A few years ago, I became deeply interested in art.
Something I had never really seen as important or particularly appealing suddenly became incredibly fascinating to me.
It all started on YouTube.
I randomly stumbled upon an interesting channel called Baumgartner Restoration, and, as often happens on YouTube, I saw a captivating thumbnail.
I clicked on the video and was completely shocked.
I had never thought about art restoration before, but this video awakened something in me that I hadn’t even known existed.
Not long after, I bought my first canvas and some tempera paints, and I even started painting myself.
I began reading about art, looking at photos of the most famous works, and in them, I discovered a new love.
Well, perhaps even an obsession in my case :D
Art isn’t just something you look at.
It’s something you feel.
Whether it stirs up awe, discomfort, inspiration, or a million questions you never expected to ask, a great masterpiece stays with you long after you’ve walked away.
That’s why I’ve put together a list of 10 paintings that I believe could spark a hidden love in you, too.
Just to note, I haven’t seen most of these paintings in person, but I’m sure that if I did, they would leave an even deeper mark on me…
So, let’s begin.
1. Guernica – Pablo Picasso
Location: Museo Reina Sofía, Madrid
Painted in the wake of the 1937 bombing of Guernica, this massive black-and-white mural isn’t subtle.
And it isn’t supposed to be.
There’s so much to see in this painting that it is really hard to describe what’s happening.
Picasso’s chaotic cubist figures scream out from the canvas, a visceral condemnation of violence and war.
You don’t just view Guernica, you feel it hit you.
And that’s exactly how I felt seeing it for the first time.
2. The Scream – Edvard Munch
Location: National Gallery, Oslo
Few paintings capture raw emotion like Munch’s The Scream.
That haunting, open-mouthed figure on the bridge seems to echo the panic.
Of what exactly, well, depends on you.
Whether you interpret it as existential dread or a simple panic attack, it’s unforgettable.
3. The Creation of Adam – Michelangelo
Location: Sistine Chapel, Vatican City
Arguably the most famous ceiling in the world.
In this moment of divine electricity, God reaches toward Adam with an outstretched finger, just about to spark life into humanity.
Seeing it in person, amid hundreds of other frescoes, is a goosebump-inducing experience.
4. Starry Night – Vincent van Gogh
Location: Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York
The Starry Night by van Gogh is by far the favorite for me.
Painted while van Gogh was in an asylum, Starry Night pulses with emotion and motion.
The hypnotic swirls of the night sky, the sleepy village below, the intensity of color… it simply comforting.
5. The Last Supper – Leonardo da Vinci
Location: Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan
Not just a painting, but a moment frozen in suspense.
Leonardo’s The Last Supper captures the instant Jesus tells his disciples one of them will betray him, and the reactions ripple across the table.
The composition and detail are so precise, it almost feels cinematic.
The Last Supper is probably the most important Leonardo’s piece, and for sure one of the most popular paintings of all time.
And if you’re a fan of Dan Brown like me, there is so much more about this painting…
6. Girl with a Pearl Earring – Johannes Vermeer
Location: Mauritshuis, The Hague
Often called the “Mona Lisa of the North,” this enigmatic portrait is simplicity at its finest.
The soft lighting, the direct gaze, the shimmer of the earring, kinda looks like a selfie ahead of it’s time :)
7. The Great Wave off Kanagawa – Hokusai
Location: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
The Great Wave is probably the most recognizable piece of Japanese art in the world.
The level of details, the force of the wave, Mt. Fuji in the back…
Different, but so beautiful.
8. Impression, Sunrise – Claude Monet
Location: Musée Marmottan Monet, Paris
The soft hues, the hazy light, the gentle glow of the sun… it’s dreamy, atmospheric, and revolutionary.
In all my years, and hundreds of different paintings I’ve seen, I’ve never, and I doubt I ever will, see such a sun representation as Monet’s…
Simply exceptional.
9. Judith Beheading Holofernes – Artemisia Gentileschi
Location: Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence
This is not a dainty Renaissance painting.
And it’s not for everyone for sure.
If you’re someone who doesn’t react the best by seeing violence, don’t look it up.
Gentileschi’s brutal and honest depiction of biblical vengeance shows Judith mid-act, sword in hand, slicing through the general’s throat.
Blood spatters.
Muscles tense.
It’s intense, powerful, and decades ahead of its time.
10. The Hay Wain – John Constable
Location: The National Gallery, London
A slice of English countryside serenity, The Hay Wain might look idyllic.
And it is.
But there’s a depth to Constable’s skies and waterways that feels almost spiritual.
It’s not flashy or dramatic, but it’s a masterclass in atmosphere and emotion.