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Painting story
Ginevra de Benci by Leonardo da Vinci
A young Florentine woman framed by a juniper bush that plays on her name: the only painting by Leonardo in the Americas.
Famous Paintings, Explained
The stories behind famous paintings, the painters who made them, and the movements that shaped them. Every work here can be recreated by hand in oil on canvas.
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Painting story
Salvator Mundi by Leonardo da Vinci
Salvator Mundi shows Christ facing the viewer, one hand raised in blessing and the other holding a crystal orb, in a blue robe with embroideredโฆ
Painting story
Vitruvian Man by Leonardo da Vinci
A man in a circle and a square: Leonardoโs pen-and-ink study of human proportion after the Roman architect Vitruvius, about 1490.
Painting story
Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci
The Mona Lisa is Leonardo da Vinci's portrait of Lisa Gherardini, the wife of a Florentine silk merchant, begun in 1503 and kept and reworked byโฆ
Painting story
The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci painted The Last Supper directly onto the refectory wall of a Dominican convent in Milan, creating a scene of psychologicalโฆ
Painting story
The Madonna of Chancellor Rolin by Jan van Eyck
Chancellor Rolin kneels face to face with the Virgin, a vast landscape opening behind them: Van Eyckโs masterpiece in the Louvre.
Artist guide
Rembrandt van Rijn Paintings
Baroque ยท Dutch ยท 1606 to 1669
Painting story
The Church at Auvers by Vincent van Gogh
Van Goghโs June 1890 view of the village church at Auvers, seen from behind under a deep cobalt sky, with a path that divides in front.
Painting story
Self-Portrait by Vincent van Gogh
Painted at Saint-Rรฉmy in September 1889 after weeks of illness: a watchful face set against a moving background of blue and green.
Painting story
Portrait of Patience Escalier by Vincent van Gogh
An old shepherd from the Camargue in a straw hat, set against a furnace of orange: Van Goghโs portrait of Patience Escalier, August 1888.
Painting story
Fishing Boats on the Beach at Saintes-Maries by Vincent van Gogh
Colourful boats on the sand at Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, drawn on Van Goghโs first visit to the Mediterranean in June 1888.
Painting story
The Yellow House by Vincent van Gogh
Van Goghโs house on the Place Lamartine in Arles, yellow in the sun under a deep blue sky, where he hoped to found a studio of the South.
Painting story
The Potato Eaters by Vincent van Gogh
Five peasants share potatoes under a single lamp: Van Goghโs first ambitious picture, painted in Nuenen in 1885, in dark, earthy colours.
Painting story
Olive Trees by Vincent van Gogh
Twisted olive trees below the Alpilles and a swirling white cloud, painted at Saint-Rรฉmy in June 1889, the month of The Starry Night.
Painting story
The Sower by Vincent van Gogh
A huge sun, ripe wheat and a sower borrowed from Millet: Van Goghโs June 1888 canvas from Arles, built on violet and yellow.
Painting story
Portrait of Dr. Gachet by Vincent van Gogh
Van Goghโs June 1890 portrait of the doctor who watched over him in Auvers: head on hand, foxglove and two yellow novels.
Painting story
Wheat Field with Crows by Vincent van Gogh
A storm-dark sky, ripe wheat, three unfinished paths and a flock of crows, painted at Auvers in July 1890. Probably not his last painting.
Painting story
Irises by Vincent van Gogh
Painted in Van Goghโs first days at the Saint-Rรฉmy asylum in May 1889: a close view of blue irises, with one white flower among them.
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Curated collectionsOdyssey, Magic and Witchcraft, Famous Women, Landscapes and more.Artists A to ZEvery painter in the catalogue, with an archive of their works.Art movementsRenaissance to Expressionism: what defines each and who led it.Top 100 most famous paintingsThe ranked list, with the story behind every entry.
