The Top 300 Paintings
Three hundred of the world’s greatest paintings, from the caves of Lascaux to Pop Art, ranked. Each shows where you can see it, with links to view images and explore more.
300 paintings
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1
High Renaissance · 1500sMona Lisa
The world’s most famous portrait, with its enigmatic smile and misty sfumato.
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2
Post-Impressionism · 1800sThe Starry Night
A swirling night sky painted from memory at the asylum in Saint-Rémy.
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3
High Renaissance · 1400sThe Last Supper
The moment Christ announces his betrayal, painted on a refectory wall.
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4
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5
Dutch Golden Age · 1600sGirl with a Pearl Earring
A luminous study of a girl in a turban, glancing over her shoulder.
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Expressionism · 1800sThe Scream
A figure on a bridge beneath a blood-red sky: an icon of modern anxiety.
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10
Symbolism & Art Nouveau · 1900s–todayThe Kiss
Lovers wrapped in gold leaf at the height of Klimt’s Golden Period.
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11High Renaissance · 1500s
Sistine Chapel Ceiling
Scenes from Genesis, including the Creation of Adam.
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12
High Renaissance · 1500sThe School of Athens
The great philosophers of antiquity gathered in an ideal hall.
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13
Northern Renaissance · 1500sThe Garden of Earthly Delights
A fantastical triptych of paradise, pleasure and hell.
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14
Northern Renaissance · 1400sThe Arnolfini Portrait
A couple in a Bruges interior, reflected in a convex mirror.
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15
Romanticism · 1800sLiberty Leading the People
Liberty raises the tricolour over the barricades of the July Revolution.
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17
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18
Japanese woodblock · 1800sThe Great Wave off Kanagawa
A towering wave dwarfs Mount Fuji in the world’s best-known Japanese print.
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19
Impressionism · 1800sImpression, Sunrise
The harbour at Le Havre, and the painting that named Impressionism.
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20
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21
Post-Impressionism · 1800sA Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte
Parisians at leisure, built from countless dots of colour.
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22
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23
American Realism · 1900s–todayAmerican Gothic
A stern farmer and his daughter before a Gothic-windowed house.
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24Cubism · 1900s–today
Les Demoiselles d’Avignon
Five fractured figures that shattered pictorial tradition.
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25
Romanticism · 1800sThe Raft of the Medusa
Shipwreck survivors signal a distant ship in a vast, harrowing canvas.
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26
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27
High Renaissance · 1500sThe Creation of Adam
God’s finger reaches towards Adam’s on the Sistine ceiling.
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30
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31
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33
Romanticism · 1800sWanderer above the Sea of Fog
A lone figure contemplates a misty mountain landscape.
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Romanticism · 1800sSaturn Devouring His Son
One of the dark “Black Paintings” from Goya’s house walls.
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42
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43
Baroque · 1600sThe Calling of Saint Matthew
A shaft of light picks out a tax collector called by Christ.
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44
Northern Renaissance · 1400sGhent Altarpiece
The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb in dazzling oil detail.
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45
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46
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47
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48
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49
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50
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51American Realism · 1900s–today
Christina’s World
A woman in a field gazes towards a distant farmhouse.
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52
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54
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55
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56
Dutch Golden Age · 1600sYoung Woman with a Water Pitcher
Cool morning light on a quiet domestic moment.
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57
Neoclassicism · 1700sThe Death of Socrates
The philosopher reaches for the hemlock, still teaching.
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58Abstract Expressionism · 1900s–today
Autumn Rhythm (Number 30)
A vast web of poured and dripped paint.
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59Abstract Expressionism · 1900s–today
One: Number 31, 1950
Pollock’s drip technique on a monumental scale.
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60
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62
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63
Post-Impressionism · 1800sWhere Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?
Gauguin’s philosophical Tahitian testament.
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64
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66
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67
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68
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69
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70
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71
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72Figurative Expressionism · 1900s–today
Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion
Snarling creatures that shocked post-war London.
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73
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75
Romanticism · 1800sSnow Storm: Hannibal and his Army Crossing the Alps
A swirling vortex of storm engulfs an army.
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Romanticism · 1800sThe Execution of Lady Jane Grey
The blindfolded young queen gropes for the block.
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89
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93
Enlightenment · 1700sAn Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump
Science by candlelight in a domestic drawing room.
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95
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97Surrealism · 1900s–today
Christ of Saint John of the Cross
Christ seen from above, suspended over a bay.
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98
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99Georgian · 1700s
Reverend Robert Walker Skating on Duddingston Loch
The “Skating Minister” glides across the ice.
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100
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101
Dutch Golden Age · 1600sChrist in the House of Martha and Mary
Vermeer’s largest painting and a rare biblical scene.
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102
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103Victorian · 1800s
And When Did You Last See Your Father?
A Royalist boy questioned by Parliamentarians.
