20 Famous Paintings to See Before You Die

For you, some of these works may be the best in history. Others may seem unimportant. But what these 20 artistic pieces demonstrate is that they forever changed the way art was made. Some are the most visited around the globe, while others you might be seeing for the first time. What's important is that you take note of them, because, for one reason or another, these are 20 works you must see at least once in your life.

This triptych is considered by many to be the masterpiece of Hieronymus Bosch, also known as El Bosco. It is displayed at the Prado Museum and is regarded as one of the most fascinating, mysterious, and captivating works in the history of art. Just look at the number of details it contains.

This is probably the most famous work of Austrian painter Gustav Klimt. It causes passions among younger art lovers, especially now that kissing is seen as such a luxury. It can be found at the Belvedere Museum in Vienna, and it is undoubtedly a piece of art that deserves admiration.

This is part of the permanent collection of the Prado Museum and one of Goya's masterpieces as a Romantic painter. The author's intention with this painting was to capture the struggle of the Spanish people against French domination at the beginning of the Spanish War of Independence.

Also known as 'The Melting Clocks', it is one of the artist's most representative works and can be admired at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, where it arrived in 1934.

We couldn't forget our beloved Frida, who in this painting shows the image of the complex duality of her person: the married Frida on one side and the single Frida on the other, coexisting in the same space and time in the same world. To see it with your own eyes, you will need to go to the Museum of Modern Art in Mexico... but it's worth it.

This is one of the masterpieces of Renaissance master Sandro Botticelli and the Italian Quattrocento. At its time, it was a revolutionary work: it presented an unabashed nude and discussed mythological themes from classical Greco-Roman culture. Nowadays, it is one of those works that is worth visiting. Many of you might have already seen it at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, right?

This is an oil on canvas by post-impressionist painter Vincent Van Gogh, and it can be admired in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. It is undoubtedly one of the most recognized paintings in the history of Western culture and a painting that should not be missed.

There are four versions of this painting, but the most famous is located in the National Gallery in Norway. The work, in any of its versions, is a clear example of the expressionist style that shows an androgynous figure in the foreground, symbolizing the anguish and despair of modern man.

The painting literally depicts his water gardens in Giverny. Monet, in his last stage, dedicated nearly all his time to portraying the nature surrounding him. This work, which can be visited at the Musée d'Orsay, is undoubtedly one of the clearest impressionist examples by the artist.

The transformation of cities into large metropolises was one of the themes that intrigued artists at the beginning of the 20th century, and many, like George Grosz, couldn't resist capturing their rapid and constant changes. Grosz's Berlin, as depicted in the painting, can be observed at the Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum. Make a note of that!

Of colossal magnitude, Guernica is the most known and acclaimed work of cubist painter Pablo Picasso. It is displayed at the Reina Sofía Museum in Madrid and is considered one of the most important works of 20th-century art, becoming an icon that depicts the suffering that war inflicts on human beings.

Are you a fan of abstract art? Then you undoubtedly know Kandinsky and one of his most well-known works from his time at the Bauhaus. In this piece, the treatment of color is specialized, attempting to reflect through it the duality between the external world and the inner world. Do you want to see it? It is at the Musée National d'Art Moderne in Paris.

This is one of the most well-known self-portraits of Polish artist Tamara de Lempicka. A painting commissioned by the German fashion magazine Die Dame to serve as a cover to celebrate Modern Women's Independence Day. This earned Tamara recognition for being one of her most notable works and a prominent example of Art Deco portraiture.

This mural was painted by the artist for Rockefeller Center and was later repainted for the Palace of Fine Arts in Mexico City after the original was destroyed due to the Rockefeller family rejecting it for including a portrait of the communist leader Vladimir Lenin.

This is a surrealist painting created in Paris in 1928 by René Magritte. It is the first work in a series of four variations in which the kiss of a couple is depicted in close-up with their faces covered by cloths that conceal their identities. The lovers can be admired at MoMA in New York, in Richard S. Zeisler's collection.

It is undoubtedly the most popular painting in the world. The Mona Lisa is a pictorial work by Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci that is part of the permanent exhibition at the Louvre Museum in Paris and has inspired millions of theses worldwide about who that mysterious woman is. The most accepted thesis regarding her identity is that she is the wife of Francesco Bartolomeo Gioccondo and that her real name was Lisa Gherardini.

It is a clear example of Miró's surrealist period, mixing dreams, delirium, and childhood memories during a time when the artist was literally dying of hunger. The painting is exhibited at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo and is undoubtedly a painting you should visit.

It is considered the masterpiece of Spanish Golden Age painter Diego Velázquez. This work, from the artist's mature period and belonging to the Baroque style, is one of the most analyzed and discussed paintings in the art world. Where can you see it? Easy... at our beloved museum 'El Prado'.

Dalí's work is multifaceted... and there is another piece by the artist that deserves admiration. It is none other than The Great Masturbator, which is found at the Reina Sofía Museum and reflects the author's discomfort as he feared losing his sanity. In this painting, one can observe one of the artist's great obsessions: sex.

This painting is one of the earliest examples of Futurist art, depicting a fight between women in the commercial gallery of Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan, to which people react hysterically. This work, which we can see at the Pinacoteca di Brera in Milan, is one of those paintings you may not have known about but should.

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