Classic paintings. What main genres of painting do you know? “Where did we come from? Who are we? Where are we going?"

“Every portrait painted with feeling is, in essence, a portrait of the artist, and not of the one who posed for him” Oscar Wilde

What does it take to be an artist? A simple imitation of a work cannot be considered art. Art is something that comes from within. The author's idea, passion, search, desires and sorrows, which are embodied on the artist's canvas. Throughout the history of mankind, hundreds of thousands, and perhaps millions of paintings have been painted. Some of them are truly masterpieces, known all over the world, even people who have nothing to do with art know them. Is it possible to identify the 25 most outstanding among such paintings? The task is very difficult, but we tried...

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"The Persistence of Memory", Salvador Dali

Thanks to this painting, Dali became famous at a fairly young age, he was 28 years old. The painting has several other titles - “Soft Hours”, “Hardness of Memory”. This masterpiece has attracted the attention of many art critics. Basically, they were interested in the interpretation of the painting. It is said that the idea behind Dali's painting is related to Einstein's theory of relativity.

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"Dance", Henri Matisse

Henri Matisse was not always an artist. He discovered his love for painting after receiving a law degree in Paris. He studied art so zealously that he became one of greatest artists in the world. This painting has very little negative criticism from art critics. It reflects a combination of pagan rituals, dance and music. People dance in a trance. Three colors - green, blue and red, symbolize Earth, Sky and Humanity.

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"The Kiss", Gustav Klimt

Gustav Klimt was often criticized for the nudity in his paintings. "The Kiss" was noticed by critics as it merged all forms of art. The painting could be a depiction of the artist himself and his lover, Emilia. Klimt wrote this painting under the influence Byzantine mosaic. The Byzantines used gold in their paintings. Likewise, Gustav Klimt mixed gold in his paints to create his own style of painting.

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"Sleeping Gypsy", Henri Rousseau

No one except Rousseau himself could describe this picture better. Here is his description - “a nomadic gypsy who sings her songs to the accompaniment of a mandolin, sleeps on the ground from fatigue, her jug ​​of drinking water lies nearby. A lion passing by came up to sniff her, but did not touch her. Everything is bathed in moonlight, a very poetic atmosphere.” It is noteworthy that Henri Rousseau is self-taught.

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"The Last Judgment", Hieronymus Bosch

Without further ado, the picture is simply magnificent. This triptych is the largest surviving painting by Bosch. The left wing shows the story of Adam and Eve. The central part is " doomsday"from Jesus' side - who should go to heaven and who should go to hell. The earth we see here is burning. The right wing depicts a disgusting image of hell.

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Everyone knows Narcissus from Greek mythology- a man who was obsessed with his appearance. Dali wrote his own interpretation of Narcissus.

This is the story. The beautiful young man Narcissus easily broke the hearts of many girls. The gods intervened and, to punish him, showed him his reflection in the water. The narcissist fell in love with himself and eventually died because he was never able to embrace himself. Then the Gods regretted doing this to him and decided to immortalize him in the form of a narcissus flower.

On the left side of the picture is Narcissus looking at his reflection. After which he fell in love with himself. The right panel shows the events that unfolded after, including the resulting flower, the daffodil.

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The plot of the film is based on the biblical massacre of the infants in Bethlehem. After the birth of Christ became known from the wise men, King Herod ordered the killing of all small male children and infants in Bethlehem. In the picture, the massacre is at its peak, the last few children, who were taken from their mothers, await their merciless death. Also visible are the corpses of children, for whom everything is already behind them.

Thanks to the use of rich color range, Rubens' painting has become a world-famous masterpiece.

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Pollock's work is very different from other artists. He placed his canvas on the ground and moved around and around the canvas, dripping paint from above onto the canvas using sticks, brushes and syringes. Thanks to this unique technology V artistic circles he was nicknamed "Jack the Sprinkler." For some time, this painting held the title of the most expensive painting in the world.

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Also known as "Dancing at Le Moulin de la Galette". This painting is considered one of Renoir's most joyful paintings. The idea of ​​the film is to show viewers the fun side of Parisian life. Upon closer examination of the painting, you can see that Renoir placed several of his friends on the canvas. Because the painting appears slightly blurred, it was initially criticized by Renoir's contemporaries.

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The plot is taken from the Bible. The painting “The Last Supper” depicts Christ’s last supper before his arrest. He had just spoken to his apostles and told them that one of them would betray him. All the apostles are saddened and tell him that it is, of course, not them. It was this moment that Da Vinci beautifully depicted through his vivid depiction. The great Leonardo took four years to complete this painting.

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Monet's "Water Lilies" can be found everywhere. You've probably seen them on wallpaper, posters and art magazine covers. The fact is that Monet was obsessed with lilies. Before he started painting them, he grew countless numbers of these flowers. Monet built a bridge in Japanese style in his garden over a lily pond. He was so pleased with what he had achieved that he drew this plot seventeen times in one year.

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There is something sinister and mysterious in this picture; there is an aura of fear around it. Only such a master as Munch was able to depict fear on paper. Munch made four versions of The Scream in oil and pastel. According to the entries in Munch's diary, it is quite clear that he himself believed in death and spirits. In the painting “The Scream,” he depicted himself at the moment when one day, while walking with friends, he felt fear and excitement, which he wanted to paint.

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The painting, which is usually mentioned as a symbol of motherhood, was not supposed to become one. It is said that Whistler's model, who was supposed to sit for the painting, did not show up, and he decided to paint his mother instead. We can say that this is depicted sad life the artist's mother. This mood is due to the dark colors that are used in this painting.

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Picasso met Dora Maar in Paris. They say that she was intellectually closer to Picasso than all his previous mistresses. Using Cubism, Picasso was able to convey movement in his work. It seems that Maar's face turns to the right, towards Picasso's face. The artist made the woman's presence almost real. Maybe he wanted to feel like she was there, always.

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Van Gogh wrote Starry Night while undergoing treatment, where he was only allowed to paint while his condition improved. Earlier in the same year, he cut off his left earlobe. Many considered the artist crazy. From the entire collection of Van Gogh's works " Starlight Night" gained its greatest fame, perhaps due to the unusual spherical light around the stars.

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In this painting, Manet recreated Titian's Venus of Urbino. The artist had notoriety, depicting prostitutes. Although gentlemen at that time visited courtesans quite often, they did not think that anyone would take it into their heads to paint them. Then it was preferable for artists to paint pictures of historical, mythical or biblical themes. However, Manet, going against the criticism, showed the audience their contemporary.

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This painting - historical painting, which depicts Napoleon's conquest of Spain.

