When you say priceless, it means no amount of money can cover because it is very important. One of the few things that are considered priceless in this world are paintings. Although some paintings are worth billions, they’re technically not for sale or will never be for sale, because they have been a part of history and they’re commonly found in European museums or wherever the painter is from or whoever it is for. So here are 5 of the world’s most priceless and most famous paintings that you should see.
#1 The Mona Lisa
This is considered to be the “most famous, most visited, most written about, most sung about and most parodied painting in the entire world.” It was the Italian Renaissance artist, Leonardo Da Vince, who painted this masterpiece between 1503 to 1506. For thousands of years, it was said to be a “painting without a model” but then recently, scientist, historians, and artists concluded that the most popular oil painting is actually a portrait of Lisa Gherardi, who is the wife of Francesco del Giocondo.
The painting was said to be unfinished but it was then acquired by King Francis I of France but as of today, it is now in the possession of the French Republic and its home is in Louvre Museum in Paris for thousands of years. It was reported to be stolen in 1911 but was eventually recovered, although no reports were made after the incident. It is said to be insured with $782 million but it is more for the security and not the price of the painting itself.
#2 The Last Supper
Another famous painting by Leonardo Da Vinci is the Last Supper. The painting actually represents Jesus who is having his final meal with his apostles before he was crucified and this is commemorated by Christians during Maundy Thursday of the Holy Week. It is a mural that was made during the 15th century in Milan, Italy and is also one of the most popular priceless paintings of the world. It was actually painted on an incredibly thin exterior wall, it began to deteriorate right after it was finished. So it has been restored over and over again by different painters.
It is such a religious representation in a painting on a wall so it can only be found where it is originally painted and it can’t obviously be transferred. Its home is in a convent, Santa Maria delle Grazie, in Milan, Italy. Da Vinci really meant to paint this at the dining hall of the said convent. That is way during the modern days, most religious people have a replica painting of the Last Supper in their dining room.
#3 The Birth of Venus
This next painting is actually made by another Italian painter named Sandro Botticelli and it was made during the 1480’s. The painting depicts the Roman goddess, Venus, who emerged from the sea on a shell, as an adult woman. According to historians, symbolists, and artists, the interpretation of the painting is unclear but it was commonly represented as the “divine love in the form of a nude Venus”
The painting was based on the marble sculpture from the classical antiquity which is in the Medici collection. The sculpture of Venus is actually pretty similar to the sculpture of the Greek goddess, Aphrodite.
#4 The Scream
This painting has a permanent home in the National Gallery of Oslo in Norway because it is painted by the Norwegian Expressionist, Edvard Munch in 1893. It is painted with the use of oil, tempera, pastel, and crayon on a cardboard. The painting shows a person with an agonized expression and is against a landscape with an orange sky.
Unlike the other paintings, Munch created four other versions to be spread out in different countries.
#5 The Starry Night
Last but definitely not the least is the Starry Night by Dutch painter, Vincent van Gogh. This is the only painting on the list that located outside Europe, in the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.
This painting was actually considered to be just a memory of Van Gogh. He painted this in his ground floor studio where the view is from his bedroom window, facing the east. According to the number of letters he wrote about the Starry Night, the painting was set in June and he thinks of the painting as a “failure.” But during the modern times, it is considered to be one of the greatest paintings ever made.