37 of the Most Famous Artworks in History That Every Art History Buff Should Know

Throughout history, there have been certain pieces of art that stand above the rest.

From ancient Greek statues to Impressionist masterpieces, these pieces of art are important markers of Western culture.

And there’s even one,The Great Wave off Kanagawa, that represents non-Western tradition.

Here are the 37 most famous pieces of art in history, in chronological order.

“Venus de Milo,” late 2nd century BCE (Photo:Nan Palmero,CC BY 2.0)

“Nike of Samothrace,” c. 200–190 BCE (Photo: warasit/Depositphotos)

Jan Van Eyck, “The Arnolfini Portrait,” 1434 (Photo:Wikimedia Commons, Public domain)

Hieronymus Bosch, “Garden of Earthly Delights,” between 1480 and 1505 (Photo:Wikimedia Commons, Public domain)

Sandro Botticelli, “The Birth of Venus,” c. 1486 (Photo:Wikimedia Commons, Public domain)

Leonardo da Vinci, “The Last Supper,” 1498 (Photo:HaltadefinizioneviaWikimedia Commons, Public domain)

Michelangelo, “David,” 1501–1504 (Photo: Jörg Bittner Unna viaWikimedia Commons,CC BY-SA 3.0)

Leonardo da Vinci, “Mona Lisa,” between c. 1503 and 1506 (Photo:Wikipedia, Public domain)

Michelangelo, Sistine Chapel ceiling, 1508–1512 (Photo:Jean-Christophe BenoistviaWikimedia Commons,CC BY-SA 3.0)

Raphael, “The School of Athens,” 1511 (Photo:Wikipedia, Public domain)

Pieter Bruegel the Elder, “The Netherlandish Proverbs,” 1559 (Photo:Wikipedia, Public domain)

Rembrandt, “The Night Watch,” 1642 (Photo:Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain)

Diego Velázquez, “Las Meninas,” 1656 (Photo:Wikiart, Public domain)

Johannes Vermeer, “Girl with a Pearl Earring,” c. 1665 (Photo:Wikimedia Commons, Public domain)

Jean-Honoré Fragonard, “The Swing,” 1767 (Photo:Wikimedia Commons, Public domain)

Jacques-Louis David, “The Death of Marat,” 1793 (Photo:Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain)

Francisco Goya, “The Third of May 1808,” 1814 (Photo:Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain)

Katsushika Hokusai, “The Great Wave off Kanagawa,” c. 1826–1833 (Photo:Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain)

Eugène Delacroix, “Liberty Leading the People,” 1830 (Photo:Wikimedia Commons, Public domain)

Édouard Manet, “The Luncheon on the Grass,” 1863 (Photo:Wikipedia, Public Domain)

James McNeill Whistler, “Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1,” 1871 (Photo:Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain)

Claude Monet, “Impression Sunrise,” 1872 (Photo:Wikimedia Commons, Public domain)

Pierre-Auguste Renoir, “Bal du moulin de la Galette,” 1876 (Photo:Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain)

Georges Seurat, “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte,” 1884–1886 (Photo:The Art Institute of Chicago, Public domain)

Vincentvan Gogh, “TheStarry Night,” 1889 (Photo:Wikimedia Commons, Public domain )

Edvard Munch, “The Scream,” 1893 (Photo:Wikipedia, Public domain)

Auguste Rodin, “The Thinker,” 1904 (Photo: Roman Suzuki viaWikimedia Commons,CC BY 3.0 DEED)

Claude Monet, “Water-Lilies,” 1907 (Photo:Wikimedia Commons, Public domain)

Pablo Picasso, “Les Demoiselles d’Avignon,” 1907 (Photo:Wikimedia Commons, Public domain)

Gustav Klimt, “The Kiss,” 1907–1908 (Photo:Wikimedia Commons, Public domain)

Marcel Duchamp, “Fountain,” 1917 (Photo: Alfred Stieglitz viaWikimedia Commons, Public Domain)

Grant Wood, “American Gothic,” 1930 (Photo: Art Institute of Chicago viaWikimedia Commons, Public domain)

Piet Mondrian, “Composition II in Red, Blue, and Yellow,” 1930 (Photo:Wikipedia Commons, Public domain)

Pablo Picasso, “Guernica,” 1937

Edward Hopper, “Nighthawks,” 1942 (Photo:Wikimedia Commons, Public domain)