Having received an order for paintings depicting the struggle of the people of Spain against Napoleon, the artist did not paint heroic and pathetic canvases. He chose the moment when the Spanish rebels were shot by French soldiers. Each of the Spaniards experiences this moment in their own way, some have already resigned themselves, but for others the main battle has just arrived. War, blood and death, that's what Goya actually depicted.

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It is believed that the girl depicted is eldest daughter Vermeer, Maria. Its features are present in many of his works, but they are difficult to compare. A book with the same title was written by Tracy Chevalier. But Tracy has a completely different version of who is depicted in this picture. She claims that she took this topic because there is very little information about Vermeer and his paintings, and this particular painting exudes a mysterious atmosphere. Later, a film was made based on her novel.

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The exact title of the painting is “Performance of the Rifle Company of Captain Frans Banning Cock and Lieutenant Willem van Ruytenburg.” The Rifle Society was a civilian militia that was called upon to defend the city. In addition to the militia, Rembrandt added several extra people to the composition. Considering that he bought an expensive house while painting this picture, it may well be true that he received a huge fee for The Night's Watch.

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Although the painting contains an image of Velázquez himself, it is not a self-portrait. The main character of the canvas is Infanta Margarita, daughter of King Philip IV. This depicts the moment when Velazquez, working on a portrait of the king and queen, is forced to stop and look at the Infanta Margarita, who has just entered the room with her retinue. The painting looks almost alive, arousing curiosity in the audience.

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This is the only painting by Bruegel that was painted in oil rather than tempera. There are still doubts about the authenticity of the painting, mainly for two reasons. Firstly, he did not paint in oils, and secondly, recent research has shown that under the layer of painting there is a schematic drawing of poor quality that does not belong to Bruegel.

The painting depicts the story of Icarus and the moment of his fall. According to myth, Icarus' feathers were attached with wax, and because Icarus rose very close to the sun, the wax melted and he fell into the water. This landscape inspired W. Hugh Auden to write his most famous poem on the same topic.

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The School of Athens is perhaps the most famous fresco Italian artist Renaissance, Raphael.

In this fresco at the School of Athens, all the great mathematicians, philosophers and scientists have gathered under one roof, sharing their theories and learning from each other. All the heroes lived in different time, but Raphael placed them all in one room. Some of the figures are Aristotle, Plato, Pythagoras and Ptolemy. A closer look reveals that this painting also contains a self-portrait of Raphael himself. Every artist would like to leave their mark, the only difference is the form. Although maybe he considered himself one of these great figures?

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Michelangelo never considered himself an artist, he always thought of himself more as a sculptor. But, he managed to create an amazing, exquisite fresco that the whole world is in awe of. This masterpiece is on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. Michelangelo was commissioned to paint several Bible stories, one of which is the creation of Adam. In this picture the sculptor in Michelangelo is clearly visible. Human body Adam is conveyed with incredible accuracy using bright colors and precise muscle shape. So, we can agree with the author, after all, he is more of a sculptor.

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"Mona Lisa", Leonardo da Vinci

Although it is the most studied painting, the Mona Lisa still remains the most mysterious. Leonardo said that he never stopped working on it. Only his death, as they say, completed work on the canvas. "Mona Lisa" is the first Italian portrait in which the model is depicted from the waist up. Mona Lisa's skin appears to glow due to the use of several layers of transparent oils. Being scientists Leonardo da Vinci used all his knowledge to make the image of Mona Lisa realistic. As for who exactly is depicted in the painting, it still remains a mystery.

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The painting shows Venus, the goddess of love, floating on a shell in the wind, which is blown by Zephyr, the god of the west wind. She is met on the shore by Ora, the goddess of the seasons, who is ready to dress the newborn deity. The model for Venus is considered to be Simonetta Cattaneo de Vespucci. Simonetta Cattaneo died at 22, and Botticelli wished to be buried next to her. Connected him with her unrequited love. This painting is the most exquisite work of art ever created.

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Conclusion

This was an article TOP 25 most famous paintings in the world. Thank you for your attention!

Almost every significant work of art contains a mystery, a “double bottom” or secret history, which I want to reveal.

Music on the buttocks

Hieronymus Bosch, "The Garden" earthly pleasures", 1500-1510.

Fragment of part of a triptych

Disputes about the meanings and hidden meanings of the most famous work of the Dutch artist have not subsided since its appearance. The right wing of the triptych called “Musical Hell” depicts sinners who are tortured in the underworld with the help of musical instruments. One of them has music notes stamped on his buttocks. Oklahoma Christian University student Amelia Hamrick, who studied the painting, translated the 16th-century notation into modern style and recorded “a 500-year-old ass song from hell.”

Nude Mona Lisa

The famous "La Gioconda" exists in two versions: the nude version is called "Monna Vanna", it was painted by the little-known artist Salai, who was a student and sitter of the great Leonardo da Vinci. Many art historians are sure that it was he who was the model for Leonardo’s paintings “John the Baptist” and “Bacchus”. There are also versions that dressed up as women's dress Salai served as the image of the Mona Lisa herself.

Old Fisherman

In 1902, the Hungarian artist Tivadar Kostka Csontvary painted the painting “The Old Fisherman”. It would seem that there is nothing unusual in the picture, but Tivadar put into it a subtext that was never revealed during the artist’s lifetime.

Few people thought of placing a mirror in the middle of the picture. In each person there can be both God (the Old Man's right shoulder is duplicated) and the Devil (the Old Man's left shoulder is duplicated).

Was there a whale?

Hendrik van Antonissen, Shore Scene.

It would seem like an ordinary landscape. Boats, people on the shore and a deserted sea. And only an X-ray study showed that people gathered on the shore for a reason - in the original they were looking at the carcass of a whale washed ashore.

However, the artist decided that no one would want to look at a dead whale, and rewrote the painting.

Two "Breakfasts on the Grass"

Edouard Manet, "Luncheon on the Grass", 1863.

Claude Monet, "Luncheon on the Grass", 1865.

The artists Edouard Manet and Claude Monet are sometimes confused - after all, they were both French, lived at the same time and worked in the style of impressionism. Monet even borrowed the title of one of Manet’s most famous paintings, “Luncheon on the Grass,” and wrote his own “Luncheon on the Grass.”

Doubles at the Last Supper

Leonardo da Vinci, "The Last Supper", 1495-1498.

