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20 Famous Oil Paintings: Unveiling the Stories behind Timeless Masterpieces

Oil Painting is one of the most beautiful, unique, and loved painting techniques since the 15th century. Some of the first early artists to use oil painting include Pablo Picasso, Vincent van Gogh, and Leonardo Da Vinci among many others. Those early paintings can still be in the museums they are well collected for tourists to visit. They are still valuable as they are expensive to purchase.

Over the century artists are still embracing the use of oil painting but now modernizing everything and making the art look more beautiful. Artists use oil to paint different memories such as nature, people, events that happened, abstract realms of imagination, and many other things.

1. “Mona Lisa” by Leonardo da Vinci

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Mona Lisa is one of the famous oil paintings by Leonardo da Vinci. He began drawing the portrait in 1503 and it is said that he passed away in 1519. At the time of the drawing, he was living in Florence. At the moment you can find the portrait at Louvre Museum in Paris. The portrait contains a drawing of a woman and a background of a beautiful landscape.

The portrait has received much debate on who is the woman. Some scholars and historians say that it was Lisa Del Giocondo the wife of the Florentine merchant Francesco di Bartolomeo Del Giocondo.

2. “Starry Night” by Vincent van Gogh

Starry Night is an impressive oil painting by Vincent van Gogh. He painted it in June 1889. It is one of the most known paintings in Western art. The painting portrays the view he gets from the window at the Saint- Paul-de-Mausole asylum in Saint-Remy which is in Southern France.

It is said that Vincent had stayed there for 10 years where he was seeking reprieve from mental illness. Vincent van Gogh mentioned the painting in a letter to Theo and was sending it to his brother in Paris.

3. “The Persistence of Memory” by Salvador Dali

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The Persistence of Memory is a painting by the great Salvador. It is one of the most recognized works of Surrealism. Today you can find the painting at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. It is a great piece today as the museum bought it with many dollars and no one can afford to buy it and so many people travel to go and see it.

Other than ‘The Persistence of Memory’ it is also referred to as ‘Melting Clocks’ ‘The Soft Watches’ or ‘The Melting Watches’. The artist claims that he was inspired to paint after he observed Camembert cheese melt on a hot day.

4. “Girl with a Pearl Earring” by Johannes Vermeer

Girl with a Pearl Earring is a great oil painting by Johannes Vermeer. The painting shows a European girl she is seen wearing an exotic dress and a turban and also is seen wearing a very large pearl as an earring. Over a long time, there has been speculation that the woman in the portrait could be the artist’s eldest daughter.

It was widely exhibited around the world until 2014 when Mauritshuis ordered that it should not again leave the museum. Johannes was inspired to do the painting after he had gotten interested and begun to depict women showing a deep interest in women’s social-cultural roles.

5. “The Birth of Venus” by Sandro Botticelli

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The Birth of Venus is a great oil painting by artist Sandro Botticelli which was drawn in the mid-1480s. You still can find the painting till today in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence Italy.

The portrait shows of goddess Venus when she is arriving at the shore after her birth. Sandro Botticelli got the inspiration to draw the portrait from classical statues for Venus’ modest pose.

6. Starry Night Over the Rhone by Vincent Van Gogh

Starry Night over the Rhone is a great oil painting by Vincent. He did the painting in the year 1888. The portrait contains stars which he says he viewed from Lamartine.

From the view he continues to say that the sky and the stars gave him the inspiration to paint his next masterpiece called ‘Starry Night’ which he painted the following year.

7. “The Last Supper” by Leonardo da Vinci

The Last Supper is a great oil painting by the Italian High Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci. The drawing was painted between 1495 to 1498. It represents the twelve disciples during the Last Supper when Jesus mentioned that one of them was going to betray him.

It is one of Leonardo’s most celebrated works. He was inspired to capture the emotion of each disciple in that moment they were sharing after Jesus announced that one of them would betray him.

8. “Water Lilies” Series by Claude Monet

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Water Lilies is a great oil painting by French Impressionist Claude Monet. The painting shows a flower garden which is believed to be from his home. He has a series of approximately 250 oil paintings which he created from 1896 to 1920s.

Monet was a passionate horticulturist and so he purchased land so that he could do something. After purchasing the land he ended up setting up a water lily garden which inspired his drawings.

