Portraits
Early portraits often depicted rulers and are thought to have often idealized their subjects. Ancient Egyptian pharaohs such as Akhenaten made for some of the earliest portraits. Historically, portraits often featured royalty, as well as significant historical and mythical figures. Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, which depicts Lisa del Giocondo, an Italian noblewoman, is one of the world’s most famous portraits. Da Vinci began work on the painting in 1503 and it’s still one of the most visited and revered pieces of art in the world.
Over in the UK, Sky Arts’ Portrait Artist Of The Year has shown mass audiences the power of portraits. Stars from music, film, TV, and comedy have appeared as portrait subjects. The competing artists try and make their way to the final by impressing judges with a series of portraits.
Kotel Paintings
Kotel paintings, sometimes known as Western Wall paintings, represent one of the holiest places in Judaism. The Kotel, or Wailing Wall, is the remaining wall of the Second Temple in Jerusalem. The Second Temple was destroyed by Romans in 70 CE. The Kotel is significant in the spiritual practices of Jews, Christians, and Muslims.
The Western Wall was historically a place of prayer. 11th and 13th century scholars wrote about the Divine Presence that “has never departed” and “rests upon the Western Wall”. Many view the wall as a synagogue. Kotel paintings hold immense meaning in many Jewish homes and are reminders of Jewish rebellion against Roman rule.
Animal Paintings
For those who work with animals, or have loved ones who do, paintings of animals can be particularly meaningful. Such is the skill required to paint animals that, historically, other artists would often collaborate with animal painters to complete a painting.
Edwards’s Dodo, a 1626 painting by Roelant Savery, is so famous that it’s considered the most recognised depiction of a dodo, the species of bird that is thought to have gone extinct in the 17th century.
Surrealist Paintings
Surrealism, an early 20th century movement, aimed to uncover the unconscious mind. After the trauma of the First World War, artists such as Max Ernst and Salvador Dalí tried to make sense of the world – arguably, by creating works that made less sense – and explored dreamlike and sexual imagery. Dali painted several of surrealism’s most celebrated works, such as Dream caused by the flight of a bee around a pomegranate a second before awakening (which sounds a little like a modern, trendy song title – André 3000’s 2023 celebrated album featured tracks like ‘That Night in Hawaii When I Turned into a Panther and Started Making These Low Register Purring Tones That I Couldn’t Control … Sh¥t Was Wild’).
Expressionist Paintings
Some observers find more meaning in expressionism than realism. The most famous expressionist painting is likely Edvard Munch’s The Scream. Erin Joslyn has written that The Scream “is frequently interpreted as a primal response to the excessive pressures of modern life.” As it turned out, the artist himself was inspired not by the pressures of modern life but “a scream passing through nature” as he walked along a path, feeling “tired and ill”. The painting has a storied history, having been stolen from the Oslo National Gallery in 1994 before it was recovered months later.
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