Masterpieces
The world's most famous paintings: where they are today
A hundred paintings that need no introduction, and where each is receiving today: the museum, the city, the room, and the day it was checked. The order is fame: the more Wikipedias write about a painting, the higher it stands.
54of 100 on view today
Museums: 14 · cities: 9
The first ten
Mona Lisa
Leonardo da Vincifirst quarter of the 16th century (1503–1519)
On viewSalle 711, Aile Denon, Niveau 1
The Mona Lisa is a half-length portrait painting by the Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci.
The Starry Night
Vincent van GoghSaint Rémy, June 1889
The Museum of Modern ArtNew York
On viewMoMA, Floor 5, 501
The Starry Night is an oil-on-canvas painting by the Dutch Post-Impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh. Painted in June 1889, it depicts the view from the east-facing window of his asylum room at Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, just before sunrise, with the addition of an imaginary village.
Liberty Leading the People
Eugène Delacroixsecond quarter of the 19th century (1830)
On viewSalle 700, Aile Denon, Niveau 1
Liberty Leading the People (French: La Liberté guidant le peuple ) is a painting of the Romantic era by the French artist Eugène Delacroix, commemorating the July Revolution of 1830 that toppled King Charles X (r. 1824–1830).
The Night Watch
On viewRoom 2.31 · Night Watch Gallery
Militia Company of District II under the Command of Captain Frans Banninck Cocq, also known as The Shooting Company of Frans Banning Cocq and Willem van Ruytenburch, but commonly referred to as The Night Watch (Dutch: De Nachtwacht), is a 1642 painting by Rembrandt van Rijn.
The Death of Socrates
The Metropolitan Museum of ArtNew York
On viewGallery 634
The Death of Socrates (French: La Mort de Socrate) is an oil on canvas painted by French painter Jacques-Louis David in 1787.
L'Origine du monde
Gustave Courbet1866
On view? Unknown
L'Origine du monde ("The Origin of the World") is a picture painted in oil on canvas by the French painter Gustave Courbet in 1866. It is a close-up view of the vulva and abdomen of a naked woman, lying on a bed with legs spread.
The Persistence of Memory
Salvador Dalí1931
The Museum of Modern ArtNew York
On viewMoMA, Floor 5, 517
The Persistence of Memory (Catalan: La persistència de la memòria, Spanish: La persistencia de la memoria) is a 1931 painting by artist Salvador Dalí and one of the most recognizable works of Surrealism.
The Raft of the Medusa
Théodore Géricaultfirst quarter of the 19th century (1818–1819)
On viewSalle 700, Aile Denon, Niveau 1
The Raft of the Medusa (French: Le Radeau de la Méduse )—originally titled Scène de Naufrage (Shipwreck Scene)—is an oil painting of 1818–1819 by the French Romantic painter and lithographer Théodore Géricault (1791–1824).
Reply of the Zaporozhian Cossacks
Ilya Repin1880–1891
State Russian MuseumSaint Petersburg
On viewMikhaylovskiy dvorets, Zal 34. I. Ye. Repin. Zaporozhtsy
American Gothic
Grant Wood1930
Art Institute of ChicagoChicago
On viewGallery 263
American Gothic is a 1930 oil painting on beaverboard by the American Regionalist artist Grant Wood, depicting a Midwestern farmer and his daughter standing in front of their Carpenter Gothic style home.
And 90 more
Luncheon on the Grass
Édouard Manet1863
On view? Unknown
The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp
On view? Unknown
The Milkmaid
Johannes Vermeerc. 1660
On view? Unknown
Arnolfini Portrait
Jan van Eyck1434
On view? Unknown
Olympia
Édouard Manet1863
On view? Unknown
The Oath of the Horatii
Jacques-Louis Davidlast quarter of the 18th century (1784)
On viewSalle 702, Aile Denon, Niveau 1
![Ginevra de' Benci [obverse], Leonardo da Vinci](https://api.nga.gov/iiif/8f29e3c9-a289-4d53-abf0-31a66e9e98fa/full/!400,400/0/default.jpg)
Ginevra de' Benci [obverse]
Leonardo da Vincic. 1474/1478
National Gallery of ArtWashington, D.C.
