri Lartigue 2205
181 Robert Morris 2205
182 Sarah Lucas 2204
183 Jannis Kounellis 2204
184 Chris Barden 2204
185 Otto Dix 2203
186 David Bomberg 2203
187 Fischli and Weiss 2203
188 Augustus John 2203
189 Marsden Hartley 2203
190 Takashi Murakami 2203ratings

Cited
Liked: 5 users

Many people who are interested in painting are forced to give up this activity, since it is not easy to break out among people and become a famous and sought-after artist. And yet some managed to do it. Find out which artists are the most famous.

The most famous artists

So, the top 10 most famous artists in the world:

I started drawing by accident and far from my childhood. At the age of 20, Henri underwent surgery to remove it, and his mother bought him paints and paper. Matisse first copied color postcards, and then became so interested in drawing that he even decided to become a professional artist.

Despite his father's protests, Henri began to study painting. Matisse's painting style was very unusual and similar to impressionism. At first, Henri copied the works of foreign masters, and then began to create his own masterpieces. The most famous works of Henri Matisse are “Parisian Dance”, “Joy of Life”, “Conversation”, “Family Portrait”, “Red Room”.

By the way, Matisse even opened his own painting school. Today his paintings are kept in the best museums and are in the collections of the richest people.

He was a difficult teenager and during school lessons, instead of completing assignments, he painted the covers of his notebooks with funny portraits of his classmates and teachers. Soon many people learned about Claude’s talent, and he became a very famous cartoonist in his city, and later began to take money for his work. But then Monet met an experienced landscape artist who began teaching him.

And only then Claude fell in love with nature and learned to feel it. The guy expressed his emotions in drawings, which later became so popular that today they are included in the best collections of paintings. The most famous works: “Sunset over the sea”, “Sunflowers”, “Tulips of Holland”, “By the sea”, “Road in the forest”, “Still life with meat”.

Today everyone knows his name, as well as his best works, which include “Girl on a Ball”, “Life”, “Bathers”, “Les Demoiselles d’Avignon” and many others. And his painting “Nude, Green Leaves and Bust” became the most expensive painting ever sold.

Picasso was a talented artist, graphic artist, designer, ceramist, as well as a decorator and sculptor. He is the founder of Cubism. In addition, Picasso made a huge contribution to the development of art of the last century; it probably would not have been the same without this man.

In total, Pablo completed about 20 thousand works during his life, each of which was unique and unrepeatable. Picasso began drawing from a very early age, and took his first painting lessons from his father, who was an art teacher (Pablo himself later held this position). And young Picasso drew inspiration from fairy tales that his mother made up herself and told to her son at night.

4. Vincent Van Gogh is a Dutch post-impressionist artist who created many amazing and unusual works. Vincent was a difficult teenager, but to outsiders he seemed thoughtful and serious. Van Gogh began to draw later, when he began working in an art and trading company.

Every day Vincent came into contact with works of art, so he learned to appreciate them. After an unsuccessful love affair, things began to deteriorate for the young Van Gogh dealer, and at some point he decided to try his hand at painting. But still, Vincent had to earn a living, although he did not like the work. After several failures, Van Gogh decided to devote himself entirely to painting and gave the world many masterpieces.

- artist of Armenian origin (his real name is Hovhannes). From childhood, Ivan showed creative abilities; he even taught himself to play the violin. Aivazovsky also drew beautifully and constantly developed his abilities.

Ivan especially appreciated and idolized the sea, and that is why his works are dominated by gorgeous seascapes, which depict storms, shipwrecks, waves and depths. The artist’s most famous paintings are “The Ninth Wave”, “Venice”, “Chaos”, “Sinking Ship”, “Ice Mountains”, “Wave”, “Black Sea”.

- an artist who was practically the discoverer of the beauties of Russian nature. He loved everything: trees, every blade of grass, the sky, dew drops, flowers. And this love of his is clearly visible in the paintings, each of which is a real masterpiece.

