Famous paintings by art movement: from the Renaissance to Surrealism

Quick answer: The most famous paintings come from a handful of movements: the Renaissance (Mona Lisa, The Birth of Venus), the Dutch Golden Age (Girl with a Pearl Earring), Impressionism (Impression, Sunrise; Water Lilies), Post-Impressionism (The Starry Night), Expressionism (The Scream) and Modernism (Guernica).

What is an art movement?

An art movement is a style shared by a group of artists in a particular period. Knowing the movement helps you recognise a painting even if you have never seen it: brushwork, colour and subject matter give it away.

The Renaissance (about 1400–1600)

Renaissance painters in Italy rediscovered the realism of ancient Greece and Rome, using perspective and light to make scenes look three-dimensional. Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, in the Louvre, is famous for its soft shading, called sfumato, and its uncertain smile. Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus shows the goddess arriving on a shell.

The Dutch Golden Age (17th century)

Dutch painters focused on everyday life, portraits and light. Johannes Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring, painted around 1665, is often called the “Mona Lisa of the North” for its direct gaze and glowing light.

Impressionism (1860s–1880s)

Impressionists painted outdoors with quick brushstrokes to capture changing light. The movement took its name from Claude Monet’s Impression, Sunrise (1872). Monet later painted around 250 versions of his Water Lilies.

Post-Impressionism (1880s–1900s)

Post-Impressionists kept bright colour but added emotion and bold shapes. Vincent van Gogh’s The Starry Night (1889) and his Sunflowers series are among the most reproduced images in the world.

Expressionism and Modernism (1890s–1940s)

Expressionists distorted shapes and colours to show feelings. Edvard Munch’s The Scream (1893) became a symbol of anxiety. Gustav Klimt’s gold-leaf The Kiss and Pablo Picasso’s anti-war Guernica (1937) pushed painting into the modern age.

How to tell movements apart

Quick clues:

• Realistic faces, soft shading, religious or classical scenes: Renaissance
• Quiet indoor light and everyday people: Dutch Golden Age
• Visible dabs of colour, outdoor light: Impressionism
• Swirling, thick brushwork and vivid colour: Post-Impressionism
• Distorted figures and strong emotion: Expressionism

Famous paintings at a glance

Where to see them:

Stories behind the paintings

The Mona Lisa became world-famous partly because it was stolen from the Louvre in 1911 and missing for two years. Van Gogh painted The Starry Night in 1889 from his room at an asylum in Saint-Rémy. Munch made several versions of The Scream, in paint and pastel.

Famous works by Arab and Middle Eastern artists

Art quizzes increasingly include modern artists from the Arab world. Mahmoud Saïd was a leading Egyptian painter of the early 20th century, and his works have sold for record prices. Palestinian artist Sliman Mansour painted Camel of Hardships, showing an old man carrying Jerusalem on his back, which became an iconic image. Iraqi artist Jewad Selim designed the Monument of Freedom in Baghdad.

How to recognise a movement

Look at brushwork, colour and subject. Renaissance paintings have balanced compositions and realistic perspective. Impressionist works use visible brushstrokes and light colours to capture a moment. Expressionist works distort shapes and colours to show emotion, and Surrealist works show dreamlike scenes.

Frequently asked questions