When Leonardo da Vinci wrote The Last Supper, he gave special meaning two figures: Christ and Judas. He spent a very long time looking for models for them. Finally, he managed to find a model for the image of Christ among the young singers. Leonardo was unable to find a model for Judas for three years. But one day he came across a drunkard on the street who was lying in a gutter. He was a young man who had been aged by heavy drinking. Leonardo invited him to a tavern, where he immediately began to paint Judas from him. When the drunkard came to his senses, he told the artist that he had already posed for him once. It was several years ago, when he sang in the church choir, Leonardo painted Christ from him.

"Night Watch" or "Day Watch"?

Rembrandt, "Night Watch", 1642.

One of Rembrandt’s most famous paintings, “The Performance of the Rifle Company of Captain Frans Banning Cock and Lieutenant Willem van Ruytenburg,” hung in different rooms for about two hundred years and was discovered by art historians only in the 19th century. Since the figures seemed to be protruding dark background, it was called “Night Watch”, and under this name it entered the treasury of world art.

And only during the restoration carried out in 1947, it was discovered that in the hall the painting had managed to become covered with a layer of soot, which distorted its color. After clearing the original painting, it was finally revealed that the scene represented by Rembrandt actually takes place during the day. The position of the shadow from Captain Kok's left hand shows that the duration of action is no more than 14 hours.

Overturned boat

Henri Matisse, "The Boat", 1937.

At the New York Museum contemporary art in 1961, Henri Matisse's painting "The Boat" was exhibited. Only after 47 days did someone notice that the painting was hanging upside down. The canvas depicts 10 purple lines and two blue sails on a white background. The artist painted two sails for a reason; the second sail is a reflection of the first on the surface of the water.
In order not to make a mistake in how the picture should hang, you need to pay attention to the details. The larger sail should be the top of the painting, and the peak of the painting's sail should be toward the top right corner.

Deception in self-portrait

Vincent van Gogh, "Self-Portrait with a Pipe", 1889.

There are legends that Van Gogh allegedly cut off his own ear. Now the most reliable version is that van Gogh damaged his ear in a small brawl involving another artist, Paul Gauguin.

The self-portrait is interesting because it reflects reality in a distorted form: the artist is depicted with his right ear bandaged because he used a mirror when working. In fact, it was the left ear that was affected.

Alien bears

Ivan Shishkin, "Morning in the Pine Forest", 1889.

The famous painting belongs not only to Shishkin. Many artists who were friends with each other often resorted to “the help of a friend,” and Ivan Ivanovich, who painted landscapes all his life, was afraid that his touching bears would not turn out the way he wanted. Therefore, Shishkin turned to his friend, the animal artist Konstantin Savitsky.

Savitsky painted perhaps the best bears in the history of Russian painting, and Tretyakov ordered his name to be washed off the canvas, since everything in the picture “from concept to execution, everything speaks about the manner of painting, about creative method, characteristic of Shishkin."

The innocent story of "Gothic"

Grant Wood, " American Gothic", 1930.

Grant Wood's work is considered one of the most strange and depressing in the history of American painting. The picture with the gloomy father and daughter is filled with details that indicate the severity, puritanism and retrograde nature of the people depicted.
In fact, the artist did not intend to depict any horrors: during a trip to Iowa, he noticed a small house in gothic style and decided to portray those people who, in his opinion, would be ideal as inhabitants. Grant's sister and his dentist are immortalized as the characters Iowans were so offended by.

Salvador Dali's Revenge

The painting "Figure at a Window" was painted in 1925, when Dali was 21 years old. At that time, Gala had not yet entered the artist’s life, and his muse was his sister Ana Maria. The relationship between brother and sister deteriorated when he wrote in one of the paintings “sometimes I spit on the portrait of my own mother, and this gives me pleasure.” Ana Maria could not forgive such shocking behavior.

In her 1949 book, Salvador Dali Through the Eyes of a Sister, she writes about her brother without any praise. The book infuriated Salvador. For another ten years after that, he angrily remembered her at every opportunity. And so, in 1954, the painting “A Young Virgin Indulging in the Sin of Sodomy with the Help of the Horns of Her Own Chastity” appeared. The woman’s pose, her curls, the landscape outside the window and the color scheme of the painting clearly echo “Figure at the Window.” There is a version that Dali took revenge on his sister for her book.

Two-faced Danae

Rembrandt Harmens van Rijn, "Danae", 1636 - 1647.

Many secrets of one of Rembrandt's most famous paintings were revealed only in the 60s of the twentieth century, when the canvas was illuminated with X-rays. For example, filming showed that in an early version the face of the princess who entered into love affair with Zeus, it was similar to the face of Saskia, the painter’s wife, who died in 1642. In the final version of the painting, it began to resemble the face of Gertje Dirks, Rembrandt’s mistress, with whom the artist lived after the death of his wife.

Van Gogh's yellow bedroom

Vincent Van Gogh, "Bedroom in Arles", 1888 - 1889.

In May 1888, Van Gogh acquired a small workshop in Arles, in the south of France, where he escaped from those who did not understand him Parisian artists and critics. In one of the four rooms, Vincent sets up a bedroom. In October, everything is ready, and he decides to paint “Van Gogh’s Bedroom in Arles.” For the artist, the color and comfort of the room were very important: everything had to evoke thoughts of relaxation. At the same time, the picture is designed in alarming yellow tones.

Researchers of Van Gogh's work explain this by the fact that the artist took foxglove, a remedy for epilepsy, which causes serious changes in the patient's perception of color: the entire surrounding reality is painted in green and yellow tones.

Toothless perfection

Leonardo da Vinci, "Portrait of Lady Lisa del Giocondo", 1503 - 1519.

The generally accepted opinion is that the Mona Lisa is perfection and her smile is beautiful in its mystery. However, American art critic (and part-time dentist) Joseph Borkowski believes that, judging by her facial expression, the heroine has lost many teeth. While studying enlarged photographs of the masterpiece, Borkowski also discovered scars around her mouth. “She “smiles” like that precisely because of what happened to her,” the expert believes. “Her facial expression is typical of people who have lost their front teeth.”

Major on face control

Pavel Fedotov, "Major's Matchmaking", 1848.

The public, who first saw the painting “Major's Matchmaking,” laughed heartily: the artist Fedotov filled it with ironic details that were understandable to the audience of that time. For example, the major is clearly not familiar with the rules of noble etiquette: he showed up without the required bouquets for the bride and her mother. And her merchant parents dressed the bride herself in an evening ball gown, although it was daytime (all the lamps in the room were extinguished). The girl obviously tried on a low-cut dress for the first time, is embarrassed and tries to run away to her room.

Why is Liberty naked?

Ferdinand Victor Eugene Delacroix, "Freedom on the Barricades", 1830.

