Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci

About the artist

Name: Lionardo di ser Piero Vinci
Born: April 15th, 1452
Died: May 2nd 1519
Lived in:
Movement: High Renaissance

About the artwork

It is no surprise to see the Mona Lisa at the
top of this list. Da Vinci’s masterpiece is
probably the most recognized artwork in the
world today, and the most visited. Also
known as La Giaconda, the painting is
believed to illustrate the wife of wealthy
Florentine merchant Francesco di Bartolomeo
del Giocondo. Alternative suggestions
include Leonardo’s mother and a self-portrait
of the artist. Why is this work so worship? It
is a combination of the Mona Lisa and the
distant backdrop that frames her, and the
harmony that exists in the perspectival
representation Da Vinci rendered so well.
The Mona Lisa revolutionized portrait
painting for future artists. His choice of clothing is not fashionable but rather timeless. This mysterious
woman has subsequently become the subject of song and film titles and the works of other renowned
artists, including Marcel Duchamp and Andy Warhol. 1
Keywords:
 Artwork
 Portrait
 Wealthy
 Worship
 Backdrop
 Rendered

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  Timeless

The Creation of Adam by Michelangelo

About the artwork

The Creation of Adam is the central element in Michelangelo’s large Sistine Chapel fresco. It is one
of the most replicated biblical paintings in history, now printed on anything, from placemats to
umbrellas. Here God breathes life into Adam, and the creation of man is central to the biblical
creative narrative. God floats in a cloud of drapery and other human figures. He is portrayed as an
older man, draped in a simple tunic, muscular yet real. The outstretched hands connect God to
man and humanity. Michelangelo’s painting of Adam, created in the image of God, must be one of
the most famous nudes in art history. Eve, created from Adam’s rib in the biblical narrative, is
believed to be the figure tucked under God’s left arm. Given that Michelangelo was first and
foremost a sculptor, his strongest skills in painting are the musculature and twisted forms in the
reclining nudes. A major cleaning project of the work completed in the late 1980s revealed
Michelangelo’s original bright color palette. 2
About the artist Keywords:
Name: Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni  Fresco
 Draped
Born: March 6th, 1475
 Tucked
Died: May 2nd 1519  Sculptor
 Reveared
Nationality: Florentine
Movement: High Renaissance

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The Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli

About the artwork

Botticelli’s famous painting, The Birth of Venus, was commissioned by the influential Florentine
Medici dynasty. Painting with tempera on canvas, rather than the more conventional wood
panels used (like the Mona Lisa), showed a break away from traditional materials that were
becoming popular at the time. The work is revered as a great treasure of the Renaissance,
depicting a nude at the center of the painting referencing the ancient world. The Renaissance saw
the “rebirthing” of the world of antiquity, not only in art, but also in architecture, philosophy, and
poetry. Works by writers like Homer were regenerated and provide the background story for this
picture. Venus is located at the center of the piece, riding upon a shell to the shore, after her birth
from sea foam. She is blown from her right towards land by Zephyrus and the nymph Chloris,
who guide her to shore. Pomona, the goddess of Spring, waits on shore for Venus’ arrival. Take
note of her contrapposto stance, the detail in her hair and her unusually large neck.3
About the artist Keywords:
Name: Sandro Botticelli (Alessandro di Mariano di  Fresco
Vanni Filipepi  Draped
 Tucked
Born: 1445  Sculptor
Died: May 17th, 1510  Reveared

Nationality: Florentine

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Movement: Renaissance

Guernica by Pablo Picasso

About the artwork

Guernica, a political protest piece in Picasso’s distinct cubist style, was a central attraction at the
Paris World Fair in 1937. This large-scale monochromatic palette of gray, white and black was
Picasso’s response to the recent bombing of the Northern Spanish town, Guernica. The attack by
Hitler’s armed forces, sanctioned by Franco’s government against his people, was the first aerial
saturation of a civilian population. It served as a “training mission” for Hitler and reduced the
village to rubble, wounding or killing a third of the population. The painting is not easy to
decipher, but the figures’ pain and grief are distinct. The far left figure is of a woman who is
screaming and holding a lifeless child in her arms. A bull remains unharmed and calm while a
horse in the center of the work is terrified and distressed. Dead and wounded figures, mutilated
bodies and distorted faces writhe in agony. Guernica traveled the globe to raise awareness of the
war, contributing to its worldwide fame. MOMA held it for 19 years in New York until civil
liberties and democratic processes were restored in Spain.4

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About the artist Keywords:
Name: Pablo Picasso (Pablo Diego José Francisco de  Palette
Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano  Rubble
de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso  Grief
 Harmed
Born: October 25th, 1881  awareness
Died: April 8th, 1973
Nationality: Spanish - French
Movement: Cubism, Surrealism

Girl with a Pearl Earring by Johannes Vermeer

About the artwork

Girl with a Pearl Earring, or the “Mona Lisa of the North,” is painted by the 17th-century Dutch
painter Johannes Vermeer. A deceptively simple portrait, Girl with a Pearl Earring is enigmatic.
No name is given and all the audience sees is a girl who has a pearl earring and is staring back.
Speculation around the girl’s identity ranges from being Vermeer’s mistress to being one of his
15 children. The girl’s hair is tied back in a blue band contrasting with the gold of her dress and is
contrasted by the dark background, giving the painting its luminosity. Her mouth is open as
though she is about to ask a question, but what is she thinking? The painting is a tronie rather
than a portrait, depicting the subject’s head dressed in its Eastern turban. This headdress,
together with the exceptionally large pearl, conjures up the exotic.5
About the artist Keywords:
Name: Johannes Vermeer  Deceptively
 Enigmatic
Born: likely October, 1632
 Ranges
Died: buried December 15th, 1675  Tied
 Tronie
Nationality: Dutch
 Headdress
Movement: Baroque