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104
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105
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106
Romanticism · 1800sSalisbury Cathedral from the Bishop’s Grounds
The spire framed by trees and cattle.
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107
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108
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109
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110
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111
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112
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113
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114
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115
International Gothic · MedievalAnnunciation with Saint Margaret and Saint Ansanus
A golden Sienese masterpiece.
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116
Mannerism · 1500sThe Last Judgment
A swirling vision of salvation and damnation on the Sistine altar wall.
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117
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118
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119
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120
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121
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122
Baroque · 1600sDavid with the Head of Goliath
Goliath’s severed head is thought to be a self-portrait.
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123
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124
Mannerism · 1500sThe Feast in the House of Levi
Renamed after the Inquisition questioned its details.
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125
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126
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127
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128
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129
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130
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131
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132
Proto-Renaissance · MedievalAllegory of Good and Bad Government
Frescoes of a well-run city and a ruined one.
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133
Early Renaissance · 1400sCamera degli Sposi
An illusionistic painted room with a trompe-l’oeil oculus.
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134
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135
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136
Northern Renaissance · 1400sThe Descent from the Cross
Grief carved in paint within a shallow shrine.
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137
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138
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139
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140
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141
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142
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143
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144
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145
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146
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148Surrealism · 1900s–today
The Great Masturbator
A soft, dreamlike self-portrait of desire and anxiety.
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149Symbolism & Art Nouveau · 1900s–today
Judith and the Head of Holofernes
A seductive, gilded femme fatale.
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150
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151
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152
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153
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154
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155
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156Expressionism · 1900s–today
Self-Portrait with Chinese Lantern Plant
A tense, angular self-portrait.
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157
Symbolism & Art Nouveau · 1900s–todayPortrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I
The “Woman in Gold”, restituted to its owner’s heirs in 2006.
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158
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159
Northern Renaissance · 1500sThe Battle of Alexander at Issus
A cosmic battle beneath a curving globe.
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160
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161
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162
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163
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164
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165
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166
Northern Renaissance · 1500sNetherlandish Proverbs
More than a hundred proverbs acted out in a village.
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167
Dutch Golden Age · 1600sGirl Reading a Letter at an Open Window
Restored in 2021 to reveal a hidden Cupid.
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168
High Renaissance · 1500sSleeping Venus
A reclining nude completed after Giorgione’s death, possibly by Titian.
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169
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170
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171
Northern Renaissance · 1500sLandscape with the Fall of Icarus
Icarus’s legs vanish into the sea, unnoticed.
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172
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173
Dutch Golden Age · 1600sThe Anatomy Lesson of Dr Nicolaes Tulp
Surgeons gather around a dissection.
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174
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175
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176
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177
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178
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179
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180
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181
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183
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184
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186
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187
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188
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190
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230
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232
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233
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234
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235
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236
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237
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239
Northern Renaissance · 1400sThe Madonna of Chancellor Rolin
A kneeling chancellor before a vast, detailed city.
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240
High Renaissance · 1500sPortrait of Baldassare Castiglione
An elegant, humane portrait of a courtier.
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241
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242
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243
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244
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245
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246
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247
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248
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249
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250
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251
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252
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253
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254
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255
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256
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257
Post-Impressionism · 1800sSelf-Portrait with a Straw Hat
A Paris self-portrait in bright dashes of colour.
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258
Dutch Golden Age · 1600sAristotle with a Bust of Homer
The philosopher rests a hand on Homer’s bust.
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259
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260
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261
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263
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264
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265
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266
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267
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268
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269
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270
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271
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272
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273
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274
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275
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276
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277
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278
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279
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280
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281American modernism · 1900s–today
Jimson Weed/White Flower No. 1
A monumental close-up of a desert flower.
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282Figurative Expressionism · 1900s–today
Study after Velázquez’s Portrait of Pope Innocent X
A screaming pope trapped in a cage of lines.
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283
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284Surrealism · 1900s–today
The Elephant Celebes
A mechanical elephant-boiler looms over a headless woman.
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285
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286
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287
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288
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289
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290
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291
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292Mexican modernism · 1900s–today
Viva la Vida, Watermelons
Kahlo’s last painting, inscribed “Long live life”.
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293Surrealism · 1900s–today
Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird
Kahlo crowned with thorns, a dead hummingbird at her throat.
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294
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295Chinese painting · Medieval
Along the River During the Qingming Festival
A long scroll of bustling city life.
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296
Chinese painting · MedievalDwelling in the Fuchun Mountains
A landscape scroll split in two by fire.
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297Chinese painting · Medieval
Admonitions of the Instructress to the Court Ladies
One of the oldest surviving Chinese handscrolls.
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298
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299International Gothic · 1400s
Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry
A book of hours with glowing calendar scenes.
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300Prehistoric & ancient · Ancient
Lascaux Cave Paintings
Bulls, horses and deer painted deep inside a cave.
No paintings match those filters.