4 of the Most Famous Art Pieces from Around the World

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Art defines cultures, attitudes, religions, and social thinking from throughout history.
While all art is important, this post will go over four of the most well known and famous art pieces from around the world. What defines art? Many believe that art and what makes beautiful art is completely subjective.
It’s in the eyes of the beholder with different people finding different pieces beautiful and intriguing. However, there are also universally beloved and revered pieces of art that enrapture viewers around the world.
Certain famous art pieces are famous because of their beauty, their symbolism, their history, and their representations of many cultures and ideologies. In this post, we’re going to go over 4 of the most famous art pieces from around the world.
This ranges from paintings to sculptures to cave carvings to give you a scope of the variety and impact art can have on many people and cultures. Let’s get started.
1. Ellora Caves The Ellora Caves are arguably the most famous multicultural art “installations” that aren’t always considered art.
These “caves” are actually a collection of 34 monestaries and temples in a 2 kilometer area carved directly into the walls of basalt cliffs in India. It’s estimated that these carvings and buildings date back to 600 AD, which gives us a unique look into ancient civilization and art of the time.
This transcultural art shows the influence of a number of religions including Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism. All of these influences are seen in the building types: the Buddhist temples and monasteries are more minimal with simple and intricate designs while the Hindu buildings display complex carvings, stories, sculptures, and religious representations.
You’ll also see a lot of buildings with multiple influences in one place with the Vishvakarma cave (cave 10) having both Hindu and Buddhist influences The closeness of all of these cultures and religions in the Ellora Caves represents the open-mindedness, closeness, and acceptance that was likely seen in these ancient civilizations. 2. Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci No “famous art pieces” list would be complete without the (arguably) most famous painting ever created: the Mona Lisa.
Over 6 million people visit the Mona Lisa every year. It’s thought to depict Francesco di Bartolomeo del Giocondo’s wife who was a wealthy merchant during that time period.  Why is it so well loved? For starters, it isn’t confirmed who the portrait is of.
While many believe it was Giocondo’s wife, others speculate it was a lover of da Vinci, da Vinci’s mother, or even a type of self-portrait. This has sparked a lot of mystery and speculation, especially with fascination about da Vinci himself and his connection to conspiracy theories and books like The da Vinci Code.  Her expression is also interesting since she appears sad but smiling.
Her clothing isn’t fashionable based on that time period and more represents a classic look. The dark and dreary backdrop combined with the wealth and the soft smile provides and interesting dichotomy that has fascinated people for years.
It also shaped portrait painting for the rest of history, which shows how big of an impact this painting has.  3. The Thinker by Auguste Rodin From carvings to paintings and now a sculpture we come to The Thinker by Auguste Rodin.
This 20 foot tall bronze sculpture shows a man crouched and deep in thought. Thought to represent philosophy, it was originally going to be placed in the larger piece of Rodin’s called The Gates of Hell but eventually became a separate independent work.  People are enraptured by this piece because of its size and power.
The man in the sculpture is muscular and obviously capable of taking action is instead lost in thought using his mind instead of his brute power. This has obviously resonated with people all over the world as it’s constantly exhibited with smaller versions a popular purchase for art collectors.
4. Self Portrait, 1948, by Frida Kahlo Frida Kahlo is one of the most famous female artists and one of the most famous artists of color in the world.
The Frida Kahlo museum gets over 25,000 visitors each and every month.  Frida was a Mexican painter who is most famous for her various self portraits the incorporate Mexican culture, social commentary, and folk art style to comment on gender, class, race, and Mexican society in particular.  Because of this, her art (and herself) has become a symbol of feminism, the LGBTQ+ movement, and class equality. Her 1948 self portrait is one of her most famous.
It depicts her crying face in a lace collar. She’s included her dark lip hair and her dark eyebrows, which is thought to symbolize a stand against traditional societal pushes of femininity for women.  The lace around her face is markedly feminine, but the expression on her face and the tight fit of the color makes her appear trapped and uncomfortable, which is also gender-based commentary.
Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com Siona Benjamin is a globally recognized artist specializing in multicultural art. She has multiple degrees and has travelled around the world making and speaking about art..