His landscapes proved to everyone that Russia is not a gray, boring country, as was previously thought, but an incredibly beautiful place. Here are some of the artist’s most famous works: “Evening Bells”, “March”, “Golden Autumn”. By the way, many of his landscapes are still used as illustrations and published in textbooks.

is a truly unique and legendary artist who changed society’s views on painting. A distinctive feature of Pollock's works was that they bore little resemblance to paintings. It may look like someone has spilled paint on the paper, but upon closer inspection, you can see something mysterious and profound.

And Jackson himself was completely immersed in the process and expressed his emotions through the canvas. He laid paper on the floor and used broken glass, liquid paints, scoops, knives and sticks to paint. Pollock’s most famous works are “Number 5” (this is the artist’s most expensive painting), “Moon Woman Cutting a Circle” and “She-Wolf”.

Known for painting portraits of most famous people. But it’s not in vain that the stars turn to Nikas, he is very talented. Safronov was born into a simple family and achieved everything on his own. In addition, this is one of the few artists who managed to become famous during his lifetime. Nikas's list of works includes portraits of such celebrities as Mike Tyson, Sophia Loren, Mick Jagger, Julio Iglesias, Elton John, Sting, Steven Spielberg, Jack Nicholson and many others.

– perhaps the most iconic and significant person in the history of pop art. Andy started drawing as a child. At first he illustrated magazines, but then decided to create his own works, drawing inspiration from food, drinks and other consumer goods.

He painted canned food, fruits, and alcoholic drinks. But all the paintings were distinguished by a special manner of execution. The drawings were so eccentric and bright that they simply could not be ignored.

– master of figurative painting and expressionist artist. The main theme of his works is the human body. But Francis usually painted bodies elongated, distorted, enclosed in some figures or objects. Bacon's most famous works are “The Sleeping Man,” “The Woman,” the “Crucifixion” triptych, and “Three Sketches for a Portrait of Lucian Freud.”

These were the most famous artists of all time.

Magnificent works of art by the hands of great masters can surprise even people for whom art means little. This is why world-famous museums are among the most popular attractions, attracting millions of visitors a year.

To stand out from the huge number of paintings written throughout the history of art, the artist needs not just talent, but also the ability to express a unique plot in an unusual and very relevant way for his time.

The paintings presented below loudly declare not only the talent of their authors, but also the numerous cultural trends that have come and gone, and the most important historical events that have always been reflected in art.

"Birth of Venus"

This painting, painted by the great Renaissance master Sandro Botticelli, depicts the moment of the beautiful Venus emerging from the sea foam. One of the most attractive aspects of the painting is the modest pose of the goddess and her simple but beautiful face.

"Dogs Play Poker"

Painted by Cassius Coolidge in 1903, a series of 16 paintings depict dogs gathered around a coffee or gaming table playing poker. Many critics recognize these paintings as the canonical depiction of Americans of the era.

Portrait of Madame Recamier

This portrait, painted by Jacques-Louis David, depicts the glittering socialite in a contrastingly minimalist and simple setting, wearing a simple sleeveless white dress. This is a striking example of neoclassicism in portrait art.

№5

This famous painting, painted by Jackson Pollock, is his most iconic work, which vividly depicts the chaos that raged in Pollock's soul and mind. This is one of the most expensive works ever sold by an American artist.

"Son of Man"

"Son of Man", written by Rene Magritte, is a kind of self-portrait, depicting the artist himself in a black suit, but with an apple instead of a face.

"Number 1" ("Royal Red and Blue")

This fairly recent piece, painted by Mark Rothko, is nothing more than brushstrokes of three different shades on a handmade canvas. The painting is currently on display at the Art Institute of Chicago.

"Massacre of the Innocents"

Based on the biblical story of the murder of innocent babies in Bethlehem, Peter Paul Rubens created this eerie and cruel painting that touches the emotions of everyone who looks at it.

"Sunday afternoon on the island of La Grande Jatte"

Created by Georges Seurat, this unique and very popular painting depicts a relaxed weekend atmosphere in a big city. This painting is an excellent example of pointillism, which combines many points into one whole.

"Dance"

"The Dance" by Henri Matisse is an example of a style called Fauvism, which is characterized by bright, almost unnatural colors and shapes and high dynamics.

"American Gothic"

"American Gothic" is a work of art that perfectly symbolizes the image of Americans during the Great Depression. In this painting, Grant Wood depicted a strict, probably religious couple standing in front of a simple house with Gothic-style windows.

