Famous Paintings: Experts

Las Meninas

Diego Velázquez (1656) shows the Spanish princess with her entourage and the painter himself at the easel. A masterpiece about gaze and perspective.

💡 Did you know? In the mirror at the back appear the royal couple: we seem to stand in their place.

The School of Athens

Raphael's fresco in the Vatican (c. 1510) gathers the great thinkers of antiquity, with Plato and Aristotle at the centre.

💡 Did you know? Raphael gave some philosophers the faces of contemporaries: Plato, for instance, resembles Leonardo da Vinci.

Wanderer above the Sea of Fog

Caspar David Friedrich (c. 1818) shows a man from behind on a rocky peak above rolling fog: an emblem of Romanticism.

💡 Did you know? The figure seen from behind invites the viewer to see the scene through his eyes.

Impression, Sunrise

Claude Monet's view of the harbour of Le Havre (1872) gave a whole movement its name: Impressionism.

💡 Did you know? A critic mockingly called it a mere 'impression' and the name stuck.

Primavera

Sandro Botticelli's 'Spring' (c. 1480) shows mythological figures in a blossoming grove: a highlight of the Florentine Renaissance.

💡 Did you know? Botanists have identified around 200 real plant species in the painting.

The Garden of Earthly Delights

Hieronymus Bosch's triptych (c. 1500) shows paradise, a teeming garden of delights in the centre, and a nightmarish hell.

💡 Did you know? In the hell panel a little melody is notated on a figure's backside and is played today.

The Third of May 1808

Francisco de Goya (1814) shows the execution of Spanish rebels by Napoleonic troops; an early anti-war painting.

💡 Did you know? It is regarded as a model for later works such as Picasso's 'Guernica'.

Saturn Devouring His Son

One of Goya's dark 'Black Paintings' (c. 1820): the titan Saturn devouring his child out of fear of being overthrown.

💡 Did you know? Goya painted it straight onto the walls of his house; only later was it transferred to canvas.