Great Paintings, Up Close

The Mona Lisa, painted by Leonardo da Vinci, hangs at the Louvre and is famed for its enigmatic smile.

The Mona Lisa, painted by Leonardo da Vinci, hangs at the Louvre and is famed for its enigmatic smile.

Leonardo's Last Supper mural covers the wall of a monastery dining hall in Milan.

Leonardo's Last Supper mural covers the wall of a monastery dining hall in Milan.

Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring is nicknamed the Mona Lisa of the North, and its sitter remains unidentified.

Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring is nicknamed the Mona Lisa of the North, and its sitter remains unidentified.

Botticelli's Birth of Venus shows the goddess emerging from the sea and defines the early Italian Renaissance.

Botticelli's Birth of Venus shows the goddess emerging from the sea and defines the early Italian Renaissance.

Velázquez's Las Meninas plays with perspective, including a mirror reflecting Spain's king and queen.

Velázquez's Las Meninas plays with perspective, including a mirror reflecting Spain's king and queen.

Rembrandt's Night Watch portrays a militia company with dramatic lighting that set it apart from typical group portraits.

Rembrandt's Night Watch portrays a militia company with dramatic lighting that set it apart from typical group portraits.

Van Eyck's Arnolfini Portrait includes a convex mirror reflecting the room, part of its dense symbolism.

Michelangelo's Creation of Adam forms part of his famous Sistine Chapel ceiling frescoes.

Michelangelo's Creation of Adam forms part of his famous Sistine Chapel ceiling frescoes.

Rembrandt's Anatomy Lesson group portrait was one of his earliest major commissions, depicting a public dissection.

Rembrandt's Anatomy Lesson group portrait was one of his earliest major commissions, depicting a public dissection.

Van Gogh painted The Starry Night's swirling sky largely from memory while staying in an asylum.

Munch's The Scream depicts a figure crying out against a swirling sky and exists in several versions.

Munch's The Scream depicts a figure crying out against a swirling sky and exists in several versions.

Picasso's Guernica protests the Spanish Civil War bombing of the town it is named for.

Picasso's Guernica protests the Spanish Civil War bombing of the town it is named for.

Dalí's Persistence of Memory, famous for its melting clocks, ranks among the most recognizable Surrealist works.

Dalí's Persistence of Memory, famous for its melting clocks, ranks among the most recognizable Surrealist works.

Grant Wood's American Gothic, showing a farmer with a pitchfork, has become one of the most parodied images in American art.

Grant Wood's American Gothic, showing a farmer with a pitchfork, has become one of the most parodied images in American art.

Whistler's Mother is formally titled Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1 but is known worldwide by its nickname.

Whistler's Mother is formally titled Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1 but is known worldwide by its nickname.

Klimt's gold-leafed painting The Kiss stands as a defining work of the Vienna Secession movement.

Klimt's gold-leafed painting The Kiss stands as a defining work of the Vienna Secession movement.

Hopper's Nighthawks, set inside a late-night diner, became an enduring symbol of urban isolation.

Hopper's Nighthawks, set inside a late-night diner, became an enduring symbol of urban isolation.

Bosch's triptych The Garden of Earthly Delights moves from paradise through earthly pleasure into a fantastical hell.

Bosch's triptych The Garden of Earthly Delights moves from paradise through earthly pleasure into a fantastical hell.

Kandinsky's Composition VIII uses geometric abstraction to reflect his belief that art could work like music.

Kandinsky's Composition VIII uses geometric abstraction to reflect his belief that art could work like music.

Van Gogh painted Café Terrace at Night outdoors, using the real night sky rather than studio lighting.

Van Eyck's Arnolfini Portrait includes a convex mirror reflecting the room, part of its dense symbolism.

Andrew Wyeth's Christina's World was inspired by a woman he observed living with a physical disability.

Andrew Wyeth's Christina's World was inspired by a woman he observed living with a physical disability.

Van Gogh painted this self-portrait not long after the incident in which he injured his own ear.

Frida Kahlo's The Two Fridas presents two versions of herself side by side, painted around her divorce.

Frida Kahlo's The Two Fridas presents two versions of herself side by side, painted around her divorce.

Pollock's No. 5, 1948, made with his signature drip technique, once sold for one of art history's highest prices.

Pollock's No. 5, 1948, made with his signature drip technique, once sold for one of art history's highest prices.

Duchamp's Nude Descending a Staircase caused a sensation with its fragmented depiction of motion.

Duchamp's Nude Descending a Staircase caused a sensation with its fragmented depiction of motion.

Magritte's Son of Man hides its subject's face behind a floating green apple, a widely referenced Surrealist paradox.

Magritte's Son of Man hides its subject's face behind a floating green apple, a widely referenced Surrealist paradox.

Picasso's Girl Before a Mirror uses a Cubist-influenced style to explore youth, vanity, and mortality.

Picasso's Girl Before a Mirror uses a Cubist-influenced style to explore youth, vanity, and mortality.

Van Gogh painted The Starry Night's swirling sky largely from memory while staying in an asylum.

Monet's Water Lilies series, inspired by his own garden pond, grew to around 250 paintings over three decades.

Monet's Water Lilies series, inspired by his own garden pond, grew to around 250 paintings over three decades.

Monet's Impression, Sunrise inspired the name Impressionism after a critic used the term dismissively.

Monet's Impression, Sunrise inspired the name Impressionism after a critic used the term dismissively.

Delacroix's Liberty Leading the People commemorates the 1830 French uprising through an allegorical figure of Liberty.

Delacroix's Liberty Leading the People commemorates the 1830 French uprising through an allegorical figure of Liberty.

Hokusai's Great Wave off Kanagawa belongs to a woodblock series depicting views of Mount Fuji.

Hokusai's Great Wave off Kanagawa belongs to a woodblock series depicting views of Mount Fuji.

Van Gogh painted Café Terrace at Night outdoors, using the real night sky rather than studio lighting.

Millais painted Ophelia's drowning scene with his model lying in a bathtub of water for months.

Millais painted Ophelia's drowning scene with his model lying in a bathtub of water for months.

Seurat's park scene, built from tiny dots of color, stands as a landmark of the Pointillist technique.

Seurat's park scene, built from tiny dots of color, stands as a landmark of the Pointillist technique.

Goya's Third of May 1808 depicts a wartime execution and is considered one of the first great anti-war paintings.

Goya's Third of May 1808 depicts a wartime execution and is considered one of the first great anti-war paintings.

Van Gogh painted this self-portrait not long after the incident in which he injured his own ear.