"Flower Loader"

This painting by the most popular Mexican painter of the 20th century, Diego Rivera, depicts a man struggling to carry a basket overloaded with bright tropical flowers on his back.

"Whistler's Mother"

Also known as "An Arrangement in Gray and Black. The Artist's Mother", this is one of the most famous paintings by American artist James Whistler. In this painting, Whistler depicted his mother sitting on a chair against a gray wall. The painting uses only black and gray shades.

"The Persistence of Memory"

This is an iconic work by the no less iconic Salvador Dali, the world-famous Spanish surrealist who brought this movement to the forefront of art.

Portrait of Dora Maar

Pablo Picasso is one of the most popular and influential Spanish painters. He is the founder of a style that was sensational in his time, called cubism, which seeks to fragment any object and convey it with clear geometric forms. This painting is the first portrait in the Cubist style.

"Portrait of an artist without a beard"

This painting by Van Gogh is a self-portrait, and a unique one, since it depicts the artist without the usual beard. In addition, this is one of the few paintings by Van Gogh that were sold to private collections.

"Night cafe terrace"

Painted by Vincent van Gogh, this painting depicts a familiar sight in a completely new way, using surprisingly vibrant colors and unusual shapes.

"Composition VIII"

Wassily Kandinsky is recognized as the founder of abstract art, a style that uses shapes and symbols instead of familiar objects and people. "Composition VIII" is one of the artist's first paintings made exclusively in this style.

"Kiss"

One of the first works of art in the Art Nouveau style, this painting is almost entirely done in gold tones. The painting by Gustav Klimt is one of the most striking works of the style.

"Ball at the Moulin de la Galette"

The painting by Pierre Auguste Renoir is a vibrant and dynamic depiction of city life. In addition, this is one of the most expensive paintings in the world.

"Olympia"

In the painting Olympia, Edouard Manet created a real contradiction, almost a scandal, since the naked woman with a gaze is clearly a lover, not veiled by the myths of the classical period. This is one of the early works in the style of realism.

"Third of May 1808 in Madrid"

In this work, Francisco Goya depicted Napoleon's attack on the Spaniards. This is one of the first Spanish paintings to portray the war in a negative light.

"Las Meninas"

Diego Velázquez's most famous painting depicts the five-year-old Infanta Margarita against the background of Velázquez's portrait of her parents.

"Portrait of the Arnolfini couple"

This painting is one of the oldest works of painting. It was painted by Jan van Eyck and depicts Italian businessman Giovanni Arnolfini and his pregnant wife in their home in Bruges.

"Scream"

A painting by Norwegian artist Edvard Munch depicts a man's face distorted with fear against a blood-red sky. The landscape in the background adds to the dark charm of this painting. In addition, "The Scream" is one of the first paintings made in the style of expressionism, where realism is minimized to allow more freedom for emotions.

"Water lilies"

"Water Lilies" by Claude Monet is part of a series of 250 paintings depicting elements of the artist's own garden. These paintings are exhibited in various art museums around the world.

"Starlight Night"

Van Gogh's Starry Night is one of the most famous images in modern culture. It is currently on display at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

"The Fall of Icarus"

This painting, painted by Dutch artist Pieter Bruegel, shows man's indifference to the suffering of his fellow men. A strong social theme is shown here in a fairly simple way, using the image of Icarus drowning underwater and people ignoring his suffering.

"The Creation of Adam"

The Creation of Adam is one of several magnificent frescoes by Michelangelo that adorn the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican Palace. It depicts the creation of Adam. In addition to depicting ideal human forms, the fresco is one of the first attempts in the history of art to depict God.

"Last Supper"

This fresco by the great Leonardo depicts the last supper of Jesus before his betrayal, arrest and death. In addition to the composition, shapes and colors, discussions of this fresco are replete with theories about hidden symbols and the presence of Mary Magdalene next to Jesus.

"Guernica"

Picasso's Guernica depicts the explosion of the Spanish city of the same name during the Spanish Civil War. This is a black and white picture that negatively depicts fascism, Nazism and their ideas.

