The Mona Lisa, on display at the Musée du Louvre in Paris, France, is the most popular painting by Leonardo Da Vinci and some contend it is the most popular painting worldwide. The attack against the Mona Lisa isn’t the first time someone has tried to damage or destroy it. In 1974 another woman used red spray paint on the painting when it was on tour in Tokyo, Japan. However, like with the recent attack, the Mona Lisa had a protective clear shield around it. In 1956 the painting faced two attacks. One was an attack that severely damaged a lower portion of the painting. The other attack was when a Bolivian man threw a rock at the painting and did do some very minor damage. Restoration was done in both cases.

The most famous incident involving the Mona Lisa was when it was stolen in 1911 and believed to be lost forever. Two years later they caught the person responsible (an employee where it was being displayed) when he tried to sell the painting.

Rembrandt was born in Netherlands in 1606.  He was born to a wealthy family, received fine schooling, and opened up his shop at the age of 19. Among all the famous artists that ever lived, perhaps Rembrandt is considered as one of the greatest, with famous works like the Night Watch and The Jew Bride. Rembrandt married in 1635 and was widowed in 1642.

Vincent Van Gogh, on the other hand, was born to a family in which art is the main business. Van Gogh originally wanted to be a minister. He failed in this aspect of his life and this caused him to sink into depression. As an aftermath of his failure in theology school, Van Gogh resorted to sketching and drawing, many of which are gone now.

Van Gogh was diagnosed by many psychiatrists in his life. In fact he is one of the famous artists that were diagnosed with several mental illnesses. In the books, it is said that Van Gogh suffered from schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, among other things. According to many, his mental condition was caused by mental fatigue, overwork, insomnia, and malnutrition.

Perhaps one can say that both artists made great contributions to the world of art. These artists are the best in their field and they well deserve to be in the limelight of history. Although it may be said that they did not live a happy life, one should not really expect that from artists.

One of the Picasso famous paintings is the Portrait of Gertrude Stein. This woman was a real person who lived between 1874 to 1946. She was an American writer who spent her life starting revolutions in the world of literature and art. Someone commented that Gertrude in the portrait did not look like her at all, to which, Picasso replied, “She will.”

Picasso then released another painting called Portrait of Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler, also now considered as one of e the Picasso famous paintings in the world. The painting looks like a wall of brick and mortar. It was in 1907 that Picasso joined the art gallery of Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler, who had enough business sense to keep it going. He was an art historian who turned into an art businessman. A German, he founded the Art Institute of Chicago in 1910, where he catapulted famous artists into fame like Picasso, Andre Breton, Alfred Jarry, Georges Braque, and more.

The last painting worth looking at is the Massacre in Korea. This was painted in 1951 to depict Picasso’s political views. The painting shows a group of naked women and children, some of them pregnant, about to be slaughtered by soldiers in armor, allegedly Napoleon’s men or soldiers. The work was considered under impressionist art and is much celebrated until now. It was during that period when people said that Picasso was getting closer to his communist ideology. The painting was said to be a protest against the Korean War.

There are three main divisions or types of abstract oil paintings: Abstract Expressionism, Abstract Cubism, and Abstract Neoplasticism.

Abstract Expressionism is very personal in a sense that it is a reflection of the painter’s thoughts and even personality. These thoughts are expressed in paint through spontaneous painting and this type of abstract painting was divided into two sub-groups. The first one is called Action Painting and the second one is called Color Field Painting. These paintings will show viewers how the artist moves while he was painting the masterpiece.

Abstract Cubism refers to abstract oil paintings that show geometrical figures. These figures represent what is on the artist’s thoughts. Commonly, these geometric figures are split and put together in forms that are not possible in reality. The third type, called Abstract Neoplasticism, is a principle that says that art should never be derivatives of the things we see on earth. Art should not be tangible and that art should be representation of absolute things in life.

Among the most famous oil paintings are the Mona Lisa of Leonardo da Vinci, Napoleon Crossing through the St. Bernard Pass by Jacques-Louis David, and Portrait of Dr. Gatchet by Vincent Van Gogh.

Everyone knows what the Mona Lsia is so there is no further discussion needed except that it was also know as La Gioconda. It was painted in the 16th century during the Italian Renaissance. The portrait depicts Lisa Gherardini, the wife of Francesco del Giocondo. The Napoleon Crossing through the St. Bernard Pass is an excellent painting by Jacques David. He lived between 1748-1825 abd he was a very influential French painter who specialized in neo-classical art.