On viewGallery 6 · West Building, Main Floor
View of Delft
Johannes Vermeerc. 1660s
On view? Unknown
The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne
Leonardo da Vincifirst quarter of the 16th century (c. 1503–1519)
On viewSalle 710, Aile Denon, Niveau 1
Nighthawks
Edward Hopper1942
Art Institute of ChicagoChicago
On viewGallery 262
Benois Madonna
Leonardo da Vinci15th century
State Hermitage MuseumSaint Petersburg
On viewRoom 214
The Coronation of Gabo Napoleon
Jacques-Louis Davidfirst quarter of the 19th century (1807)
On viewSalle 702, Aile Denon, Niveau 1
Black Square
1915
On view? Unknown
The Red Vineyard
Vincent van Gogh1888
Pushkin State Museum of Fine ArtsMoscow
On view? Unknown
The Yellow House
Vincent van Gogh1888
On view? Unknown
The Church at Auvers
Vincent van Gogh1890
On view? Unknown
A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte
Georges Seurat1884–86, border added 1888–89
Art Institute of ChicagoChicago
On viewGallery 240
Les Demoiselles d'Avignon
Pablo PicassoParis, June-July 1907
The Museum of Modern ArtNew York
On viewMoMA, Floor 5, 502
Barge Haulers on the Volga
Ilya Repin1870–1873
State Russian MuseumSaint Petersburg
On viewMikhaylovskiy dvorets, Zal 33. I. Ye. Repin. Nachalo. Burlaki
The Ninth Wave
Ivan Aivazovsky1850
State Russian MuseumSaint Petersburg
On viewMikhaylovskiy dvorets, Zal 14. Akademicheskiy zal. K. P. Bryullov, I. K. Ayvazovskiy
La Belle Ferronnière
Leonardo da Vincilast quarter of the 15th century (c. 1490–1497)
Not on view
Saint John the Baptist
Leonardo da Vincifirst quarter of the 16th century (c. 1508–1519)
On viewSalle 710, Aile Denon, Niveau 1
Grande Odalisque
Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingresfirst quarter of the 19th century (1814)
On viewSalle 702, Aile Denon, Niveau 1
The Ambassadors
Hans Holbein1533
On view? Unknown
Ivan the Terrible and his son Ivan on November 16, 1581
Ilya Repin1883
On view? Unknown
The Astronomer
On viewSalle 837, Aile Richelieu, Niveau 2
A Burial at Ornans
Gustave Courbet2020
On view? Unknown
Ophelia
On view? Unknown
The Birth of Venus
William-Adolphe Bouguereau1879
On view? Unknown
Theotokos of Vladimir
1125
On view? Unknown
The Jewish Bride
Rembrandt van Rijnc. 1665 - c. 1669
On view? Unknown
The Little Street
Johannes Vermeerc. 1658
On view? Unknown
The Wedding at Cana
Paolo Veronese16th century (1500–1600)
On viewSalle 711, Aile Denon, Niveau 1
Whistler's Mother
James Abbott McNeill Whistler1871
On view? Unknown
Rokeby Venus
Diego Velázquez1644
On view? Unknown
Madonna Litta
State Hermitage MuseumSaint Petersburg
On viewRoom 214
Return of the Prodigal Son
c. 1668
State Hermitage MuseumSaint Petersburg
On view? Unknown
Morning in a Pine Forest
Ivan Shishkin1889
On view? Unknown
Death of Sardanapalus
Eugène Delacroixsecond quarter of the 19th century (1827)
On viewSalle 700, Aile Denon, Niveau 1
L'Absinthe
Edgar Degas1875
On view? Unknown
The Painter's Studio
Gustave Courbet1855
On view? Unknown
The Hay Wain
John Constable1821
On view? Unknown
A Young Girl Reading
Jean-Honoré Fragonardc. 1769
National Gallery of ArtWashington, D.C.
On viewGallery 55 · West Building, Main Floor
The Massacre at Chios
Eugène Delacroixfirst quarter of the 19th century (1824)
On viewSalle 700, Aile Denon, Niveau 1
The Source
Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres1856
On view? Unknown
Supper at Emmaus
Caravaggio1601
On view? Unknown
Woman Holding a Balance
Johannes Vermeerc. 1664
National Gallery of ArtWashington, D.C.