"Girl with a Pearl Earring"

This painting by Johannes Vermeer is often called the Dutch Mona Lisa, not only because of its extraordinary popularity, but also because the expression on the girl's face is difficult to capture and explain.

"Beheading of John the Baptist"

Caravaggio's painting very realistically depicts the moment of the murder of John the Baptist in prison. The semi-darkness of the painting and the facial expressions of its characters make it a true classical masterpiece.

"The night Watch"

"The Night Watch" is one of Rembrandt's most famous paintings. It depicts a group portrait of a rifle company led by its officers. A unique aspect of the painting is the semi-darkness, which gives the impression of a night scene.

"School of Athens"

Painted by Raphael in his early Roman period, this fresco depicts famous Greek philosophers such as Plato, Aristotle, Euclid, Socrates, Pythagoras and others. Many philosophers are depicted as contemporaries of Raphael, for example, Plato - Leonardo da Vinci, Heraclitus - Michelangelo, Euclid - Bramante.

"Mona Lisa"

Probably the most famous painting in the world is Leonardo da Vinci's La Gioconda, better known as the Mona Lisa. This canvas is a portrait of Mrs. Gherardini, attracting attention with a mysterious expression on her face.

) in her expressive, sweeping works was able to preserve the transparency of the fog, the lightness of the sail, and the smooth rocking of the ship on the waves.

Her paintings amaze with their depth, volume, richness, and the texture is such that it is impossible to take your eyes off them.

Warm simplicity of Valentin Gubarev

Primitivist artist from Minsk Valentin Gubarev doesn't chase fame and just does what he loves. His work is incredibly popular abroad, but almost unknown to his compatriots. In the mid-90s, the French fell in love with his everyday sketches and signed a contract with the artist for 16 years. The paintings, which, it would seem, should only be understandable to us, bearers of the “modest charm of undeveloped socialism,” appealed to the European public, and exhibitions began in Switzerland, Germany, Great Britain and other countries.

Sensual realism of Sergei Marshennikov

Sergei Marshennikov is 41 years old. He lives in St. Petersburg and works in the best traditions of the classical Russian school of realistic portraiture. The heroines of his canvases are women who are tender and defenseless in their half-nakedness. Many of the most famous paintings depict the artist's muse and wife, Natalya.

The Myopic World of Philip Barlow

In the modern era of high-resolution images and the rise of hyperrealism, the work of Philip Barlow immediately attracts attention. However, a certain effort is required from the viewer in order to force himself to look at the blurry silhouettes and bright spots on the author’s canvases. This is probably how people suffering from myopia see the world without glasses and contact lenses.

Sunny bunnies by Laurent Parselier

The painting of Laurent Parcelier is an amazing world in which there is neither sadness nor despondency. You won’t find gloomy and rainy pictures from him. His canvases contain a lot of light, air and bright colors, which the artist applies with characteristic, recognizable strokes. This creates the feeling that the paintings are woven from a thousand sunbeams.

Urban dynamics in the works of Jeremy Mann

American artist Jeremy Mann paints dynamic portraits of a modern metropolis in oil on wood panels. “Abstract shapes, lines, the contrast of light and dark spots - all create a picture that evokes the feeling that a person experiences in the crowd and bustle of the city, but can also express the calm that is found when contemplating quiet beauty,” says the artist.

The Illusory World of Neil Simon

In the paintings of British artist Neil Simone, nothing is as it seems at first glance. “For me, the world around me is a series of fragile and ever-changing shapes, shadows and boundaries,” says Simon. And in his paintings everything is truly illusory and interconnected. Boundaries are blurred, and stories flow into each other.

Love drama by Joseph Lorasso

An Italian by birth, contemporary American artist Joseph Lorusso transfers onto canvas subjects he observed in the everyday lives of ordinary people. Hugs and kisses, passionate outbursts, moments of tenderness and desire fill his emotional pictures.

Country life of Dmitry Levin

Dmitry Levin is a recognized master of Russian landscape, who has established himself as a talented representative of the Russian realistic school. The most important source of his art is his attachment to nature, which he loves tenderly and passionately and of which he feels himself a part.

Bright East by Valery Blokhin

Artists are people who are able to speak publicly with society through the language of visual images and forms. However, their popularity and demand do not seem to depend at all on talent. Who was the most famous artist in history?