According to art critic Etienne Julie, Delacroix based the woman's face on the famous Parisian revolutionary - the laundress Anne-Charlotte, who went to the barricades after the death of her brother at the hands of royal soldiers and killed nine guardsmen. The artist depicted her with her breasts bare. According to his plan, this is a symbol of fearlessness and selflessness, as well as the triumph of democracy: the naked breast shows that Liberty, as a commoner, does not wear a corset.

Non-square square

Kazimir Malevich, "Black suprematist square", 1915.

In fact, “Black Square” is not black at all and not square at all: none of the sides of the quadrangle are parallel to any of its other sides, and to none of the sides of the square frame that frames the picture. And the dark color is the result of mixing various colors, among which there was no black. It is believed that this was not the author’s negligence, but a principled position, the desire to create a dynamic, mobile form.

Specialists from the Tretyakov Gallery discovered the author's inscription on the famous painting by Malevich. The inscription reads: “The battle of the blacks in the dark cave.” This phrase refers to the title of the humorous painting by the French journalist, writer and artist Alphonse Allais, “The Battle of Negroes in a Dark Cave in the Dead of Night,” which was a completely black rectangle.

Melodrama of the Austrian Mona Lisa

Gustav Klimt, "Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer", 1907.

One of Klimt's most significant paintings depicts the wife of the Austrian sugar magnate Ferdinad Bloch-Bauer. All of Vienna was discussing the stormy romance between Adele and the famous artist. The wounded husband wanted to take revenge on his lovers, but chose very unusual way: he decided to order a portrait of Adele from Klimt and force him to make hundreds of sketches until the artist began to vomit from her.

Bloch-Bauer wanted the work to last several years, so that the sitter could see how Klimt's feelings were fading. He made a generous offer to the artist, which he could not refuse, and everything turned out according to the scenario of the deceived husband: the work was completed in 4 years, the lovers had long since cooled off to each other. Adele Bloch-Bauer never knew that her husband was aware of her relationship with Klimt.

The painting that brought Gauguin back to life

Paul Gauguin, "Where do we come from? Who are we? Where are we going?", 1897-1898.

Gauguin's most famous painting has one peculiarity: it is “read” not from left to right, but from right to left, like the Kabbalistic texts in which the artist was interested. It is in this order that the allegory of human spiritual and physical life unfolds: from the birth of the soul (a sleeping child in the lower right corner) to the inevitability of the hour of death (a bird with a lizard in its claws in the lower left corner).

The painting was painted by Gauguin in Tahiti, where the artist escaped from civilization several times. But this time life on the island did not work out: total poverty led him to depression. Having finished the canvas, which was to become his spiritual testament, Gauguin took a box of arsenic and went to the mountains to die. However, he did not calculate the dose, and the suicide failed. The next morning, he swayed to his hut and fell asleep, and when he woke up, he felt a forgotten thirst for life. And in 1898, his business began to improve, and a brighter period began in his work.

112 proverbs in one picture

Pieter Bruegel the Elder, "Dutch Proverbs", 1559

Pieter Bruegel the Elder depicted a land inhabited by literal images of Dutch proverbs of those days. The painting contains approximately 112 recognizable idioms. Some of them are still used today, for example, such as: “swim against the current”, “banging your head against the wall”, “armed to the teeth” and “big fish eat little fish”.

Other proverbs reflect human stupidity.

Subjectivity of art

Paul Gauguin, "Breton Village in the Snow", 1894

Gauguin's painting "Breton Village in the Snow" was sold after the author's death for only seven francs and, moreover, under the name "Niagara Falls." The man holding the auction accidentally hung the painting upside down because he saw a waterfall in it.

Hidden picture

Pablo Picasso, "Blue Room", 1901

In 2008, infrared radiation revealed that hidden beneath the Blue Room was another image - a portrait of a man dressed in a suit with a bow tie and resting his head on his hand. “As soon as Picasso had a new idea, he took up his brush and brought it to life. But he did not have the opportunity to buy a new canvas every time a muse visited him,” art historian Patricia Favero explains a possible reason for this.

Unavailable Moroccans

Zinaida Serebryakova, “Naked”, 1928

One day Zinaida Serebryakova received a tempting offer - to go to creative journey to depict nude figures of oriental maidens. But it turned out that it was simply impossible to find models in those places. Zinaida's translator came to the rescue - he brought his sisters and fiancee to her. No one before or since has been able to capture closed oriental women naked.

Spontaneous insight

Valentin Serov, “Portrait of Nicholas II in a jacket,” 1900

For a long time, Serov could not paint a portrait of the Tsar. When the artist completely gave up, he apologized to Nikolai. Nikolai was a little upset, sat down at the table, stretching out his arms in front of him... And then it dawned on the artist - here is the image! A simple military man in an officer's jacket with clear and sad eyes. This portrait is considered the best depiction of the last emperor.

Another deuce

© Fedor Reshetnikov

The famous painting “Deuce Again” is only the second part of an artistic trilogy.

The first part is “Arrived on vacation.” Obviously a wealthy family, winter holidays, a joyful excellent student.

The second part is “A deuce again.” A poor family from the working-class outskirts, the height of the school year, a dejected idiot who again got a bad grade. In the upper left corner you can see the painting “Arrived for Vacation”.

The third part is “Re-examination”. Country house, summer, everyone is walking, one malicious ignoramus, who failed the annual exam, is forced to sit in four walls and cram. In the upper left corner you can see the painting “Deuce Again.”

How masterpieces are born

Joseph Turner, Rain, Steam and Speed, 1844

In 1842, Mrs. Simon traveled by train in England. Suddenly a heavy downpour began. The elderly gentleman sitting opposite her stood up, opened the window, stuck his head out and stared for about ten minutes. Unable to contain her curiosity, the woman also opened the window and began to look ahead. A year later, she discovered the painting “Rain, Steam and Speed” at an exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts and was able to recognize in it the same episode on the train.

Anatomy lesson from Michelangelo

Michelangelo, "The Creation of Adam", 1511

A pair of American neuroanatomy experts believe that Michelangelo actually left behind some anatomical illustrations in one of his most famous works. They believe that the right side of the painting depicts a huge brain. Surprisingly, you can even find complex components such as the cerebellum, optic nerves and pituitary gland. And the eye-catching green ribbon perfectly matches the location of the vertebral artery.

"The Last Supper" by Van Gogh

Vincent Van Gogh, Café Terrace at Night, 1888

Researcher Jared Baxter believes that Van Gogh’s painting “Cafe Terrace at Night” contains an encrypted dedication to Leonardo da Vinci’s “Last Supper.” In the center of the picture stands a waiter with long hair and in a white tunic reminiscent of the clothes of Christ, and around him there are exactly 12 cafe visitors. Baxter also draws attention to the cross located directly behind the waiter in white.