9. “The Kiss” by Gustav Klimt

The Kiss is an oil painting by the Austrian Symbolist painter known as Gustav Klimt. The painting portrays two lovers embracing each other and their bodies are covered by beautiful robes. It is considered to be his final painting of Klimt’s Gold Period in which he used gold leaves in his paintings.

He was inspired by the strong influence of the gold-detailed religious art of the middle Ages and the sacred works that were created by artists of the Byzantine Empire.

10. “American Gothic” by Grant Wood

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American Gothic is a beautiful oil painting by Grant Wood which was made in 1930 at is on exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago. The portrait shows a farmer and his daughter standing in front of their home.

The house is an American Gothic-style construct and that could be the reason Grant gave it the name American Gothic.

11. “Whistler’s Mother” by James McNeill Whistler

Whistler’s Mother also known as ‘Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1’ is a great oil painting by James McNeill Whistler. The portrait shows his mother. The painting has been featured in stamps and posters and has also been referenced in many works of fiction.

The image is used as an icon of motherhood showing affection for parents and family values. He was inspired to draw his mother to express his love for her.

12. “Guernica” by Pablo Picasso

Guernica is a large oil painting by a Spanish artist called Pablo Picasso. He drew the art in 1937 after the German bombing of Guernica. The paint is still exhibited in the Museo Reina Sofia in Madrid. The portrait shows the sufferings that were brought about by violence and chaos.

The portrait shows a horse, a bull, a woman, a dead child, flames, and a dismembered soldier. He was inspired to draw by the Spanish republican government who asked him to draw to help raise awareness of war and raise necessary funds.

13. “The Night Watch” by Rembrandt van Rijn

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The Night Watch is an oil painting by Rembrandt which was painted in 1642. It is a famous Dutch Golden Age painting and is well stored at Rijksmuseum making it one of its best-known paint collections. The main inspiration of the painting was to invoke a sense of pride and civic duty among the public.

14. “The School of Athens” by Raphael

The School of Athens is a famous oil painting by an Italian artist known as Raphael. He painted it in 1509 using a style of renaissance. He got the inspiration for the painting from how the Greece Rome and pagan nations influenced Christian Italy in spiritual and world wisdom. The painting represents the origin of law, literature, theology, and philosophy.

15. “Les Demoiselles d’Avignon” by Pablo Picasso

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Les Demoiselles d’Avignon is a large oil painting by the Spanish artist Pablo Picasso. He painted it in 1907. The portraits shows five naked female prostitutes in a brothel. The painting is inspired by Iberian sculpture and African masks.

Throughout Pablo’s life, he got inspiration for drawing from either responding to difficult life events, love affairs, meeting beautiful women, working through emotions, or from his fellow artists.

16. “The Arnolfini Portrait” by Jan van Eyck

The Arnolfini portrait is an oil painting by Jan Van Eyck. He painted it in 1434. The debit two people who are assumed to be the Italian merchant called Giovanni di Nicolao Arnolfini and his wife.

However, the painting represents a husband signing over control of his business dealings to his wife on his behalf

17. “The Hay Wain” by John Constable

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The Hay Wain is a famous oil painting by John Constable. He painted it in 1821. The portrait shows a rural scene with a horse-drawn cart crossing the river.

John was inspired to paint the portrait of his affection for the countryside. Almost all his paintings aim to capture the natural beauty.

18. “The Garden of Earthly Delights” by Hieronymus Bosch

The Garden of Earthly Delights is an oil painting by Hieronymus Bosch. He painted the portrait at around 1490- 1510. The painting shows a journey from the Garden of Eden to a world that is full of sin. He got the inspiration from theology.

19. “Liberty Leading the People” by Eugène Delacroix

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Liberty Leading the People is a famous oil painting by a French artist known as Eugene Delacroix. The painting was a commemoration showing how the July Revolution of 1830 in Paris removed Charles X who was the restored Bourbon king from the throne. He got the inspiration to paint it after he witnessed the violence. He took only three months to complete the painting.

20. Impression, Sunrise by Claude Monnet

Impression is an oil painting by Claude Monnet. The painting was completed in 1872. It was the first painting that introduced the Impressionist movement. You can see the portrait at the Musee Marmottan Monet in Paris. The portrait shows the port of Le Harve, which is Claude’s hometown.  Claude got the inspiration for painting from the effects of the rising sun on a scene.