On viewGallery 50A · West Building, Main Floor
Danaë
State Hermitage MuseumSaint Petersburg
On viewRoom 254
Portrait of an Unknown Woman
Ivan Kramskoi1883
On view? Unknown
The Sleeping Gypsy
Henri Rousseau1897
The Museum of Modern ArtNew York
On viewMoMA, Floor 5, 501
The Barque of Dante
Eugène Delacroixfirst quarter of the 19th century (1822)
On viewSalle 700, Aile Denon, Niveau 1
Death of the Virgin
Caravaggioearly 17th century (c. 1601–1606)
On viewSalle 712, Aile Denon, Niveau 1
The Turkish Bath
Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingresthird quarter of the 19th century (1862)
On viewSalle 940, Aile Sully, Niveau 2
The Balcony
Édouard Manet1868
On view? Unknown
The Last Day of Pompeii
Karl Bryullov1833
State Russian MuseumSaint Petersburg
On viewMikhaylovskiy dvorets, Zal 14. Akademicheskiy zal. K. P. Bryullov, I. K. Ayvazovskiy
Venus and Mars
Sandro Botticellic. 1485
On view? Unknown
Campbell's Soup Cans
Andy Warhol1962
The Museum of Modern ArtNew York
On viewMoMA, Floor 4, 412
The Fortune Teller
Caravaggiolast quarter of the 16th century (c. 1595–1598)
On viewSalle 712, Aile Denon, Niveau 1
Madonna of Chancellor Rolin
Jan van Eycksecond quarter of the 15th century (c. 1430–1435)
On viewSalle 818, Aile Richelieu, Niveau 2
Madame X (Virginie Amélie Avegno Gautreau)
John Singer Sargent1883–84
The Metropolitan Museum of ArtNew York
On viewGallery 771
Belshazzar's Feast
On view? Unknown
Rain, Steam and Speed – The Great Western Railway
Joseph Mallord William Turner1843
On view? Unknown
The Gleaners
On view? Unknown
An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump
On view? Unknown
Woman in Blue Reading a Letter
Johannes Vermeerc. 1663
On view? Unknown
Ship of Fools
Hieronymus Boschlast quarter of the 15th century (1475–1500)
On viewSalle 815, Aile Richelieu, Niveau 2
Skull of a Skeleton with Burning Cigarette
Vincent van Gogh1884
On view? Unknown
Music in the Tuileries
Édouard Manet1862
On view? Unknown
Portrait of a Lady
Rogier van der Weydenc. 1460
National Gallery of ArtWashington, D.C.
On viewGallery 39 · West Building, Main Floor
Alba Madonna
Raphaelc. 1510
National Gallery of ArtWashington, D.C.
On viewGallery 20 · West Building, Main Floor
White House at Night
Vincent van Gogh1890
State Hermitage MuseumSaint Petersburg
On viewRoom 413
Washington Crossing the Delaware
The Metropolitan Museum of ArtNew York
On viewGallery 760
Garden at Sainte-Adresse
Claude Monet1867
The Metropolitan Museum of ArtNew York
On viewGallery 818
The Harvesters
The Metropolitan Museum of ArtNew York
On viewGallery 638
The Lacemaker
Johannes Vermeerthird quarter of the 17th century (c. 1669–1670)
On viewSalle 837, Aile Richelieu, Niveau 2
Woman with a Parrot
Gustave Courbet1866
The Metropolitan Museum of ArtNew York
On viewGallery 811
La Balançoire
On view? Unknown
Venus, Cupid, Folly and Time
Agnolo Bronzinoc. 1545
On view? Unknown
Dante and Virgil in Hell
William-Adolphe Bouguereau1850
On view? Unknown
Woman with a Water Jug
Johannes Vermeerca. 1662
The Metropolitan Museum of ArtNew York
On viewGallery 614
Aristotle with a Bust of Homer
The Metropolitan Museum of ArtNew York
On viewGallery 616
Woman with a Parasol - Madame Monet and Her Son
Claude Monet1875
National Gallery of ArtWashington, D.C.
On viewGallery 85 · West Building, Main Floor
The Lunch
Diego Velázquez1617
State Hermitage MuseumSaint Petersburg
On viewRoom 239
La Belle Jardinière
Raphaelfirst quarter of the 16th century (1507)
On viewSalle 710, Aile Denon, Niveau 1
The Woman in the Waves
Gustave Courbet1868
The Metropolitan Museum of ArtNew York
On viewGallery 811
The Intervention of the Sabine Women
Jacques-Louis Davidlast quarter of the 18th century (1799)
On viewSalle 702, Aile Denon, Niveau 1
The Dream of a Knight
Raphaelc. 1504
On view? Unknown
Women in the Garden
Claude Monet1866
On view? Unknown
The Fighting Temeraire
Joseph Mallord William Turner1839
On view? Unknown
Tahitian Women on the Beach
Paul Gauguin1890
On view? Unknown