Dali's image of memory

Salvador Dali, "The Persistence of Memory", 1931

It is no secret that the thoughts that visited Dali during the creation of his masterpieces were always in the form of very realistic images, which the artist then transferred to canvas. Thus, according to the author himself, the painting “The Persistence of Memory” was painted as a result of associations that arose from the sight of processed cheese.

What is Munch screaming about?

Edvard Munch, "The Scream", 1893.

Munch spoke about the idea of ​​one of the most mysterious paintings in world painting: “I was walking along a path with two friends - the sun was setting - suddenly the sky turned blood red, I paused, feeling exhausted, and leaned against the fence - I looked at blood and flames over the bluish-black fjord and the city - my friends moved on, and I stood trembling with excitement, feeling the endless scream piercing nature." But what kind of sunset could frighten the artist so much?

There is a version that the idea of ​​​​"The Scream" was born to Munch in 1883, when several powerful eruptions of the Krakatoa volcano occurred - so powerful that they changed the temperature of the Earth's atmosphere by one degree. Copious amounts of dust and ash spread throughout to the globe, even reaching Norway. For several evenings in a row, the sunsets looked as if the apocalypse was about to come - one of them became a source of inspiration for the artist.

A writer among the people

Alexander Ivanov, "The Appearance of Christ to the People", 1837-1857.

Dozens of sitters posed for Alexander Ivanov for his main picture. One of them is known no less than the artist himself. In the background, among travelers and Roman horsemen who have not yet heard the sermon of John the Baptist, you can see a character in a robe tunic. Ivanov wrote it from Nikolai Gogol. The writer communicated closely with the artist in Italy, in particular on religious issues, and gave him advice during the painting process. Gogol believed that Ivanov “has long since died for the whole world, except for his work.”

Michelangelo's Gout

Raphael Santi, "The School of Athens", 1511.

Creating the famous fresco "The School of Athens", Raphael immortalized his friends and acquaintances in the images of ancient Greek philosophers. One of them was Michelangelo Buonarotti “in the role” of Heraclitus. For several centuries, the fresco kept the secrets of Michelangelo's personal life, and modern researchers have suggested that the artist's strangely angular knee indicates that he had a joint disease.

This is quite likely, given the peculiarities of the lifestyle and working conditions of Renaissance artists and Michelangelo’s chronic workaholism.

Mirror of the Arnolfini couple

Jan van Eyck, "Portrait of the Arnolfini couple", 1434

In the mirror behind the Arnolfini couple you can see the reflection of two more people in the room. Most likely, these are witnesses present at the conclusion of the contract. One of them is van Eyck, as evidenced by the Latin inscription placed, contrary to tradition, above the mirror in the center of the composition: “Jan van Eyck was here.” This is how contracts were usually sealed.

How a disadvantage turned into a talent

Rembrandt Harmens van Rijn, Self-Portrait at the Age of 63, 1669.

Researcher Margaret Livingston studied all of Rembrandt's self-portraits and discovered that the artist suffered from strabismus: in the images his eyes look in different directions, which is not observed in the portraits of other people by the master. The illness resulted in the artist being able to perceive reality in two dimensions better than people with normal vision. This phenomenon is called "stereo blindness" - the inability to see the world in 3D. But since the painter has to work with a two-dimensional image, this very flaw of Rembrandt could be one of the explanations for his phenomenal talent.

Sinless Venus

Sandro Botticelli, "Birth of Venus", 1482-1486.

Before the appearance of the "Birth of Venus" the image of a naked female body in painting it symbolized only the idea of ​​original sin. Sandro Botticelli was the first of the European painters to find nothing sinful in him. Moreover, art historians are sure that the pagan goddess of love symbolizes on the fresco Christian image: her appearance is an allegory of the rebirth of a soul that has undergone the rite of baptism.

Lute player or lute player?

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, "The Lute Player", 1596.

For a long time the painting was exhibited in the Hermitage under the title “The Lute Player”. Only at the beginning of the 20th century did art historians agree that the painting depicts a young man (probably Caravaggio’s acquaintance, the artist Mario Minniti, posed for him): on the notes in front of the musician one can see a recording of the bass line of Jacob Arkadelt’s madrigal “You know that I love you” . A woman could hardly make such a choice - it’s just hard on the throat. In addition, the lute, like the violin at the very edge of the picture, was considered a male instrument in Caravaggio’s era.

There are millions of paintings in the world that are created and shown in galleries and museums around the world. However, not all of them are as famous and recognizable as those listed below. Here is a list with photos of ten of the most famous paintings in the world.

Guernica

Guernica - famous painting Spanish artist Pablo Picasso, painted in May 1937. It is an oil painting in black and white, done at incredible speed - in just a month. The canvas, 3.5 m high and 7.8 m long, depicts scenes of death, violence, atrocity, suffering and helplessness. It is believed that the reason for its creation was the bombing of the city of the Basque Country - Guernica. Kept in the Reina Sofia Museum in Madrid, the capital of Spain.

Self-Portrait of Vincent van Gogh without a Beard is by far the most famous of the few portraits of Vincent van Gogh that depicts him without a beard. In total, Vincent Van Gogh painted more than 38 of his portraits. It is believed that the artist created this painting as a gift for his mother's birthday. Today it is one of the most expensive paintings of all time. It was sold for $71.5 million in 1998, and is now stored in private collection.

The night Watch

The Night Watch or “The Performance of the Rifle Company of Captain Frans Banning Cock and Lieutenant Willem van Ruytenburg” is a famous painting by the famous artist Rembrandt van Rijn, painted in 1642. It is one of the most famous Dutch paintings of the Golden Age. The canvas is famous for three characteristics: its colossal size (363 cm × 437 cm), its effective use of light and shadow, and its perception of movement. The painting is now kept in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.

Girl with a Pearl Earring is a famous painting by the Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer, painted around 1665. She is often called the Dutch or Northern Mona Lisa. Very little is known about the painting. According to one version, it depicts the artist’s daughter Maria. The canvas measures 44.5 × 39 cm and is now kept in the Mauritshuis Museum in The Hague, the Netherlands.

The Persistence of Memory is one of the most recognizable and famous paintings by the Spanish painter Salvador Dali. It was written in 1931. This small canvas (24x33 cm) was first shown at the Julien Levy Gallery in 1932. Now kept in the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

Scream

The Scream is a famous painting painted by Norwegian expressionist artist Edvard Munch in 1893. This is the most famous of the four oil versions of The Scream that the artist created between 1893 and 1910, using various techniques. Stored in National Museum Norway.

