Art is very much about personal taste. We know that from various reactions concerning different works of art that have appeared on public display. Some might not consider everything art. For instance, Tracey Emin’s My Bed that was first created in 1998 and then exhibited at the Tate Gallery in 1999 had many people wake up to the fact that art can come in all forms, but principally it is something which is created by either an imaginative mind or one focusing on detail. Emin’s work of art was shortlisted for the Turner Prize despite consisting of just her bed and bedroom objects in something of a disheveled state. It certainly gained a lot of media attention at the time.
So, let us consider not those controversial pieces of art necessarily, but instead, consider those that many would think of as masterpieces of the great painters.
The Last Supper
Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper is considered a masterpiece in the art world. The Italian artist’s 15th-century mural can be found housed in Milan, Italy, by the refectory of the Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie.
The painting is considered one of the most recognisable paintings in the whole of the western world. It depicts the final meal that Jesus would share with his disciples. It is pictured as taking place in an upper room in Jerusalem. Its religious connections may well explain its popularity as well as the fact that its painter is also famous for painting the Mona Lisa, another world-famous painting. The curiosity associated with the painting is due to its survival being thought of as something of a miracle because it was thought to be lost and has had its beauty brought back to life by restoration.
Celestial Eyes
The cover art for The Great Gatsby is easily one of the most famous book covers of all time. Painted by Francis Cugat in 1924, F. Scott Fitzgerald was so taken by the art that he wrote it into the novel itself. Book art has a tendency to become iconic due to its ability to saturate the public consciousness. Books are everywhere, on shelves, on coffee tables, in shops, in schools and adapted into films. This constant exposure to cover art means the cover of a book like The Great Gatsby is instantly recognisable to every generation. The work of book illustrators in Chicago and other cities is often some of the most celebrated within global culture, with illustrators like Quentin Blake, Beatrix Potter and Dr. Seuss all being arguably just as famous as any other artist known for their paintings.
The Starry Night
The Starry Night is the work of Vincent van Gogh, which automatically makes it a masterpiece along with his other famous paintings such as his Sunflowers. The popularity of astronomy and everyone’s fascination with the night sky only adds to the painting’s ongoing appeal.
It is an oil on canvas that was created in June 1889. The painting can currently be found at The Museum of Art in New York City, New York. This is on 53rd Street between the Fifth and Sixth Avenues.
The Starry Night is an abstract representation of the view that Van Gogh saw from the east-facing window of the asylum room he was in at Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. This was just before sunrise and adding in a village from Van Gogh’s imagination.
Going to the Match
- S. Lowry’s painting Going to the Match was painted in 1928. It is famous for the depiction of people as “matchstick men”, as they have become known.
The painting is famous for being the earliest known sports painting apart from representing the unique way Lowry painted people. It depicted crowds gathering for a rugby match that was about to take place. Going to the Match is owned by the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) and displayed at The Lowry, Salford alongside his preparatory pencil sketch that led to the final painting. It can be presumed that people might have been crazy about the sport at that time.
Even now, the sport is so well-known that people look to the canberra raiders shop to purchase t-shirts and other items. If it had been at this moment, the painting would have recorded supporters wearing their favorite teams’ jerseys while cheering them on.
Born in 1887, Laurence Stephen Lowry was an only child. In his 20s he was a rent collector, which was his main trade for four decades. He was never a full-time artist, yet produced works of art that many will admire for a long time. Artists and sports fans, alike.
Lowry’s popularity and stature as a great artist were confirmed in more modern times by Status Quo’s song ‘Pictures of Matchstick Men’ and a song originally released by Brian and Michael Burke in 1977, which was called ‘Matchstalk Men and Matchstalk Cats and Dogs’.
In conclusion, the three world-famous paintings above are all considered the product of great masters in painting. Those are ones created by artists whose names simply roll off the tongue in conversation, and are continually talked about in schools and art colleges. Art investment is huge today. It has always been a look upon with great awe and inspiration. It is also getting into the digital sphere. With new technologies like nft utility and companies that host platform for art curators and collectors, the field of artwork seem to hold great value in the current generation. Some of the fields of works that utilize art are photography, web designing, and the gaming industry (especially those online games that actually pay you) to name a few. Artists and their work make the world a lot more beautiful to behold.
Those wealthy enough will desire to own such a work, although many of these famous paintings remain in galleries and on public display around the world for art lovers to enjoy.