Four Most Famous European Artists and Their Masterpieces

Painting began thousands of year ago. Over the centuries, these decorative wall hangings have gained immense fame and popularity. With regards to the idea of breaking barriers and allowing people from all walks of life to understand and appreciate art, there have been specific numbers of European artists who challenged the status of current art style and made some improvement by their highlighted masterpieces, which influenced generations of artists who came after them. The following are four of them whom we will love to recommend and hope you will learn more about European art and artists.

1. Leonardo da Vinci and “Christ Salvator Mundi”

Italian artist, Leonardo da Vinci is one of the well-known artists in Europe. He showed a preference for everything that could be known about creation, including how we fit into it. With a playful and obsessive passion, he learned architecture, geology, engineering and dozens of other disciplines. Through these, he could see the patterns that were woven into "the infinite works of nature".

In this period, many paintings reflected the interests of Europe's noble élite and merchant classes, most notably a revival of interest in ancient Roman art, which was one essential characteristic of the Renaissance. His painting Christ Salvator Mundi is one of fewer than 20 known works which was sold for $450.3 million in 2017, setting a new record for the most expensive painting ever sold. Leonardo painted Salvator Mundi possibly for King Louis XII of France and his consort, but as for the time he painted it, some hold the belief that it was in the late 1490s, contemporary with The Last Supper while other believed it to be slightly later in 1500, contemporary with the Mona Lisa.

2. Pierre Auguste Renoir and “Two Sisters On the Terrace”

Two Sisters, also known as On the Terrace by Pierre-Auguste Renoir who was an important French impressionist artist and he was famous for painting women and warm family scenes. The painting depicts a young woman and her younger sister seated outdoors with a small basket containing balls of wool.

Two Sisters was painted by an impressionist when impressionist style was popular. So, the painting included some characteristics and techniques that are unique to impressionism. First of all, the painting was painted with visible brushstroke, which was common in impressionist paintings. Secondly, the subject of the painting is similar to the common theme in impressionism. Different from the realist who concentrates on the life of the working class or political events, impressionist artists like painting the social life of the middle class, scenes of leisure activities or landscapes.

By its visible brushstrokes and objected depicted, Two Sisters can be considered as a typical impressionist painting, which means that color takes a significant role in the constitution. Two Sisters is collected by the Art Institute of Chicago, and it is one of the most popular paintings there. The main reason why it is so popular may be a positive feeling is transmitted to the spectators. It presents not only the beauty of spring and youth to us but also the lively and colorful background created a fresh and hopeful atmosphere

3. Paul Gauguin and “The Siesta”

Paul Gauguin is an artist who wanted to be known for his remarkable style that never gave in to the conventionality and stayed true to his ways. Though his works became famous after his passing, he will forever be respectful of his revolutionary means that realized the establishment of modern art.

While he was taking an enthusiastic interest in his daily environment, he painted The Siesta around 1891. Paul Gauguin integrated modifications in the painting as he worked for an extended time-frame on this painting.

Paul Gauguin, born in 1848, is one of the most significant French artists in Impressionism. And then he broke away from its fascination with the everyday world to pioneer a new style of painting - Symbolism. When the impressionist movement culminated in the late 1880s, Gauguin applied new color theories and semi-decorative to painting. He had already abandoned his life as a stockbroker when he traveled to the south Pacific regularly in the early 1890s. In there, he developed a new style so-called "primitive" arts of Africa, Asia, and French Polynesia.

This painting with its unique mixture of colors depicts shaded grass on a warm day and local women in a European attire laying on a covered terrace. While one of these women is ironing, others are rested on the garden doing nothing. This mural depicts the cooperation of the Female Tahitians that amazed Paul Gauguin vastly.

4. Vincent Van Gogh and “Starry Night Over the Rhone”

Back in 1888, Van Gogh was dwelling in an infirmary in Arles in the south of France. Starry Night Over the Rhone depicts Van Gogh's view outside his room. This art was painted from his memory during the day.

The painting is a phenomenal work of art. Center of it shows Saint-Rémy village under a swirling sky, in a view from the infirmary towards the north. Many feel Van Gogh combined a couple of scenes into his painting.

This painting depicts the grief of Van Gogh’s soul. The vigorous strokes and vibrant colors of the stars against the dark blues and blacks of the sky reflect the desperation and deep depression he was feeling. It also depicts a search for hope in the middle of darkness and deep misery and worry. Van Gogh tries gives us a sense of calm movement with the reflection of the lighting going in a downward course. Also, the artist shows the viewer the grouping from the stars, to the lights from the houses, to the reflection form the water.

At least, this painting is more realistic than many landscape paintings. It depicts one man's inner landscape, his inner reality in a significant and intense way. It represents truth that something art ought to always do, paying little respect to the subject matter.

Paintings are still an effective way to introduce a level of class and elegance to your home. Also, a great way to give a fly of shading to a generally dreary office. Hang this onto your walls and let it mysteriously transform the tone and mood of your household. Prints of these masterpieces are usually available in art galleries or online. They likewise come in different sizes to fit the measurements of your own space.