Top 10 most famous paintings in the world

Some works of art are small, others very large. Some are several centuries old, others several decades. But they all have one thing in common: each painting fascinates with extraordinary painting techniques and the stories they tell.

We've brought together ten of the world's most famous paintings to tell each story.

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Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci

The oil painting that da Vinci painted on wood in the early 16th century is one of the most famous in the world. To this day, art experts speculate about who the Mona Lisa really was. They say it is Lisa del Giocondo. The wife of a silk merchant from Florence.

Since 1815, the work of art has hung in the royal Palais du Louvre in Paris, where it is still accessible to the public today. Before that, it hung in Napoleon Bonaparte's bedroom.

But the biggest talking point remains Mona Lisa's mysterious smile. In 2008, researchers discovered that da Vinci used the "sfumato" painting technique. The sfumato technique is a painting technique used to create the softest possible transitions, creating the slight blur and shadow in her face.

Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh

The Dutch artist painted 800paintings during his lifetime. One of his most famous is Starry Night. You can now admire the 1889 oil painting at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

Did you know that the swirls of the starry sky in the painting represent one of the most complex mathematical phenomena? Turbulence. The Russian scientist Komogorov only devised the mathematical model to represent turbulence in the 1940s. Researchers suspect that van Gogh intuitively knew how to depict turbulence with visual precision.

The artist was in a psychiatric institution when he made this and other paintings. He leftadmitted himself to this psychiatric ward after cutting off his left ear.

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TheScream by Edvard Munch

The Scream by Norwegian artist Edvard Munch is a series of expressionist paintings. They show the Oslofjord - a fjord in southern Norway - and a screaming person. Apparently the painter depicts himself there. In the summer of 1891, a blood-red sunset is said to have terrified him as he was walking. This event drove him to spend two years sketching versions in different styles. In doing so he laid the foundation for expressionism.

You can see one of the paintings at the National Gallery in Oslo. Again, because it was stolen from the museum in 1994. And in2004 another version of 'The Scream'. Both were recovered and taken to the museum.

The Girl with the Pearl Earring by Johannes Vermeer

The Dutchman had painted his most famous painting in 1665. This year, The Girl with the Pearl Earring became 'The Girl in the Spotlight'. This is because a team of scientists analyzed the painting using the most modern scanners and X-ray techniques in the Mauritshuis Museum. The goal? According to the director of the Dutch museum, Emily Gordenker, they wanted to find out how it was painted and what materials Vermeer had used.

Who itwas the girl who was portraying, wants to show Peter Webber's directorial debut from 2004. Namely, a maid who worked in Vermeer's house. However, Vermeer expert Benjamin Binstock claims that we are dealing here with Vermeer's eldest daughter, Maria. What do you think?

The Perseverance of Memory by Salvador Dali

What do dreams feel like? The Spanish painter Salvador Dali shows us one interpretation of this in his world-famous masterpiece "The Persistence of Memory". He described this type of representation as hand-painted dream pictures. The oil painting has graced the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

The painting is populated with numerous symbols: for example, the structure in the center of the painting is said to show Dalí's self-image. A fly and the falling apart bells are said to represent transience... Are you also a little confused by the sight? This is exactly the reaction that the artist wanted to achieve in the viewer and make him rethink the entire world. What do dreams feel like? An interpretation of this is shown to us by the Spanish painter Salvador Dalí in his world-famous masterpiece "The Persistence of Memory". He described this type of representation as hand-painted dream pictures. The oil painting has the Museum of ModernArt admired in New York City.

The painting is populated with numerous symbols: for example, the structure in the center of the painting is said to show Dalí's self-image. A fly and the falling apart bells are said to represent transience... Are you also a little confused by the sight? This is exactly the reaction the artist wanted to evoke in the viewer and make him reconsider the whole world.

The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci

You can now admire Leonardo da Vinci's legendary fresco again in the Renaissance church of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan.The artist painted the mural in the former dining room of the adjacent monastery from 1494 to 1498. It was restored over the past 20 years and is now open to the public again.

But what did Da Vinci actually serve to the protagonists of his famous work? Art historians and restorers think it is fruit and fish - an important Christian symbol. One theory says they are river eels, as they were common in the Milan area when da Vinci painted the fresco.

The Creation of Adam by Michelangelo

This mural is the oldest in our collection: the Italian artist Michelangelo painted it between 1508 and 1512 in the Sistine Chapel in Rome. It was created during the Italian High Renaissance and is one of the most famous paintings of that era and one of the most famous of all time.

The detail in the middle of the painting, the two index fingers almost touching, has always been a model for parodies and reinterpretations.

Guernica by Pablo Picasso

The most famous work of art by Picasso and modernism is no less than 27 square meters in size. The painter made it happenthe 1937 World Exhibition in Paris within two weeks. A few years ago, on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of "Guernica", the Picasso Museum in Paris held an exhibition on the creation of the painting. However, the painting itself was not included. In his will, Picasso stipulated that the painting could only return to Spain after Franco was deposed. It can now be seen in Madrid and is no longer allowed to leave Spain.

Dimanche d'été à la Grande Jatte by Georges Seurat

It took artist Georges Seurat two years to create blob after blob of paint in his most famous two-by-three-meterwork. This painting is painted in the style of pointillism. That is, it consists of individual, small dots of pure colour. The unmixed colours create a stronger brightness than the mixed ones.

Georges Seurat is considered the inventor of this style. And as the founder of Neo-Impressionism. His main concern is the harmony between contrasts, colours and lines. This gives Neo-Impressionism a precise technique, but leaves it open to interpretation. The direction quickly spread across Europe.

Whistler's Mother by James McNeill Whistler

The American artist James McNeill Whistler spent his artistic career in London and Paris. Like Seurat, he attended the famous Ecole des Beaux-Arts to further his skills. His works are particularly characterized by their clarity and sobriety - very much in the spirit of Realist aesthetics. Just like in this masterpiece, the 'Settlement in Gray and Black: Portrait of the Artist's Mother' or simply known as Whistler's Mother.

Although his paintings stand out for their clean lines. James McNeill Whistler, colour harmony was always most important. By the way, his models for this were artists like Velasquez andVermeer.