The great artists, a guided tour through six centuries of art
From a Florentine workshop to a silver studio in New York, twelve artists and the movements that link them, with an honest look at how fame in art is made.
PR106 Vermilion
Art History
The great artists, their lives and the works that changed how we see.
Six centuries, twelve artists, one long conversation. From Leonardo’s notebooks to Warhol’s silkscreens, these portraits tell how the most famous artists worked, what they changed and where their key works hang today, so the next museum visit becomes a meeting rather than a checklist.
Leonardo da Vinci, the restless mind behind the Mona Lisa
Painter, engineer, anatomist and serial non-finisher: how a notary’s son from Vinci left only a handful of paintings and still became one of the most famous artists in history.
Michelangelo, marble, the Sistine ceiling and a very long working life
Sculptor first, painter by obligation, architect in old age: Michelangelo worked for more than seventy years and left works in Florence and Rome that millions still queue to see.
Rembrandt van Rijn, light, shadow and the honest self-portrait
A miller’s son from Leiden who conquered Amsterdam, lost nearly everything and kept painting his own face with unflinching honesty, from confident youth to old age.
Johannes Vermeer, the quiet light of Delft
Barely three dozen paintings, most of them small, almost all set in a few quiet rooms. How Vermeer turned window light, ultramarine and patience into some of the most loved pictures in art.
Katsushika Hokusai, the great wave and an artist who never stopped learning
He changed his name dozens of times and designed one of the most reproduced images in the world in his seventies. A portrait of Hokusai and the woodblock prints that crossed the globe.
Claude Monet, light, haystacks and the water garden at Giverny
From caricatures in Le Havre to the great Water Lilies in Paris: how Claude Monet spent more than sixty years chasing light, and gave a whole movement its name almost by accident.
Vincent van Gogh, colour, letters and a short burst of genius
In barely ten years Vincent van Gogh went from late beginner to one of the most loved painters in history. His letters, and his sister-in-law, explain how.
Gustav Klimt, gold, ornament and the Vienna Secession
Gold leaf, flat ornament and frank portraits made Gustav Klimt the defining painter of Vienna around 1900. Here is how he got there and where to see the work.
Pablo Picasso, the many lives of a modern master
Blue, rose, Cubist, classical, political, playful: Pablo Picasso reinvented himself again and again over a working life of more than seventy years.
Frida Kahlo, pain, colour and the blue house in Coyoacán
Frida Kahlo turned her own life, her body and her Mexican heritage into some of the most recognisable paintings of the twentieth century.
Salvador Dalí, dreams, melting clocks and the theatre of Figueres
Behind the upturned moustache and the publicity stunts stood a meticulous craftsman. Salvador Dalí’s art begins and ends on the rocky coast of Catalonia.
Andy Warhol, soup cans, silkscreens and fame as material
Andy Warhol took soup cans, film stars and newspaper photographs and made them into art. His questions about fame, repetition and brands have never gone away.
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Art Timeline
Twelve great artists and the movements around them on one interactive axis.
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The other sections
- Artists & StudiosPortraits, studio visits and a look inside the places where art is made.
- Art & DesignPainting, sculpture, photography and digital art: materials, methods and how to see them.
- Galleries & ExhibitionsArt spaces, openings, biennials and fairs worth the journey.
- Collecting ArtClear orientation for a first purchase and a reliable refresher for seasoned collectors.
- Art LivingArt at home, in hotels and in architecture: hanging, lighting, framing and living with it.