Original works of art that have marked history. From Leonardo da Vinci to Pablo Picasso. The history of humanity has been represented through texts and articles that document the passage of the years and the changes that take place in all parts of the world. Both our progress and our declines have been recorded and studied to grow as a society, and art is no exception. In painting, for example, we can see the changes of time, the power struggles, the new ways of thinking, and even the new ways of seeing the world. We present here ten of the most intuitive works in history either because of what they represent, because of what they hide or because of the impact they have had on humanity.
- Mona Lisa, Leonardo da Vinci
Also known as the Gioconda, it is one of the best-known works of the Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci and one of the most visited in the world. It is an excellent example of the technique of chiaroscuro and Hypnotizes by the enigmatic smile of the lady portrayed. Currently on display at the Louvre Museum in Paris.
- The Last Supper, Leonardo da Vinci
This painting by Da Vinci is the representation of The Last Supper, narrated in the Gospel of St. John. It is a vital work of the Renaissance and a whole treatise of perspective. The Last Supper is painted in oil on plaster, a technique not used before in mural painting, so its restoration has been a complicated process. Today it is found in The Church of Santa Maria Delle Grazie.
- Guernica, Pablo Picasso
Guernica is probably one of the most excellent works of the painter Pablo Picasso and one of the most impressive because of the theme he touches. Through this creation, Picasso illustrates the tragedy of the bombing of the city of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War, making it one of the most prominent symbols against the war. It is currently on display at the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in Madrid, Spain.
- Las Meninas, Diego Velázquez
Las Meninas is considered the masterpiece of Diego Velázquez, the Spanish artist of the Golden Century. This oil on fabric from 1656 is the most formatted by Velázquez. With a composition in planes, which the artist manages to represent through the various lighting entrances, he shows a daily scene of the Court of Philip IV. In it, the limits between painting and reality are blurred and single time is suspended, and the artist himself appears within the work. Currently on display at the Prado Museum.
- The Starry Night, Vincent Van Gogh
This work, by the famous post-impressionist painter, is a night view from the Saint Rémy sanatorium, where Van Gogh resided a few months before his death. The impasto technique is used by the artist to show a restless and vibrant night, by the contrast between the intense yellow on blue fillings. Exhibited in the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
- The Scream, Edvard Munch
This work by the Dutch artist Edvard Munch is an example of expressionist painting, where the landscape joins the feeling of the protagonist. With a deformed face, the environment seems to echo his expression, which contrasts with an orange background, where two figures seem to move away without realizing the emotional whirlwind that expresses the work. It has several versions, the first one, exhibited in 1893, is located in the National Gallery of Oslo.
- Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo
Commissioned by Pope Julio II, The Vault of the Sistine Chapel is a unique work by Michelangelo Bonarotti who made this magnificent work without being considered a painter. In the nine boxes plants shows an iconographic program of the stories of Genesis, from the creation, the fall of man, the flood and the rebirth of humanity with the Ark of Noah. On the columns, he painted five Sibilas and seven prophets. Pope Clement VII of Medici later commissioned him to paint the wall of the altar with the Universal Judgment.
- Water Lilies, Monet
In the basement of the Orangerie Museum are the famous Monet Water Lilies. It was dedicated by the painter to France as a symbol of peace, after the signing of the armistice of 1918. It’s called the Sistine of Impressionism. It shows lilies in the water, roots, and reflection of trees and clouds, giving the illusion of natural infinity.
- The Persistence of Memory, Salvador Dalí
Recognized as a masterpiece of surrealism by its dreamlike atmosphere represented by clocks that melt in the middle of the desert. It alludes to the time and measure of an eternity that seems not to know humanity. The disturbing creature on the sand draws a profile that is probably that of the author, Dalí, who appears to sleep and dream the whole scene. Exhibited in the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
- Bicycle wheel, Marcel Duchamp
The Bicycle Wheel is Marcel Duchamp’s first ready-made, a whole series of objects he created to challenge the assumptions that constitute a work of art. In this ready-made Duchamp combines two mass production parts, a bicycle wheel, and a stool, to create a machine without any functionality. With this in mind, Duchamp continued to select prefabricated objects and call them art, actions that changed the viewer’s experience and the optics of what art is. Currently on display at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.