Starlight Night

Starry Night is a famous painting painted by post-impressionist Vincent van Gogh in June 1889. Considered one of his best works, as well as one of the most famous in history. Western culture. Kept in the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

The Creation of Adam - famous fresco Italian master Renaissance painting by Michelangelo, painted around 1511. Forms part of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and illustrates the biblical account from the Book of Genesis in which God breathes life into Adam, the first man. Along with Leonardo da Vinci's painting, The Last Supper is the most religious painting of all times.

The Last Supper is a world-famous monumental painting by Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci, created in 1495-1498 on the back wall of the refectory of the Dominican monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan, Italy. The painting depicts a scene described in the Bible as the Last Supper - Christ's last supper with his disciples. The size of the painting is approximately 460×880 cm.

Mona Lisa, aka Gioconda, is perhaps the most famous painting in the world, by the Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci, painted approximately between 1503-1505. It is believed to be a portrait of Lisa Gherardini, the wife of a silk merchant from Florence. The most recognizable painting in the world belongs to the French government and is kept in the Louvre in Paris.

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When the great and terrible Salvador Dali was asked whether it was difficult to paint, he replied: “It is either easy or impossible.” It is also impossible to imagine that the name of the artist may be unknown to someone. However, like the names of Raphael, da Vinci, Botticelli, Van Gogh, Picasso. In the end, Serov, Vasnetsov and Malevich... But even if this happened, you are not an art critic, not an artist, and in general, a person far from the world of art. But you are familiar with their work!

At least once in our lives, each of us has seen pictures without which it is difficult to imagine world culture, while their citation in mass culture is enormous. They look at us from advertising and from the pages of books, turn into Internet memes, and become art objects themselves.

Here they are - the most famous paintings in the world with names that you know for sure!

This bright face of the wife of a rich Florentine merchant is familiar to everyone civilized man. Without exaggeration, the Mona Lisa is considered the most famous painting in the world.

“Mona Lisa”, “La Gioconda” - painting by Leonardo da Vinci.

Scream

“The Scream” is a painting by Edvard Munch.

The painting “The Scream,” painted by Norwegian expressionist Edvard Munch in 1893, has gained incredible popularity these days. The number of parodies, reinventions, and use of a recognizable image in advertising, even in cinema (and don’t say you haven’t heard of the horror film “Scream”) is countless. Meanwhile, the author created his masterpiece in order to get rid of the painful feeling of loneliness and suffering. Against the background of a blood-red sky, a figure with a face distorted from a scream can, of course, be interpreted in different ways.

Of all his rich artistic heritage - and this is about 800 paintings, perhaps the most famous even among the inexperienced public were the paintings “Sunflowers” ​​and “Starry Night”. But the latter is preferred for the reason that the village of Saint-Rémy was written from memory.

Starlight Night

The fantastic “Starry Night” today is a fantastically popular and famous picture.

"Starry Night" - painting by Vincent van Gogh.

Another science fiction artist is, of course, Salvador Dali. Considered to be its most popular painting work is "Persistence of Memory".

“The Persistence of Memory” - painting by Salvador Dali.

This picture is entirely a game of association. The endless passage of time is depicted here literally. It’s interesting, but it was Gala Dali, the artist’s eternal muse, who first said that the painting “The Persistence of Memory” will never be forgotten. And her words turned out to be prophetic. Painted in 1931, the painting remains more than famous even in 2017. And who would have thought that processed cheese inspired Dali to pick up a brush.

Black square

The end of the artist’s traditional objective thinking was predicted even earlier by Kazimir Malevich. You may not know this name, but it is almost impossible not to know “Black Square”. In the history of world art it is difficult to find a painting with greater fame. “Black Square” is the same Madonna, an icon, only for futurists.

Black Suprematist square - the work of Kazimir Malevich.

Controversial. Ambiguous. Unique. Any epithets can be applied to this picture, except one – unknown. By the way, foreign art connoisseurs call the “Black Suprematist Square” the most famous Russian a work of art. No more, no less.

But for the common man there is no nicer and more understandable painting by another Russian artist - Ivan Shishkin. The popularity of the work “Morning in a Pine Forest” is phenomenal. However, like folk love: people far from art know this plot under a different name - “The Three Bears”, and they saw it not in an art gallery, but on candy wrappers.

“Morning in a pine forest” - painting by Ivan Shishkin and Konstantin Savitsky.

The canvas also has a secret! It turns out that the authorship is double. The painter Ivan Shishkin depicted the forest, and those same bears were painted by Konstantin Savitsky. The name of the second Russian artist was erased at the personal request of the gallery owner, Pavel Tretyakov. But a masterpiece – even if it is completely nameless – remains a masterpiece.

And now - an oil painting, which after 2016 absolutely everyone started talking about. “Girl with Peaches” by Valentin Serov, and until last year, was not only the most famous work Russian artist, but also one of best portraits in the world.

“Girl with Peaches” - painting by Valentin Serov.

But in the year of Serov’s 150th anniversary, the sudden excitement around the exhibition, kilometer-long queues, memes and even jokes associated with the painting and its author, brought “Girl with Peaches” to the top. By the way, the employees of the Tretyakov Gallery themselves helped with this, reviving the heroine of the portrait. The girl spoke and told the story of the creation of the work.

And finally, “The Unknown” by Ivan Kramskoy is rightfully considered one of the most famous paintings. There is no less mystery in this painting than popularity. Maybe that’s why the stranger is called the Russian Gioconda?

“Unknown” - painting by Ivan Kramskoy.

For more than 130 years, it has been unknown who this girl is. And it doesn’t matter where she looks at us from: from a box of chocolates, from the Tretyakov Gallery itself, from a painting textbook. This “Unknown” is the most famous.

At the beginning of December 2011, new price records were set at Russian auctions in London. Summing up the year, we have compiled a list of the most expensive works by Russian artists based on the results of auction sales.

33 most expensive places. Source: 33 most expensive places.

According to the ratings, the most expensive Russian artist is Mark Rothko. His White Center (1950), sold for 72.8 million dollars, in addition, ranks 12th in the list of the most expensive paintings in the world in general. However, Rothko was Jewish, born in Latvia and left Russia at the age of 10. Is it fair?with such a stretch chase for records? Therefore, we crossed Rothko, like other emigrants who left Russia without yet becoming artists (for example, Tamara de Lempicki and Chaim Soutine), from the list.

No. 1. Kazimir Malevich - $60 million.