Campbell’s Soup Cans by Andy Warhol

About the artwork

Campbell’s Soup Cans is just one in a series of paintings Andy Warhol made so incredibly famous
through his use of the company’s branding. Painted by hand, with the use of stencils, closer
inspection reveals that these cans are not identical in appearance or spacing. Each can represents
one of the 32 flavors that Campbell’s had on offer in 1962. As a pop artist, Warhol became
interested in the machine-like processes involved in mass production of such things as the
Campbell’s soup can itself. In the climate in which Warhol was producing these works, the
American public was becoming more and more reliant on mass-production. For Warhol, this
would lead to society’s ultimately becoming more depersonalized and homogenous. Warhol saw

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the connection to the mechanical and the awareness of advertising, design, branding and mass
production that the middle class was engaged in.6
About the artist Keywords:
Name: Andy Warhol (Andrew Warhola)  Branding
 Machine-like process
Born: August 6, 1928
 Reliant
Died: February 22th, 1987  Mass production
 Depersonalized
Nationality: North American
 Homogenous
Movement: Pop Art  Adverstiment
 Engage

Number 1(1950) Lavander Mist by Jackson Pollock

About the artwork

Jackson Pollock’s painting style was both confronting and controversial for the 1950’s American
public. Breaking away from the traditions of the pictorial past, Lavender Mist embodies Pollock’s
chosen style, which he had worked on since 1947. Pollock explored the characteristics of the
paint itself and the surface it was applied to. Full of energy, the characteristic “dripping”
technique was applied to a large scale canvas on the floor while Pollock walked around it. He

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applied paint straight from the industrial paint can, throwing, flinging and pouring paint across
the surface with his sticks, brushes and turkey basters. In the heat of the action, he would throw
other things in too, including sand and the occasional cigarette butt. In the tradition of ancient
cave painters, Pollock signed the work in the upper left-hand corner with his handprints. Best
seen up close, his action painting is rich in color and texture, which is lost in a photograph in a
book or on a website. This action painting was part of the broader movement known as abstract
expressionism..7
About the artist Keywords:
Name: Paul Jackson Pollock  Embodies
 “Dripping”
Born: January 28th, 1912
 Flinging
Died: August 11th, 1956  Turkey basters
 Handprint
Nationality: North American
Movement: Abstract expressionoism

Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh

About the artwork

Van Gogh’s magnum opus, Starry Night, is another exceptionally famous work that has constantly
been replicated on bags, mugs, umbrellas and all manner of objects, a testament to its fame and
popularity. It depicts the scene he saw from his room during his stay at a sanatorium. Van Gogh,

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not being the most robust of characters mentally, tried to chop off his ear, and eventually took his
own life. Starry Night uses a strong color palette, with great energy created by the swirls of his
brush. These characteristics have influenced generations of artists, making Van Gogh one of the
most well-known and influential painters in Western art. Having completed thousands of works,
Starry Night along with Café Terrace at Night and Sunflowers are amongst the most well-
recognized paintings in the World. Despite his skills, Van Gogh managed to sell only one of his
works during his lifetime; ironic, given how they are now so worship that a single painting will
command a USD 100 million price tag at auction.8
About the artist Keywords:
Name: Vincent Willem van Gogh  Starry
 Magnus opus
Born: March 30th, 1853
 Depicts
Died: July29th, 1890  Sanatorium
 Swirls
Nationality: Dutch
Movement: Post-impressionism

The Kiss by Gustav Klimt

About the artwork
The Kiss is an exotic and
opulent-looking work with rich
oils and layers of applied gold
leaf. The Kiss is an instantly
recognizable workwith
countless reproductions on
posters, bags, ceramics, and
vases that have been produced
around the world. Strikingly
modern, influenced by the
curvy lines of Art Nouveau, the
work has a strong organic feel
to it. Painted in an almost
perfect square, Klimt’s
masterpiece differs from the
more common rectangular
surface. The Kiss captures the
light through its overwhelming
golden hue, giving the painting

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its luminous quality. Klimt’s use of gold was no doubt inspired by his trip to Italy, and the
stunning Byzantinian mosaics found in Ravenna’s basilica. Central to the work is a woman
intimately embraced by her male companion. Their elaborate robes are delineated with the
female’s curvilinear and circular forms, and the rectangular decorative elements of the male’s
cloak. The couple, lost in the intensity of the moment, kneel on a patch of flowers. The woman
wears a tight-fitting dress that highlights the curves of her body, while he envelops her with his
arms and his gown.9
About the artist Keywords:
Name: Gustav Klimt  Gold leaf
 Opulent
Born: July 14th, 1862
 Strikingly
Died: February 6th, 1918  Overwhelming
 Mosaic
Nationality: Imperial Austrian
 Kneel
Movements: Symbolism, Art Nouveau

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