Art History
553 works, from the caves of Lascaux to Banksy. Painters, movements, museums: everything to understand Western art without jargon.
Arts and literature change the way we see the world. You do not visit Florence the same way after reading about the Medicis. The major movements (Renaissance, Impressionism, Art Deco) and the major works form a useful foundation for any curious person.
SAPIRO covers 553 art works organized by movement and by era, with a contextualized explanation for each question.
Art in numbers
- 553 art works in SAPIRO
- 15 major art movements, from Medieval to Pop Art
- 8.7 million visitors at the Louvre in 2024 (most visited museum)
- $450 million: record price for da Vinci's Salvator Mundi (2017)
- 40,000 years ago: the earliest known cave paintings (Chauvet, Lascaux)
The essentials
Museums and places
Reviewing art
Frequently asked questions about art
What are the most famous paintings in the world?
The 10 most famous paintings: Mona Lisa (Leonardo da Vinci), Starry Night (Van Gogh), The Scream (Munch), Guernica (Picasso), Les Demoiselles d'Avignon (Picasso), Birth of Venus (Botticelli), Las Meninas (Velazquez), The Night Watch (Rembrandt), Liberty Leading the People (Delacroix), Sunflowers (Van Gogh).
Who painted the Mona Lisa?
The Mona Lisa was painted by Leonardo da Vinci between 1503 and 1519. The painting is at the Louvre in Paris. The model is probably Lisa Gherardini, wife of a Florentine merchant.
What are the major art movements?
The 15 major movements: Medieval, Renaissance, Mannerism, Baroque, Rococo, Neoclassicism, Romanticism, Realism, Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, Fauvism, Cubism, Surrealism, Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art.
What is the most visited museum in the world?
The Louvre in Paris is the most visited museum in the world with 8.7 million visitors in 2024. Followed by the Vatican Museums (6.8 million) and the British Museum (6.4 million).