Some of the world’s largest paintings astonish not only with their immense size but also with their artistic ambition. These masterpieces not only captivate with their scale but also resonate deeply with their profound artistic expressions. Let’s take a look at top 10 biggest paintings in the world ranked according to their widths.
1. The Water Lilies Series by Claude Monet
The Water Lilies series by Claude Monet is one of the biggest paintings in the world with dimensions of 2m x 12.8m. The painting was made in 1914-1916 using oil paint on canvas. It is made of three distinct panels juxtaposed together. It depicts the pond’s surface in Monet’s gardens at Giverny, France. The pond’s edge is invisible as the painting is entirely covered in water. The placid blue-green water dotted with lily pads in bloom. As we get closer, the picture blurs into freehand brushstrokes. Dark blue, magenta, green, purple, violet, amethyst, peach, powder pink, and pale yellow hues are used in the Water Lillis series by Claude Monet. Monet spent many years refining the surface of Water Lilies, and he painted it during a period in his career when his work was becoming more and more abstract. This might have been connected to his progressive blindness; he underwent cataract surgery not long after Water Lilies was finished.
2. Guernica (1937) by Pablo Picasso
The dimensions of Guernica (1937) by Pablo Picasso are 3.49m x 7.77m. Not only is Guernica an impressive oil painting mural, but also a potent political statement. It was created in response to the bombing of the Basque town of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War. Guernica depicts the horrors of war and the agony. It is a constant symbol of peace, a protest against war, and a reminder of the tragedies of war. Guernica (1937) by Pablo Picasso combines epic and pastoral elements. The drama is amplified by the removal of colour, giving the image a photographic record-like reportage quality. It is on display at Madrid’s Museo Reina Sofia. The mural’s main motifs – the bull and the horse are significant in Spanish culture. The bull stands for the advance of fascism referring to cruelty and darkness. The horse signifies the Guernican people.
3. The Night Watch
The Night Watch by Dutch Baroque painter, Rembrandt van Rijn has dimensions of 3.79m x 4.53m. It was commissioned in 1640 and painted in 1642. Rembrandt was the first person to paint the Militia Company of District II in action. The black-clad captain (Frans Banninck Cocq) commands the men to march out. The sentries are arranging themselves in formation. Of the 34 characters in the Night Watch, only eighteen are portraits of real people; the other figures are symbolic, like the young girl in yellow, who represents the guard in an allegorical manner. Rembrandt manoeuvred light to draw attention to specific details to the careful placement of muskets, banners, glances, and gestures. Rembrandt subverts the rules of traditional portraiture with its skilful chiaroscuro and dramatic action, transforming the ordinary subject into a dynamic work of art. The painting was originally much larger but was chopped down in 1715 to fit through Amsterdam’s town hall doors. The Night Watch is housed in Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum.
4. Liberty Leading the People
Liberty Leading the People is an 1830 oil painting made by Eugene Delacroix to honour the July Revolution in Paris. The dimensions of the paintings are 2.6m x 3.25m. The painting is a symbol of the French July Revolution. Delacroix fused idealism and realism with his signature expressive brushwork into the painting. Liberty Leading the People features a half-naked woman (Liberty), charging ahead with a group of revolutionaries following behind her. Her yellow dress, twirls around her, falling off her shoulders and loosely secured with red rope. She dons a red working-class Phrygian cap, holding the French flag. The fighters symbolize the various class factions of revolutionaries. In the distance, Notre Dame emerges from a cloud of smoke.
5. A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte
A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte is Georges Seurat’s biggest painting in the world. It has the dimensions of 2.07m x 3.08m. Seurat painted Parisians going about their daily lives in a park on the island of La Grande Jatte, beside the Seine River. Pointillism, a highly methodical and scientific painting technique, was employed by Seurat for A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte. The technique was based on the theory that the viewer’s eye would mix closely spaced points of pure colour. He started painting the canvas in 1884 (he put this year in the title), layering on a layer of thin, horizontal brushstrokes. He then added a string of dots that, when viewed from a distance, combine to form solid, glowing shapes. Before 1889, Seurat added a border of red, orange, and blue dots that serve as a visual break.
