Art auctions around the world and top museums house an enormous number of canvas prints and artworks. However, only a select few gain the recognition required to achieve widespread fame. To determine the most famous paintings, we utilized Google’s search data from the past five years.
Based on this data, here are the top five most searched-for paintings globally.
1. ‘Mona Lisa’
The identity of subject in the world’s most famous painting features a woman with a beguiling smile. Many think that she is Lisa Gherardini, the wife of a prosperous Florentine merchant. But much about the artwork remains shrouded in mystery, according to experts.
Nonetheless, the painting’s significance is indisputable. It represents an innovation in Italian portraiture by being the earliest half-length portrait of a subject. The painting has been on exhibition at the Louvre since 1804.
Historians assert that before the 1900s, few people recognized the “Mona Lisa” outside of the art world. However, in 1911, an individual who formerly worked at the Louvre stole the painting. He kept it hidden for two years. This theft played a significant role in establishing the painting’s popularity in mainstream culture. It also helped in introducing countless individuals to Renaissance art.
2. ‘The Last Supper’
Leonardo da Vinci, widely recognized as the “Renaissance Man,” is the only artist to have two works included in this list. “The Last Supper,” created during an era in which religious imagery dominated the art world, portrays Jesus’ final meal with his disciples before his crucifixion.
The painting is a monumental fresco, standing at an impressive height of 4.6 meters (15 feet) and width of 8.8 meters (28.9 feet), creating a lasting impression on viewers. Despite two instances of wartime threats, including Napoleon’s troops utilizing the wall on which the fresco was painted as target practice, the artwork has endured.
3. ‘The Starry Night’
Van Gogh’s “The Starry Night” is a distinctive representation of his pioneering and daring use of thick brushstrokes. The artwork’s remarkable combination of blues and yellows, as well as its imaginative, swirling ambiance, have fascinated art enthusiasts for many years.
Interestingly, van Gogh produced this relatively abstract work while residing in a mental health institution in Saint-Rémy, France, where he was undergoing treatment. He drew inspiration from the scenic view he observed through his room’s window.
4. ‘The Scream’
It’s important to clarify that “The Scream” is not a single artwork. The British Museum’s blog states that there exist two canvas prints and two pastels with an unspecified number of prints. You can find the paintings in the National Museum and the Munch Museum.
In 2012, one of the pastels was sold at an auction for nearly $120 million. Similarly, to the theft of the “Mona Lisa,” the daring heists of both painting versions of “The Scream” in 1994 and 2004 helped to raise public awareness of the works. Fortunately, both pieces were eventually recovered.
5. ‘Guernica’
“Pablo Picasso’s “Guernica” is the most recent painting to feature on this list. The artwork portrays the German bombing of the Basque town of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War. With its unique Picasso style, the painting offers an unwavering exploration of the atrocities of war.
This makes it a crucial part of 20th-century culture and history. During World War II, “Guernica” was transferred to the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art in New York for safekeeping.” You can visit the Fine Art America website to buy wall art on the internet.