Edouard Manet (1832-1883)

Such was the fate of the film “Olympia” that shocked the public. They wrote that the heroine of the canvas looks at the viewer with such a challenge and holds her left hand as if there is a wallet in this hand, and the heroine herself does not care what they think about her. The picture was considered too flat, its plot was vulgar, and the heroine was even compared to... a female gorilla. Who would have thought that after one and a half hundred years this painting would become one of the most recognizable in the world!

Kazimir Malevich (1879-1935)

Kazimir Malevich was the founder of Suprematism - and therefore, in some way, the father of all modern art. His textbook work “Black Square” was exhibited in 1915 and became a programmatic piece. But Malevich is not the only one famous for the “Black Square”: he worked as a production designer in Meyerhold’s grotesque performances, and headed an art studio in Vitebsk, where another great artist, Marc Chagall, began to work.

Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890)

The public, however, was not delighted with Van Gogh's paintings, and the paintings did not sell. The artist spent the last years of his life in Arles in the south of France, where he hoped to create a commune of artists. The plan, alas, remained unfulfilled. The mental disorder progressed, and one day, after a quarrel, Van Gogh attacked a friend who had come to visit with a razor. A friend, the artist Paul Gauguin, turned his friend into an insane asylum. There Van Gogh ended his days - he shot himself a year after his imprisonment.

It is noteworthy that during this period perhaps Van Gogh’s most famous works were written - “Wheat Field with Crows”, “Starry Night” and others. But real fame came to the artist after his death - in the late 1890s. Now his works are considered among the most expensive in the world.

Edvard Munch (1863-1944)

“The Scream” was written after Munch was walking home along the road one evening and turned around - the red sunset he saw amazed him. The path that Munch returned ran past a slaughterhouse and a hospital for the mentally ill, where the artist’s sister was kept.

Contemporaries wrote that the groans of patients and the cries of animals being killed were unbearable. It is believed that “The Scream” became a kind of prophecy for the art of the 20th century, permeated with motifs of loneliness, despair and existential nightmare.

Hieronymus Bosch (1450-1516)

To understand that this is a Bosch painting, you don’t need to be an art critic. For example, Bosch’s most famous work - the triptych “The Garden of Earthly Delights” - contains many details: it depicts the seven deadly sins, reproduced several times, talks in great detail about the hellish torments that await sinners (on the right side), and on the left The door shows the fall of Adam and Eve. The whimsicality of the figures, a large number of small details and the specific imagination of the artist leave no doubt about who the author of the painting is.

Andy Warhol (1928-1987)

Andy Warhol created dozens of works and was one of the main cultural leaders of the sixties. However, in the public consciousness he will almost certainly remain as the author of canvases with duplicated identical objects - in one case, such an object was a can of canned tomato soup, and in another, the sex symbol of the 50s and the symbol of the sexist era of Hollywood, Marilyn Monroe.

Salvador Dali (1904-1989)

At the same time, Salvador Dali remains one of the main artists of his era. Choosing between two Spaniards in our rating (Dali and Pablo Picasso), the site’s editors still chose the first - the paintings of Salvador Dali play a much larger role in popular culture; To the average person, the titles "The Persistence of Memory" or "Premonition of the Civil War" mean more than "Guernica" or "The Portrait of Dora Maar."

Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564)

The fresco “The Creation of Adam” is one of the most recognizable paintings of all times. In addition to the very obvious cultural significance, this image also played a role in the popular culture of the 21st century: only Internet jokers put into Adam’s outstretched hand: from a remote control to a Jedi lightsaber.

Leonardo Da Vinci (1452-1519)

It is known that Leonardo worked on paintings for a long time, often put them off “for later” and in general, apparently, treated painting as another type of creativity, not distinguishing it too much from others. Therefore, a relatively small number of his paintings have reached us. One cannot help but recall the textbook “La Gioconda”, as well as “The Lady with an Ermine”, “Madonna Litta” - and, of course, the fresco “The Last Supper” in the monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan.

It is not surprising that famous artists often attract imitators - both those who want to touch the glory of geniuses and those who want to make money from it. We invite you to read about the most famous painting forgers in history.
Subscribe to our channel in Yandex.Zen