5 most famous paintings in the world

To select the 5 most famous paintings in the world is a difficult task. After all, in fact there are much more, a few hundreds of famous paintings of great artists who are admired by millions. Therefore, these five paintings are among the most important to the world culture. They’ve gone beyond the time, they are recognized and will never be forgotten, they are the heritage of all times.

1 Mona Lisa by Leonardo Da Vinci
Mona Lisa is considered to be the one of the most famous paintings of the world, painted by Leonardo da Vinci during the Renaissance in Florence. Now the picture hangs in the Louvre in Paris. Every year she is admired by about 6 million people. Presumably this is a portrait of a rich girl named Lisa Gherardino. Half a millennium she’s been staring into our eyes pervasively and smiling a restrained smile. Her smile reflects love, and some caution. It seems that it’s not we, but Gioconda is studying us, that she’s looking into our souls, watching us.

2 Girl with a Pearl Earring by Jan Vermeer
This picture was painted in about 1665 by the Dutch artist Jan Vermeer. Sometimes it’s called the Mona Lisa of the North or the “Dutch Mona Lisa.” The picture is simple and concise, it does not have any excessive detail. The girl looks in a half-turn, her mouth slightly open, but what she wanted to say remains a mystery. The dark background emphasizes her bright eyes, lips and a big pearl in the girl’s ear. Her face is young, clean, and her look is dreamy.

3 Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh
This famous Van Gogh painting was painted in the asylum of Saint-Remy. There is no a single artist before Van Gogh who would paint the night sky with such awe of the majesty and incomprehensibility of the Universe. Huge stars are surrounded by a flickering light, and swirls of this light create a sense of rotation in the fathomless depths of the Universe. The bright crescent in the corner of the picture radiates so much light that it seems the sun. When you look at this picture, it seems to you that you are all alone facing the whole world, its mysteries and depths.

4 Water Lilies by Claude Monet
This painting is one of the masterpieces of the world culture. The artist found a new form of painting – by flowers: he grew water lilies and lilies in the pond and painted them for hours. The museums of the world have discovered more than 80 paintings from the ‘Lilies’ series. The artist’s painting reached great perfection, he just managed to stop a moment of time and capture it. Lovely delicate lilies on the serene surface of the pond convey the state of rest, contemplation, make us think about the essence of life.

5 The Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli
The famous painting depicts the birth of Venus from the foam of the sea, or the mystery of coming to the world of beauty. The goddess is approaching the shore on a shell. The power of winds in the painting is depicted very expressively: swirling robes, flowing hair. Venus’ beautiful eyes are looking slightly surprised and even a bit aloof, her facial expression is not certain, as well as unstable pose of the goddess, who had just come into the world.

Each of the paintings is the artist’s original attempt to understand the mystery of existence, to find a man’s place in the universe, to define its relationship with the Creator. Looking at them, we can’t help thinking about the meaning of life and seeing the beauty.

But anyone can also try to cultivate an artist of oneself. Because when we draw, we don’t only become familiar with the world culture, but we express our thoughts, feelings, emotions and dicover our inner world.
Learn to draw, paint, and who knows, maybe your painintgs will become the masterpieces of the wold culture some day and will inspire future generations.