There are many masterpieces in the world that are known to everyone in any corner of the globe. Some of the paintings manage to reach the heights of world fame by being the most prominent, influential, or beautiful artworks to ever exist. These are only five out of many great works of art ever to be created. Chances are, you’ve already seen or heard about these paintings.

Georges Seurat – A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte (1884–1886)
Georges Seurat was one of the leading post-impressionist of his generation. His love of mathematics and logic, along with his sensibility, allowed him to create truly unique and original artworks. One of them, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, made him world-famous. Some people may not know much about the author of this painting, yet they have surely seen the work at some point in their lives. This art piece became the perfect representation of the post-impressionist movement in the late 19th century in France. It shows the peaceful afternoon in the park with the working and middle class.

During his short life (Seurat died at the age of 31 years old), the artist finished around 40 paintings and over a hundred various drawings and sketches. Many of them made a huge impact on the future of French art and started neo-impressionism at the beginning of the 20th century. Yet, A Sunday Afternoon’s tranquility and modernity symbolized the peak of the artist’s career.

Picasso – Guernica (1937)
All of the pain, fear, hurt, despise, and horror of war found their way to Guernica. This large painting shows it all. The tension in the 1930s was growing with every day. People could feel the war coming into the air. At that time, Picasso had already earned his reputation and powerful stance in the art world. He was famous, successful, respected. In a way, he was the voice of this generation. The artists had to observe the greatest downfalls of modern civilization. Guernica became the height of Picassos’ career as well as the ultimate artwork to represent the frustration and angst of that time. You can give the iwriteessays review a try and order a research paper from their writers to learn more about the inspiration behind this painting.

Diego Velázquez – Las Meninas (1656)
Las Meninas is often considered the best painting ever made. Why? Well, Velázquez managed to achieve great things in a single canvas. The plot, structure, composition, and overall technique in this painting speak of this artist’s creative genius. The painting portrays a young Spanish princess and her court. Looking closer, one may also find the portrait of the artist himself, as well as the portraits of the proud royal parents, watching the scene through the mirror.

Diego Velázquez was the most prominent court artist during the Spanish Golden Age. His works shaped the future of Spanish art not only during his life but for the centuries after his death. Las Meninas still often appears in the center of discussions among critics and historians. The analysis of this painting can easily reach over a hundred pages. You, too, can read a buyessay.org review and find the writer to provide you with an extensive analysis of this artwork.

Leonardo Da Vinci – Mona Lisa (1503–19)
Needless to say, Mona Lisa by Leonardo Da Vinci must be the most famous painting in the world. Hardly anyone won’t know what his painting is about or where it’s kept. Of course, Mona Lisa absolutely deserves such high praises and recognition. After all, it was a truly revolutionary piece at its time. The techniques used during the work on this painting, such as atmospheric perspective, appeared only in the late 15th century. However, no artist before Da Vinci was as successful in implementing such complex new art techniques. It shows the true talent and genius of this artist.

To this day, the story behind Mona Lisa is surrounded by mystery and numerous unanswered questions. Who was that woman? Why is she so calm and composed? What did Da Vinci want to tell us with this work? There are so many questions and so little information on this painting. The facts still stay, though. Mona Lisa is one of the most iconic, mysterious, and famous paintings ever to exist.

Vincent van Gogh – The Starry Night (1889)
Vincent Van Gogh didn’t spend much time on one painting. In fact, he could produce a painting a day, which is quite a rare achievement in the art world. He wasn’t fixated on making it perfect or delivering the exact copy of what he saw. No. Van Gogh was an impulsive and somewhat chaotic artist. He wanted to express the world around him with colors and brushes. That’s exactly what he did in The Starry Night, written when he was in an asylum in France. Sure, it wasn’t the best period in Van Gogh’s life. Yet, it was one of the rare breaks he got to have during his difficult life.

Vincent van Gogh was an incredibly productive, hard-working, and passionate artist. Unfortunately, the world didn’t appreciate Van Gogh’s talent during his life. However, today, everyone will immediately recognize The Starry Night or the rest of Van Gogh's unique, true, vibrant paintings. By the way, the artists finished over 900 paintings, which is an astonishing achievement on its own.