Lastly, one of the most famous oil paintings of all times is the Portrait of Dr. Gatchet is a very sad image of a man painted by Van Gogh. It is now worth about 72 million dollars. It is a portrait of Dr. Paul Gatchet, one of the psychiatrist that took care of Vincent Van Gogh during the times he was diagnosed with schizophrenia and other serious mental conditions.  The famous painting shows a man sitting with his head leaning onto his right arm.

Renaissance means rebirth, referring to the cultural rebirth when it all started. This movement served as an inspiration to incite critical and revolutionary thinking and this was done through learning from the past. What happened in this era was that scholars searched old texts and attempted to learn the truth. Today, many scholars argue that famous art paintings of the Renaissance started in Italy before it moved to Europe. This revolution was felt mostly in the world of intellectualism, politics, science, philosophy, and art.

To some people, it is believed that the so-called Black Plague caused this intellectual revolution. Also called the Black Death, it was essentially a viral pandemic that infected and killed many people. As a result, the people of that time learned to value their lives more than anything else and tried to enrich their intellect and creativity. They valued their mortality more than anything else, realizing that life can be so short. The famous art paintings that were spawned in this era are the very manifestations of that cultural revolution.

The Nigh Watch, called De Nachtwacht in Dutch, was completed by Rembrandt in 1642. There are three key elements as to why this painting is so famous: first is its colossal size, next is the effective use of lighting and shadow balance, and the third is the perception of motion in what could have been a traditional two-dimensional and stationary painting.

The painting shows the movement of militia men led by Captain Frans Banning Cocq He is dressed in black and he is also with his lieutenant, Willem van Ruytenburch. One of the most famous paintings of Rembrandt, this is also noted as the most symbolic.

Another painting worthy of discussion is something from Vincent Van Gogh. One of his most famous paintings is The Potato Eaters. In Dutch, it is called De Aardappeleters. It ws painted in 1885 in Netherlands and is now housed in a museum in Amsterdam. The painting shows a family of peasants in their real livers. Van Gogh wanted to depict poverty and that these people use the same hand to toil, to eat, and to light their oil lamps.

Another painting from Van Gogh is the Starry Night, which, at first galnce, looks like psychedelic image. It was painted in 1889 showing a rotten bark of tree and stars that seem to move and spiral. It is called De sterrennacht in Dutch and it is a depiction of the skies i\outside his sanitatium room every night.

He was born in 1853 and it was not until 1880 when he decided to be an artist. Prior to this, he originally wanted to be a church minister. He failed theology school in 1878 and suffered a breakdown because he was a very religious man and really was devoted to become a preacher. He went back to his parents in 1881 and sketched lots of drawings, although majority of those etchings are now lost. It was during this time that he developed a romantic feeling for this cousin, Kee, and proposed marriage later on. He was refused because Kee’s father said that he was not yet able to sustain the finances of raising a family. As a result of devastation, Van Gogh fled to Hague.

People who will view artist paintings from Van Gogh (during his time) will notice that he painted or drew with water colors. The problem was, his work did not prove to be worthy of his uncle’s expectations when he committed himself as a full time painter. Van Gogh was disappointed but never stopped. He worked on very simple artist paintings like figures. He made several changes in his studio and improved his overall working environment. Finally, it was in 1883 that he focused on multi-figure paintings and compositions.

He was born in Leiden, Netherlands, to a middle class family in 1606. He went to a Latin school and started his painting career early in his life by becoming an apprentice to a famous painter in his time. At a very young age, about 19, he opened his own studio and started to craft historic paintings that are until now valued by millions of dollars.

Perhaps the most notable of Rembrandts historic paintings are the Night Watch and the Jewish Bride. The Night Watch is more popular and it is called De Nachtwacht in Dutch in its original title. It is very symbolic and depicted many things. Also called The Company in the museum where it is displayed, it is very famous for its three elements: the size, the use of shadow and light, and the motion. It was completed in 1642 and it shows a group of men led by a captain named Frans Banning Cocq.

The painting shows a traditional emblem of soldiers or Arquebusiers. There is a girl in yellow, who happens to act like a mascot, who carries the symbols in the painting. One would find chicken claws on her belt and these claws represent the soldiers. There is also a pistol behind the chicken and there is a man in the painting who has an oak leaf in his helmet.