The saying a picture is worth a thousand words is very applicable to famous paintings and their critical deconstruction. The artist might want to portray different meanings for different people. This is why paintings are much more complicated than they appear because of different viewers having different opinions. Sometimes it is much easier for artists to paint to express their emotions, and as Edward Hopper rightly says: ‘If I could say it in words, there would be no reason to paint.’ Many works of art have also inspired novels to be written based on the paintings, which later are also developed into movies, such as ‘The Da Vinci Code’. Below you will find a list of some of the most famous painting as well as the stories behind them.
- Girl with a Pearl Earring
This painting was drawn by the artist Johannes Vermeer in the year 1665. Her gaze has left art enthusiasts impressed since the painting appearing in the late 19th century. However, it is all a mystery since we do not know much about the woman that modelled for this portrait. The only suggestions were that the woman might be the daughter or the mistress of Vermeer. Nonetheless, the image does not highlight the importance of the actual person in the painting, but the turban that is worn, seen as an idealized image in exotic clothing.
- Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee
This painting was drawn by the artist Rembrandt van Rijn in the year 1633. It was later purchased by an art enthusiast, Isabella Stewart Gardener, in 1898. This piece of art was showcased in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston before it was stolen along with other important artwork valued at around half a billion in the year 1990.
- The Cardsharps
This painting was drawn by the artist Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio around 1594. The painting was the turning point of Caravaggio’s career as his very first independent piece. The Cardsharps provides a glimpse of the gambling culture of those days with a boy playing card with another boy who has some extra cards tucked in his belt. Nowadays, one can compare this scenario to nowadays’ gambling world, which mainly consist of online casinos as can be seen at MrCasinova.com.
- Self Portrait with Bandaged Ear
This painting was drawn by the artist Vincent van Gogh in the year 1889. This art is well known for having severed his very own ear. When van Gogh heard the news of his friends impending departure, he cut off his own ear, wrapped it in a newspaper and handed it to a local prostitute for safekeeping. This painting depicts the artist himself in a studio with his right side of his head wrapped in a cloth. This painting is known to be inconsistent since it is known that in reality, it was his left ear that was removed. However, it is known that it is his inverted reflection perceived by the artist himself looking in a mirror.
- The Scream
This painting was drawn by the artist Edvard Munch in the year 1893. This masterpiece is widely interpreted as the response to the pressures experienced in modern life. Originally, this painting had a completely different intent and was titles ‘The Shriek of Nature’. This painting was stolen in 1994 from the Oslo National Gallery and recovered some months later.
