Top 3 Most Famous Paintings Around the World

There are thousands of paintings out there, but what makes painting so well-known that it becomes a household name?

Paintings are one of the most adored forms of art since its first use in the pre-historic era. It is a form of art that contains no words but still manages to convey a message. That’s why it fascinates anyone who views it. There are thousands of paintings out there, but what makes painting so well-known that it becomes a household name?

Let the words of this article make you see through the highly renowned paintings from around the globe that gained everyone’s attention and rocked the art industry.

Here are the Top 3 Most Famous Paintings Around the World

1. Spoliarium by Juan Luna (Philippines, 1884)

The award-winning art shows the triumph of the slaves against the sadistic servitude and oppression of the Roman Empire. As a slave drags the body of a dead gladiator as others spectate and celebrate. Being realistic, bloody, and thought-provoking, not only did it capture the attention of the judges at Madrid Exposition in 1884, but it also entranced the Philippine’s national hero’s heart, Jose Rizal, which inspired him to turn the painting into a novel. Rizal’s vision was materialized through Noli Me Tangere since some historians state that the said novel was “the Latin echo of the Spoliarium.”

2. The Scream by Edvard Munch (Norway, 1893)

As the name itself indicates, it presents a man in a bridge, screaming in terror against the background of a sunset. The image puzzles its viewers, making them get hooked on the art. It’s as if the man can see through the composition and screams at the viewer, or he screams due to his entrapment in the painting as if he’s aware of the reality outside and inside of the art. The man’s pose and expression have been immortalized by movie characters and comic books, making it truly iconic.

3. The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci (Italy, 1940)

The painting captures the moment in Jesus’s time. Is when he announced that one of his apostles is going to betray him. Making the image of them confused and talking amongst each other (John 13:21). It may be grim, but it also symbolizes Jesus’s teachings that even when he is gone, they should love one another and let them know that they are not his servants – a message that Christianity wants to get across the globe. On the other hand, it sparked various controversies when the image was used to explain Jesus’s relationship with Mary Magdalene in Dan Brown’s fictional novel The Da Vinci Code.

These paintings all have a common ground that made them receive a great deal of honor on a global scale. A painting may not contain words to communicate a story. However, it must be powerful enough to mystify, provoke, or be venerate by hundreds of people. In thousands of ways possible, that will leave a mark in people’s minds for generations to come.

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