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Daughters of the Revolution by Grant Wood, Cincinnati Art Museum.
Wood pokes fun at the prim and proper ladies and their intolerance. This is the only "satire" Wood owned up to, but many of his other works fit that definition too, even the beloved American Gothic.
Grant Wood, American Gothic, 1930, Chicago Institute of Art.
January Thaw, Edge of Town, 1921 by Lawren S. Harris, National Gallery of Canada
Harris was a member of the Canadian group of early twentieth century artists known as the Group of Seven. They had a Studio, which Harris primarily built and where many of the group created their artwork. Harris was from a wealthy family and wanted to build a space where the less fortunate members of the group could have studio space.
Self-Portrait with Fur-Trimmed Robe, 1500 by Albrecht Dürer.
Dürer was fully aware of his reference to paintings of Jesus Christ when he created this self-portrait. He did a series of self-portraits through-out his career. He writes in Latin "Thus I, Albrecht Dürer from Nuremberg, portrayed myself with characteristic colors in my 28th year."
The Arnolfini Portrait by Jan van Eyck, National Gallery London.
Painted in the 15th century, this work is full of symbolism all meant to bring good luck to the marriage of this couple. van Eyck and his brother Hubert are often credited with inventing oil painting.
Ocean Park No. 67 by Richard Diebenkorn, SFMoMA
Diebenkorn taught at the California School of Fine Arts in San Francisco where one of his students was Mark Rothko. This is part of the Ocean series which features paintings constructed with large blocks of colors influenced by nature.
Girl with a Watering Can, 1876 by Pierre Auguste Renoir.
Renoir painted this young girl to attract people and some portrait business. Portraiture was the 19th century artist's bread and butter.
Lucy Ferry, 1986 by Robert Mapplethorpe© The Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation.
Mapplethorpe's work created a huge controversy when some of his work was deemed obscene in Cincinnati in 1990.
Melittion, 1882 by Frederic Lord Leighton.
Although this figure is dressed in the classical style, a clear reference to a Greek character could not be found. In a play from 1818 by Austrian Franz Grillparzer called Sappho there is a character called Melitta, who vies with Sappho for the love of the young man Phaon.
Niagara Falls, 1843 by Karl Bodmer, Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha NE.
Karl Bodmer traveled with Prince Maximilian of Wiedneuwied as he explored the Missouri river. Bodmer was in charge of capturing images of the new and wonderful people, animals and places they encountered.
Galaxy, 1947 by Jackson Pollock, Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha, NE.
One of Pollock's earliest "drip" paintings this work incorporated house paint and automobile paint mixed with sand and ashes.
La Danseuse Creole, 1965 by Henri Matisse.
As he was losing his eye sight, Matisse continued to work late in his career creating works (particularly collages) out of bits and pieces of color and shape.
Detail, Taj Mahal, built between 1631 and 1654, India
Shah Jahan the emperor of the Mughal Empire built this monument to his favorite wife Mumtaz Mahal. This detail of a marble decorative frieze.
Susanna Fourment and her Daughter, 1621 by Anthony van Dyck, The National Gallery of Art.
A popular subject - Susanna appears again in another 17th century court painting by Anthony van Dyck.
Portrait of Susanna Lunden or Le Chapeau de Paille (The Straw Hat), 1622-25 by Peter Paul Rubens, National Gallery, London.
A portrait of Rubens' sister-in-law, who was widowed by the time this was painted. Her sister was Rubens' second wife. Rubens' was the most famous and popular painter of the 17th century. His paintings of full-figured females have spawned the term "rubenisque" to describe voluptuous figures.
The Trappers Return, 1851 by George Caleb Bingham, Detroit Institute of Arts.
Bingham made a living painting portraits early in his career as an artist, but eventually switched to genre paintings like this. In this version you can see more of a resemblance to a bear cub.
Fur Traders Descending the Missouri, 1845 by George Caleb Bingham, The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Bingham studied art in the US and in Europe, he lived in Missouri where his family had moved when he was a child. Bingham eventually took up a life in politics. Some experts differ as to the animal with the collar in the front of the boat. Some say it is a cat and some a bear cub.
The Prison, plate VII, c. 1760 by Giovanni Battista Piranesi.
Piranesi was always very interested in architecture as his etchings prove. He set about recording the many great monuments and the architecture of Rome.
Archduke Leopold Wilhelm in his Gallery at Brussels, c. 1651 by David Teniers.
We are so used to seeing large expanses of wall surrounding works of art, but that is really only a 20th century method of hanging paintings, for years it was done like the gallery in this painting - floor to ceiling, stacked on top of each other.
Paul Helleu Sketching with his Wife, 1889 by John Singer Sargent, The Brooklyn Museum, New York.
Rather than the more formal portraits for which he is better known, in this piece we see a portrait by Sargent, but in a casual setting.
The Lamentation by Giotto di Bondone, Scrovegni Chapel, Padua.
The emotion and naturalism found in Giotto's 14th century frescos are among the reasons he is considered one of the founders of modern painting and his style paved the way for the artists of the Renaissance to follow. His understanding of space and the use of the landscape as a means to lead the viewer to the primary action in the scene, was revolutionary.