The author of “Black Square” is too important a person for his works to be often found on the open market. So this painting got to auction in a very difficult way. In 1927, Malevich, planning to organize an exhibition, brought almost a hundred works from his Leningrad workshop to Berlin. However, he was urgently recalled to his homeland, and he left them in the custody of the architect Hugo Hering. He saved the paintings in difficult years fascist dictatorship, when they could well have been destroyed as “degenerate art,” and in 1958, after Malevich’s death, he sold them to the State Stedelek Museum (Holland).

At the beginning of the 21st century, a group of Malevich’s heirs, almost forty people, began legal proceedings - because Hering was not the legal owner of the paintings. As a result, the museum gave them this painting, and will give them four more, which will certainly cause a sensation at some auction. After all, Malevich is one of the most forged artists in the world, and the provenance of the paintings from the Stedelek Museum is impeccable. And in January 2012, the heirs received another painting from that Berlin exhibition, taking it away from the Swiss museum.

No. 2. Wassily Kandinsky - $22.9 million.

The auction price of a work is influenced by its reputation. It's not only big name artist, but also “provenance” (origin). An item from a famous private collection or a good museum is always worth more than a work from an anonymous collection. “Fugue” comes from the famous Guggenheim Museum: one day director Thomas Krenz removed Kandinsky, a painting by Chagall and Modigliani from the museum collections, and put them up for sale. For some reason, the museum used the money received to purchase a collection of 200 works by American conceptualists. Krenz was condemned for a very long time for this decision.

This painting by the father of abstract art is curious because it set a record back in 1990, when the auction rooms of London and New York had not yet been filled with reckless Russian buyers. Thanks to this, by the way, it did not disappear into some very private collection in luxurious mansion, and is located in permanent exhibition in the private Beyeler Museum in Switzerland, where anyone can see it. Rare case for such a purchase!

No. 3. Alexey Yavlensky - £9.43 million

An unknown buyer paid approximately $18.5 million for a portrait depicting a girl from a village near Munich. Shokko is not a name, but a nickname. Every time the model came to the artist’s studio, she asked for a cup of hot chocolate. So “Shokko” took root after her.

The sold painting is part of his famous cycle “Race”, depicting the domestic peasantry of the first quarter of the twentieth century. And, really, she portrays her with such faces that it’s scary to watch. Here, in the image of a shepherd, the peasant poet Nikolai Klyuev, the forerunner of Yesenin, appears. Among his poems are the following: “In the heat of the day, the scarlet flower has become defoliated and faded - The daring light of a child is far from the sweetheart.”

No. 19. Konstantin Makovsky - £2.03 million

Makovsky - salon painter, famous a huge amount heads of hawthorns in kokoshniks and sundresses, as well as a painting “Children Running from a Thunderstorm,” which at one time was constantly published on gift boxes chocolates. His sweet historical paintings are in steady demand among Russian buyers.

The theme of this painting- Old Russian "kiss ritual" To noble women Ancient Rus' it was not allowed to leave the female half, and only for the sake of the guests of honor could they come out, bring a glass and (the most pleasant part) allow themselves to be kissed. Pay attention to the painting hanging on the wall: this is an image of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, one of the first equestrian portraits to appear in Rus'. Its composition, although it was blatantly copied from a European model, was considered unusually innovative and even shocking for that time.

No. 20. Svyatoslav Roerich - $2.99 ​​million

The son of Nicholas Roerich left Russia as a teenager. Lived in England, USA, India. Like my father, I was interested eastern philosophy. Like his father, he painted many paintings on Indian themes. His father generally occupied a huge place in his life - he painted more than thirty portraits of him. This painting was created in India, where the clan settled in the middle of the century. Paintings by Svyatoslav Roerich rarely appear at auctions, and in Moscow works of the famous dynasty can be seen in the halls of the Museum of the East, to which the authors donated them, as well as in the museum of the International Center of the Roerichs, which is located in a luxurious noble estate right behind the Pushkin Museum. Both museums do not really like each other: the Museum of the East lays claim to both the building and the collections of the Roerich Center.

No. 21. Ivan Shishkin - £1.87 million

The main Russian landscape painter spent three summers in a row on Valaam and left many images of this area. This work is a little gloomy and does not look like classic Shishkin. But this is explained by the fact that the painting dates back to his early period, when he had not found his style and was strongly influenced by the Düsseldorf school of landscape, in which he studied.

We already mentioned this Düsseldorf school above, in the recipe for fake Aivazovsky. " Shishkins" are made according to the same scheme, for example, in 2004 at Sotheby's exhibited “Landscape with a Stream” from the Düsseldorf period of the painter. It was estimated at $1 million and was confirmed by an examination of the Tretyakov Gallery. An hour before the sale, the lot was withdrawn - it turned out to be a painting by another student of this school, the Dutchman Marinus Adrian Koekkoek, purchased in Sweden for 65 thousand dollars.

No. 22. Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin - £1.83m

A portrait of a boy holding an icon of the Virgin Mary was found in a private collection in Chicago. After it was handed over to the auction house, experts began research to try to establish its origins. It turned out that the painting was at exhibitions in 1922 and 1932. In the 1930s, the artist’s works traveled around the States as part of an exhibition of Russian art. Perhaps it was then that the owners acquired this painting.

pay attention to empty place on the wall behind the boy. At first the author thought of painting a window with a green landscape there. This would balance the picture both in composition and colors - the grass would echo the green tunic of the Mother of God (by the way, according to the canon it should be blue). Why Petrov-Vodkin painted over the window is unknown.

No. 23. Nicholas Roerich - £1.76 million

Before visiting Shambhala and beginning to correspond with the Dalai Lama, Nicholas Roerich quite successfully specialized in the ancient Russian theme and even made ballet sketches for Russian Seasons. The lot sold belongs to this period. The scene depicted is miraculous phenomenon above the water, which is observed by a Russian monk, most likely Sergius of Radonezh. It is curious that the painting was painted in the same year as another vision of Sergius (then the youth Bartholomew), appearing in our list above. The stylistic difference is colossal.

Roerich painted many paintings and the lion's share of them in India. He donated several pieces to the Indian Institute of Agricultural Research. Recently two of them, Himalayas, Kanchenjunga and Sunset, Kashmir ", appeared at auction in London. Only then did the junior researchers of the institute notice that they had been robbed. In January 2011, the Indians applied to a London court for permission to investigate this crime in England. The interest of thieves in Roerich’s heritage is understandable, because there is a demand.

