Fifteen Famous Paintings

Rembrandt is one of the most famous Dutch painters. This painting is huge (11 ft x 14 ft) and shows a group of soldiers leaving for a battle. Unlike earlier paintings which showed people looking "stiff", this picture captures their movement. Also, the way he painted the light emphasizes the three men in the front as well as a young girl. The girl has a dead chicken hanging from her belt -- a symbol that they will defeat their enemy.

This painting is called, "the Mona Lisa of the North" (the Mona Lisa was painted in Italy, to the south). Three things stand out: the girl's intimate gaze, her white earring in the middle of the picture, and the interesting combination of colors.

This painting shows Napoleon's attack on Spain in 1808. Prior to this, most paintings showed war as being a glorious thing. This painting shows it as being cruel and subhuman (see how the soldiers look mechanical whereas the ones being shot look full of life).

Friedrich was part of the Romantic movement. This painting captures the feeling of uncertainty over the future but the courage to face it.

The title of this painting is French for "Pastry Cafe". Its style is an example of impressionism -- a type of painting known for its light colors and simple subjects. This particular painting is one of the most expensive ever bought (for about $125 million).

Vincent Van Gogh is probably one of the two or three most famous painters in history. Famous for its swirls in the sky, this painting was based on the view from Van Gogh's bedroom.

One of the most familiar images in history, this painting is an example of expressionism. In this style of painting, reality is distorted in order to express emotion. Here the emotion is panic.

This painting is an example of fauvism - a style famous for its bright colors. At the time, other painters didn't like the style and called Matisse and his friends "les fauves" (French for wild beasts)

Klimt used gold leaf to make this and other paintings. This decorative style was known as "Art Nouveau" (new art).

This French impressionist painter was known for painting lilies, like the ones in this painting.

Kandinsky was the founder of abstract art -- art that uses symbols and designs rather than real people or things.

This is the most famous American painting. "Gothic" (an architectural style used for churches) refers to the top window of the house in the background. Wood saw this house one day and decided to paint the type of people he imagined would have lived in that house in earlier days. During the Great Depression, this painting became a symbol of the hard-working and determined American people. Note that the pitchfork is mirrored on the man's overalls. Nowadays, people like to copy this picture, changing it in funny ways.

This painting is an example of surrealism (a strange dream-like feeling). It distorts the ideas of hard and soft. When seen on its side, the white image in the middle is part of a human face. This object shows up in many of Dali's paintings and is thought to be a self-portrait.

Like Van Gogh, Picasso ranks among the top painters of all-time. He was one of the founders of cubism - a stlye that captures its object from different angles all at once. This painting is actually of Picasso's lover. It was sold in 2006 for for almost 100 million dollars.

Another example of surrealism, Magritte explains this painting as follows: "Everything we see hides another thing, we always want to see what is hidden by what we see. There is an interest in that which is hidden and which the visible does not show us."