Girl with a Pearl Earring

Girl with a Pearl Earring by Jan Vermeer

Girl with a Pearl Earring, 1665, is the fifth most famous pieces of art in the world, it was also known as “A Vermeer Masterpiece”. I can see why it’s in the top 5 because it’s a portrait of a girl, those type of paintings seem to be famous now-a-days. It was painted by a Dutch artist named Johannes, Jan, or Johan Vermeer. He likes to paint different types of people in various types of scenes and places. He was also never rich. He left his family in dept when he died, he didn’t create enough paintings to have enough money to support his family. Vermeer painted with elegance, as his favorite colors to work with were cornflower blue and yellow. He taught his self how to paint and create art, using the things that his father told him about making a masterpiece. In December of 1653, Vermeer joins what was called Guild of Saint Luke, which was just a trade association for painters. He got elected to become the leader of the club for 4 years.  Johannes worked on his art very slowly, creating only 3 pieces a year. On October 31, 1632, Vermeer was baptized as Joannis and when his death, buried in the same city with the name of Jan on December 15, 1675.

Luncheon of the Boating Party

Luncheon of the Boating Party by Pierre Auguste Renoir

Pierre Auguste Renoir, a French artist, is the leader of the Impressionist style. Because he was so good at being an artist, as a child, his job was creating designs to be put on china. He also created paintings to be hung for missionaries that were overseas and for decoration on fans. While he was creating those paintings, he would often visit the Louvre to watch French master painters. In 1862, he began to study art in Paris. During the Paris Commune of 1871, Renoir was painting by the banks of the Seine River. Communards thought he was a spy, and they were about to through him in the river when the leader of the Commune recognized him from protecting him and stopped the Communards. Later on in 1874, Renoir lost his favorite place to paint, causing him to change to totally different topics of his art. Because his paintings seem to get even better, Renoir got six of his paintings into the Impressionist expidition in 1874. Around 1892, Renoir developed arthritis. Athough he had a serious case, he still began to paint for the last 20 years of his life. He would also strap his paintbrush to his paralyzed fingers.

In 1919, he was visiting the Louvre to see his paintings. He later died in a village, but his artworks are still remembered today.

The Kiss



"The Kiss" by Gustav Klimt

The Kiss was painted by Australian painter Gustav Klimt. It took about 1 year to paint, 1907-1908. He later became the president of a group called "Vienna Secession" in 1897 when he was 35 years old. The group’s goals were to have displays of different forms of artwork for soon-to-be artists. In 1894, Klimt got offered to experience to create 3 paintings to be on the ceiling of the Great Hall in the University of Vienna. The 3 paintings that he created, Philosophy, Medicine, and Jurisprudence later got concerned by people who saw them because of its extreme themes and materials. Because of that, the paintings could not be displayed in the Great Hall. All of the paintings got destroyed in May of 1945. But then came the “Golden Age”, or the time when his artwork had the most success, came. The most famous of his paintings at that time was the Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer and The Kiss. But that success didn’t last so long. On February 6, 1918, Klimt died. He suffered from a stroke and lived through the Flu epidemic of 1918.  But he did not survive it. He died with a number of his paintings not finished. But now his paintings are worth a lot more than they have before.

Starry Night

"Starry Night" by Vincent Van Gogh

Starry night is painted by Dutch artist Vincent Van Gogh. Although Van Gogh only sold one of his paintings, the ratings on the painting were huge. Starry Night is one of the well-known paintings in modern culture. It is also one of the paintings that are copied the most. Van Gogh painted Starry Night while in an Asylum at Saint-Remy in 1889. This painting has been hanging in the Museum of Modern Art in New York City since 1941. In September 1888, before his “December Breakdown”, he painted this while standing outside, looking up at the stars, trying to figure out how he could put his own twist on the night sky. In mid-September 1889, he thought to include Starry Night in the next bundle of works to be sent to his brother, Theo, in Paris. He only sent 3 of his artworks, including Starry Night. These 3 went to Paris. He later regretted every painting Starry Night. Van Gogh was not happy with his painting. In a letter he wrote to his brother, he said the canvas is a study without the effect of what the other of his paintings have. He also said that the stars and clouds were exaggerations, “their lines are warped as that of old wood”.

Mona Lisa



"Mona Lisa" by Leonardo Da Vinci

Mona Lisa illustrated by the Italian artist Leonardo Da Vinci is the most famous painting in the world. It is owned by the French government and it hanging in Louvre in Paris. This painting is most famous for the expression on the woman’s face described as “enigmatic”, or mysterious.. If this painting was sold, it would be the most expensive painting ever sold in the world. It took about 16 years to finish this painting for it was working on from 1503-1519. Da Vinci started the painting in 1503 in Florence, Italy. It is known that unusual behavior is common in most of the paintings of Leonardo Da Vinci, so he later regretted ever completing a single piece of work. He then thought to complete Mona Lisa when he took it to France before he died in 1519. Mona Lisa is named from Lisa Del Giocondo, the wife of the very wealthy silk merchant. Some people believed that the famous half-smile on the painting was a recovered memory of Da Vinci’s mother, or Leonardo his self. The paintings increasing fame led it to be stolen on August 21 1911. The day after it was stolen, a famous painter went to the place where Mona Lisa has been on display for 5 years. When he saw that the painting was gone, he contacted the guards, who thought it was being photographed for marketing purposes. When the head security of the museum confirmed that Mona Lisa was not with the photographers, the Louvre was closed for an entire week to aid in the investigation of the theft. A French poet, who had once called the Louvre to be “burnt down”, came under suspicion. He was arrested and put in jail.