Famous Paintings of Women Reproduction Oil Paintings On Canvas

The Mona Lisa painting, also known as La Gioconda, by Leonardo da Vinci is not only the most famous painting in the world, it is generally considered the most beautiful painting of a woman.

French State owns Leonardo da Vinci Mona Lisa painting.  It is part of the permanent collection at the Louvre Museum in Paris. This portrait painting was completed in 1503 for the silk merchant Francesco del Giocondo and depicted his wife, Lisa Gherardini.

Da Vinci never gave the painting to the Giocondo family. Instead, it was acquired by King Francis I of France and has been in the Louvre Museum since 1797.

As far as famous paintings of women are concerned, da Vinci's portrait has to be number 1.

Is the Mona Lisa a Renaissance Oil Painting

The Renaissance art movement began in Tuscany in Italy and was centered in Florence. The word renaissance means rebirth. The Renaissance art period resulted in significant advancements in painting, architecture, sculpture, music, science, and technology.

The Italian Renaissance arrived when Florence was a vibrant city, with trade and banking becoming prominent. From Florence, the Renaissance spread to Venice and Rome.

The art Renaissance is considered to have begun in the 15th century and lasted into the 16th century.  It ended with the religious wars in Europe in 1648, fought between Protestants and Catholics.

The Mona Lisa painting is known as the most famous Renaissance painting. It is one of the earliest known portraits of a subject sitting in front of an imaginary landscape.

What are 3 Famous Paintings of Women by Edouard Manet

Edouard Manet was a French painter of the 19th century, Manet is generally recognized as a critical figure in the transition from Realism to Impressionism.

Two early Manet famous paintings of women, completed in 1863, were controversial due to their subject matter.

• The Luncheon on the Grass, Le Dejeuner sur L'herbe, shows two men fully clothed with a nude woman, having a picnic. Another almost naked woman appears in the background.
  At the time, this was considered scandalous by the viewing public, and the Paris Salon rejected the painting. Manet exhibited the painting instead at the Salon des Refuses, where it was also seen as controversial. The painting is now in the Musee d'Orsay museum in Paris.
• Olympia, shown at the Paris salon in 1865, was also controversial.  Not because of the subject's nudity, but because she is staring directly out from the canvas in a bold manner. Olympia is wearing items that suggest that she is a prostitute. The name Olympia was associated with prostitutes in Paris during the 1860s, further reinforcing this view.  Manet's Olympia painting resides at the Musee d'Orsay museum in Paris.
• Manet's last major oil painting, painted in 1882, is A Bar at the Folies Bergere. The barmaid in the picture is identified as a real woman named Suzon, who Manet posed in his studio for the painting. Manet includes a dish of oranges on the bar near her. This is his way of signifying her as a prostitute. The Courtauld Gallery in London owns A Bar at the Folies-Bergere.

What are the Most Famous Female Nude Paintings?

Throughout the history of art, there have been female nude paintings.

• In 1485 Italian Early Renaissance artist Sandro Botticelli painted the Greek myth-inspired Birth of Venus. This iconic masterpiece painting is in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy.
• The Uffizi Gallery also holds Venus of Urbino, a painting by Titian from 1538, one of the best-known female nude paintings from the Venetian High Renaissance. Enjoy many other famous paintings of women in our Venus paintings Art Collection.
• Rembrandt's Danae, painted in 1636, has been a much-painted mythological subject through the ages. Gustav Klimt famously revisited Danae at the end of his gold wall art period. Danae by Klimt was painted in 1907. In Greek Mythology, Danae was the mother of Perseus, who killed the Gorgon Medusa.
• Around 1800, the Spanish artist Francisco Goya painted The Nude Maja for his patron Manuel Godoy. Later, in 1803, Goya also recreated the same painting. However, this time, the nude is fully clothed, and this oil painting is known as the Clothed Maja. The second painting was also for his patron Godoy. Both portraits hang in the Prado Museum in Madrid, Spain.
• The Grand Odalisque, painted in 1814 by Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres.  It inspired many later paintings, notably by Henri Matisse, Frederick Lord Leighton, and Pierre Auguste Renoir. Ingres Odalisque painting resides at the Louvre Museum.

Which Oil Paintings are Classic Paintings of Women?

The Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci

This famous painting  is generally considered the most iconic painting of a woman.

Vermeer Pearl Earring Painting

Dutch Master Johannes Vermeer is famous for his paintings of women. Joan Vermeer's most famous painting is Girl with a Pearl Earring, painted in 1665. In his relatively short career, Vermeer is known to have completed some sixty paintings, of which forty-five are paintings of women. Best known Vermeer paintings are The Milkmaid, painted in 1658, and Girl with a Red Hat, from 1669. Both old master paintings are included in our standard catalog of fine art reproductions.

Gustav Klimt Adele Bloch Bauer

Austrian artist Gustav Klimt, a member of the Vienna Secession movement, is world-famous for his many paintings of women. Of these, the most famous is from Klimt's gold wall art period from the early 1900s, Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I. Commissioned by her husband, Ferdinand Bloch-Bauer, the painting was among many looted from the family by the Nazis. Portrait of Adele Bloch Bauer was returned to the surviving Bloch-Bauer family, Maria Altmann, in 2006.  She later sold the painting to cosmetics heir Ronald Lauder for a record-breaking $135 million. The painting now hangs in the Neue Galerie in New York.

Another iconic painting by Klimt from his golden period is Judith I, Judith and the Head of Holofernes, painted in 1901. Gustav Klimt also painted Lady with a Fan in 1918 using a background of Japanese-style decoration that was popular at the time. This oil painting was his last known portrait painting before his death.

John Singer Sargent Madame X

In 1884 the young American painter John Singer Sargent was living in Paris. He had met another American living in Paris, the wife of a famous French banker, Virginie Gautreau. After many months of persuasion, Sargent convinced Mme. Gautreau to pose for him. But unfortunately, the French art world ridiculed Portrait of Madame X after it was exhibited. This caused Sargent to leave France to live in London. John Singer Sargent portraits gave the artist fame and fortune, but his best-known painting is always considered his Madame X painting.

What Kind of Painting is Whistler's Mother?

American artist James Abbott McNeill Whistler lived in London in 1871 with his mother, Anna. Whistler had decided to paint a portrait called Arrangement in Grey and Black using a model standing upright. Unfortunately, the model was unavailable, so his mother posed for the painting. His elderly mother asked if she could sit in a chair instead, so Whistler painted the portrait with his mother sitting.

The painting was shown at the Royal Academy in London in 1872. Due to its near rejection, it was the last Whistler painting he submitted. The picture is now in the Musee d"Orsay in Paris and is one of the most famous paintings ever painted by an American artist outside the United States. The U.S. Post Office used the image on a stamp in 1934.

Famous Women Paintings: High Quality Art Reproductions

Fine art reproductions of famous women paintings are available in all art movements, from Renaissance oil paintings to modern art on canvas wall art.

We specialize in oversized paintings, and all of our replica art is available in large sizes to suit even the most spacious home or office.