No. 24. Lyubov Popova- 1.7 million pounds

Lyubov Popova died young, so she did not manage to become famous like another Amazon of the avant-garde, Natalya Goncharova. And her legacy is smaller - so it’s difficult to find her work for sale. After her death, a detailed inventory of the paintings was compiled. This still life long years was known only from a black and white reproduction, until it surfaced in a private collection, turning out to be the most significant work artists in private hands. Pay attention to the Zhostovo tray - perhaps this is a hint of Popova’s taste for folk crafts. She came from the family of an Ivanovo merchant who dealt in textiles, and she herself created many sketches of propaganda textiles based on Russian traditions.

No. 25. Aristarkh Lentulov - £1.7 million

Lentulov entered the history of the Russian avant-garde with his memorable image of St. Basil's Cathedral - either cubism or patchwork quilt. In this landscape he tries to split space according to a similar principle, but it doesn’t turn out as exciting. Actually, that's why "St. Basil the Blessed""in the Tretyakov Gallery, and this painting- on the art market. After all, museum workers once had the opportunity to skim the cream.

No. 26. Alexey Bogolyubov - £1.58 million

The sale of this little-known artist, albeit the Tsar’s favorite landscape painter Alexandra III, for such crazy money - a symptom of the market frenzy on the eve of the 2008 crisis. At that time, Russian collectors were ready to buy even minor masters. Moreover, first-class artists are rarely sold.

Perhaps this painting was sent as a gift to some official: it has a suitable subject, because the Cathedral of Christ the Savior has long ceased to be just a church, and has become a symbol. And flattering origin - the painting was kept in royal palace. Pay attention to the details: the brick Kremlin tower is covered with white plaster, and the hill inside the Kremlin is completely undeveloped. Well, why bother trying? In the 1870s, the capital was St. Petersburg, not Moscow, and the Kremlin was not a residence.

No. 27. Isaac Levitan - £1.56 million

Completely atypical for Levitan, the work was sold at the same auction as Bogolyubov’s painting, but it turned out to be cheaper. This is connected, of course, with the fact that the picture does not look like Levitan " Its authorship, however, is indisputable; a similar plot is in the Dnepropetrovsk Museum. 40 thousand light bulbs, with which the Kremlin was decorated, were lit in honor of the coronation of Nicholas II. In a few days the Khodynka disaster will happen.

No. 28. Arkhip Kuindzhi - $3 million.

The famous landscape painter painted three similar paintings. The first is in the Tretyakov Gallery, the third is in the State Museum of Belarus. The second, presented at the auction, was intended for Prince Pavel Pavlovich Demidov-San Donato. This representative of the famous Ural dynasty lived in a villa near Florence. In general, the Demidovs, having become Italian princes, had fun as best they could. For example, Paul's uncle, from whom he inherited the princely title, was so rich and noble that he married Napoleon Bonaparte's niece, and one day he whipped her in a bad mood. The poor lady had a hard time getting a divorce. The painting, however, did not reach Demidov; it was acquired by the Ukrainian sugar factory Tereshchenko.

No. 29. Konstantin Korovin- 1.497 million pounds

Impressionists characterized by a very “light”, sweeping writing style. Korovin is the main Russian impressionist. It is very popular among scammers; According to rumors, the number of its fakes at auctions reaches 80%. If a painting from a private collection was exhibited at personal exhibition artist in the famous state museum, then its reputation is strengthened, and at the next auction it costs much more. In 2012 Tretyakov Gallery plans a large-scale exhibition of Korovin. Maybe there will be works from private collections. This paragraph- an example of manipulation of the reader’s consciousness using the example of listing facts that do not have a direct logical connection with each other.

• Please note that from March 26 to August 12, 2012, the Tretyakov Gallery promises to organizeKorovin exhibition . Read more about the biography of the most charming of artists Silver Age read in our review opening days of the State Tretyakov Gallery in 2012.

No. 30. Yuri Annenkov - $2.26 million.

Annenkov managed to emigrate in 1924 and made a good career in the West. For example, in 1954 he was nominated for an Oscar as costume designer for the film "Madame de..." His early Soviet portraits are best known- the faces are cubist, faceted, but completely recognizable. For example, he repeatedly drew Leon Trotsky in this way - and even repeated the drawing many years later from memory, when the Times magazine wanted to decorate the cover with it.

The character depicted in the record-breaking portrait is the writer Tikhonov-Serebrov. He entered the history of Russian literature mainly through his close friendship with. So close that, according to dirty rumors, the artist’s wife Varvara Shaikevich even gave birth to the great proletarian writer daughter. It’s not very noticeable in the reproduction, but the portrait was made using the collage technique: on top of a layer oil paint there's glass and plaster here, and even a real doorbell attached.

No. 31. Lev Lagorio - £1.47 million

Another minor landscape painter, for some reason sold for a record price. One of the indicators of the success of the auction is exceeding the estimate (“estimate”) - the minimum price that the auction house experts have set for the lot. The estimate for this landscape was 300-400 thousand pounds, but it was sold for 4 times more expensive. As one London auctioneer said: “happiness is when two Russian oligarchs compete for the same thing."

No. 32. Viktor Vasnetsov - £1.1 million

Bogatyrs of steel business card back in the 1870s. He returns to his star theme, like other veterans of Russian painting, during the years of the young Soviet republic - both for financial reasons and to feel in demand again. This picture is the author's repetition “Ilya Muromets” (1915), which is kept in the House-Museum of the artist (on Prospekt Mira).

No. 33. Erik Bulatov - £1.084 million

The second living artist on our list (he also said that the best way for an artist to raise prices for his work is to die). , by the way, this is a Soviet Warhol, underground and anti-communist. He worked in the genre of social art, which was created by the Soviet underground, as our version of pop art. “Glory to the CPSU” is one of the most famous works artist. According to his own explanations, the letters here symbolize a lattice blocking the sky, that is, freedom, from us.

Bonus: Zinaida Serebryakova - £1.07 million

Serebryakova loved to paint nude women, self-portraits and her four children. This ideal feminist world is harmonious and calm, which cannot be said about the life of the artist herself, who barely escaped from Russia after the revolution and spent a lot of effort to get her children out of there.

“Nude” is not an oil painting, but a pastel drawing. This is the most expensive Russian drawing. Such a high amount paid for the graphics is comparable to the prices for Impressionist drawings and caused great surprise at Sotheby's, which started the auction with 150 thousand pounds sterling and received a million.

The list is compiled based on prices indicated on the official websites of auction houses. This price is made up of the net price (as stated when the hammer comes down), and« buyer's premium (additional percentage of the auction house). Other sources may indicate "pure» price. The dollar to pound exchange rate often fluctuates, so British and American lots are located relative to each other with approximate accuracy (we are not Forbes).

Additions and corrections to our list are welcome.