The following four famous paintings—from Jan van Eyck's portrait to Pablo Picasso's masterpiece—have stood the test of time.
The Arnolfini Portrait
Jan van Eyck's Arnolfini Portrait, an oil painting on wood produced in 1434, in which a man and a woman hold hands with a window behind him and a bed behind her, is undoubtedly one of the masterpieces in the National Gallery, London. This painting is not only visually interesting but also famed. It is also an informative document on fifteenth-century society, through Jan van Eyck's heavy use of symbolism—while husbands went out to engage in business, wives concerned themselves with domestic duties.
The Starry Night
Vincent van Gogh painted The Starry Night, an oil on canvas (油画布), a moderately abstract landscape painting of a night sky over a small hillside village, during his 12-month stay at the mental hospital in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, France between 1889 and 1890. When the Museum of Modern Art in New York City purchased the painting from a private collector in 1941, it was not well known, but it has since become one of Vincent van Gogh's most famous works.
The Harvesters
The Harvesters is an oil painting on wood completed by Pieter Bruegel the Elder in 1565. It depicts (描绘) the harvest time which most commonly occurred within the months of July and August. Nicolaes Jonghelinck, a merchant banker and art collector from Antwerp, once held this painting. The painting has been at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City since 1919.
Guernica
Guernica, a large oil painting, was painted by the Cubist (立体派的) Spanish painter, Pablo Picasso in 1937. The title "Guernica" refers to the city that was bombed during the war. The painting depicts the horrors of war and as a result, has come to be an antiwar symbol and a reminder of the tragedies of war. Today, the painting is housed at the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia in Madrid.
