Art

The painters, sculptors, and visionaries who changed how we see the world — from Renaissance masters to modern provocateurs.

Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci

1452–1519 · Mona Lisa, Renaissance polymath

1475–1564 · Sistine Chapel, David sculpture

1483–1520 · School of Athens, Renaissance master

1571–1610 · Revolutionary Baroque painter

1606–1669 · Dutch Golden Age master painter

Johannes Vermeer

Johannes Vermeer

1632–1675 · Girl with a Pearl Earring

Christopher Wren

Christopher Wren

1632–1723 · Architect of St Paul's Cathedral

1746–1828 · Spanish Romantic painter

1760–1849 · The Great Wave, Japanese master printmaker

1840–1926 · Water Lilies, father of Impressionism

Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Pierre-Auguste Renoir

1841–1919 · Impressionist painter of joyful scenes

1852–1926 · Sagrada Família architect

Vincent van Gogh

Vincent van Gogh

1853–1890 · Starry Night, post-Impressionist icon

1862–1918 · The Kiss, Art Nouveau master

1863–1944 · The Scream

1881–1973 · Cubism, Guernica, most prolific artist

1886–1957 · Mexican muralist, political artist

Georgia O'Keeffe

Georgia O'Keeffe

1887–1986 · Mother of American modernism

1904–1989 · The Persistence of Memory, surrealist

1907–1954 · Self-portraits, Mexican cultural icon

Jackson Pollock

Jackson Pollock

1912–1956 · Action painting, abstract expressionism

1928–1987 · Pop art icon, Campbell's Soup Cans

1933–present · Avant-garde artist, peace activist

1957–present · Chinese dissident artist, Sunflower Seeds

1958–1990 · Pop art and graffiti-inspired works

Jean-Michel Basquiat

Jean-Michel Basquiat

1960–1988 · Neo-expressionist street art icon

1974–present · Anonymous street artist, subversive murals

Key Events in Art

1305 Giotto completes the Scrovegni Chapel frescoes

1434 Van Eyck paints the Arnolfini Portrait

1498 Leonardo da Vinci completes The Last Supper

1504 Michelangelo completes David

1512 Michelangelo completes the Sistine Chapel ceiling

1656 Velazquez paints Las Meninas

1665 Vermeer paints Girl with a Pearl Earring

1793 Louvre Museum opens to the public

1826 First permanent photograph taken by Niepce

1863 Manet exhibits Le Dejeuner sur l'herbe; sparks Impressionism

1874 First Impressionist exhibition in Paris

1889 Van Gogh paints The Starry Night

1907 Picasso paints Les Demoiselles d'Avignon; Cubism emerges

1913 Armory Show introduces modern art to America

1917 Duchamp exhibits Fountain; conceptual art born

1924 Surrealist Manifesto published by Andre Breton

1937 Picasso paints Guernica

1947 Jackson Pollock begins drip painting technique

1962 Andy Warhol exhibits Campbell's Soup Cans

1985 Guerrilla Girls begin challenging art-world sexism

2003 Banksy rises to prominence with street art