6. Number 1 1950 (Lavender Mist) (1950) by Jackson Pollock
Number 1 1950 (Lavender Mist) (1950) by Jackson Pollock is one of the biggest drip-technique paintings in the world with dimensions of 2.21m x 2.99m. It captures Pollock‘s creative breakthrough that occurred between 1947 and 1950. He walked around the canvas, dripping, pouring, and flinging house paint from loaded brushes and sticks. The painting seems like a colour web, making it balanced, full, and lyrical. He signed Lavender Mist with his handprints in the upper left and right corners. Despite having no lavender, how come the title Number 1 1950 (Lavender Mist) (1950) by Jackson Pollock comes into question? It was coined by Greenberg who was impressed with the mauve glow emanating from the webs of black, white, russet, orange, silver, and stone blue.
7. The Birth of Venus
The Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli boasts the dimensions of 1.72m x 2.78m. It is said to be painted in the mid-1480s. The artwork depicts the goddess of beauty and love (Venus) making her way ashore on the island of Cyprus. Born out of sea spray, and perched atop an enormous scallop shell, the goddess embodies the perfection and purity akin to a pearl. A young woman holding out a cloak covered in flowers greets her. The wind-blown roses are reminiscent of springtime. The work was likely commissioned by a member of the Medici family as can be interpreted by the orange trees — the emblem of the Medici dynasty. In The Birth of Venus, the goddess covers her nakedness with her long, blond hair, which has light reflections from being gilded. Botticelli draws inspiration for Venus’ modest pose from classical statues.
8. Las Meninas
Las Meninas is a 1656 painting by Diego Velázquez whose dimensions are 3.18m x 2.76m. Its intricate design produces a unique illusion of reality. Velázquez poses in his studio at Alcázar Palace in Madrid. The five-year-old infanta Margarita Teresa, the daughter of King Philip IV and his second wife, Maria Anna, is the main character. There are two meninas (ladies-in-waiting) on either side of the child. Two dwarfs and a big dog are also visible in the foreground, and additional courtiers can be seen in other parts of the image. The mirror on the rear wall reflects the king and queen. Using perspective, geometry, and visual illusion, this seemingly carefree scene creates a tangible space where the spectator’s viewpoint becomes essential. Velázquez’s Las Meninas has captivated the audiences with his figures, brushwork, and use of light and shade.
9. Le Déjeuner sur l’herbe
Le Déjeuner sur l’herbe is an 1863 painting made by Edouard Manet. The painting has the dimensions of 2.07m x 2.65m. His painting honours the artistic legacy of Europe. He borrowed his subject matter from the ‘Le concert champêtre,’ a Titian painting. Manet’s approach and style were regarded as shocking as he avoided using any transition between the picture’s light and shadow sections and opted for stark contrasts instead of the customary subtle gradations. Furthermore, the characters appear out of place against the vague background of woods. Le Déjeuner sur l’herbe represents his defiance of conventional thinking and his foray into modern art.
10. The Kiss by Gustav Klimt
The Kiss by Gustav Klimt is a painting with the dimensions 1.8m x 1.8m. It depicts a couple cuddling in a flower meadow on the edge of a precipice while dressed in elaborately embroidered robes. During Klimt‘s “Golden Period,” which peaked in 1907–08, the artist invented a new method of fusing bronze paint, oils, and gold leaf. The Kiss by Gustav Klimt makes a symbolic statement about love being the essence of human existence. The painting’s emotional impact and freshness are still intact. Gold leaf adorns the lovers’ clothing, and delicate flakes of platinum, silver, and gold permeate the background. The painting is a mainstay of Moderne Galerie collections.
Image Courtesy – Art News
