20 Pieces of Art Every Person Over 20 Should Recognize

Image via Complex Original

Grant Wood’s ode to middle America is one of the most iconic images of the 20th century, having been copied and parodied (Nicki Minaj and Drake, anyone?) on many occasions. The original work hangs in the Art Institute of Chicago.

Leonardo da Vinci’s 15th-century mural, which depicts the dinner where Jesus announced he would be betrayed by one of his disciples, took three years to complete. In the years since, it has been become a popular topic for cultural observers and theologists alike. Know it because it's probably the most referenced artwork in pop culture ever.

Andy Warhol’s most famous series is a collection of 32 paintings, each one of a Campbell’s Soup can, and each one is of a different flavor. Warhol unveiled the images at Los Angeles’ Fergus Gallery on July 9, 1962, in an exhibition that is often cited as the introduction of pop art to the west coast. If there's a Warhol work to know, whether or not you care about its story, it's this one.

Not to be confused with Rodin’s marble statue, Gustav Klimt’s square painting is the most recognizable work from the Austrian artist’s “Golden Period,” and it’s easy to see why it was called that. To achieve the piece’s distinct texture and rich colors, Klimt layered gold leaf on top of oil paint. This image graces many girls' college dorm rooms, and recognizing it is an awesome way to start a conversation...or simply impress her. 

The plural in the title is important as Monet’s Water Lilies is actually a series, comprised of approximately 250 oil paintings of the artist’s own flower garden, painted during the last 30 years of his life. The images, some of which he specified were to be displayed on curved walls, are on view at museums all over the world, including New York’s MoMA and Paris’ Musée de l'Orangerie.

Rembrandt’s most famous painting, which depicts Captain Frans Banning Cocq moving his guard out of the city, got its name a century or so after its creation and was titled as such because of the darkness surrounding its characters. When the image was restored in the 1940s, and much of the varnish that covered it was removed, it became clear that this was indeed a Day Watch.

Saying which of Picasso’s paintings is his “most famous” is an exercise in subjectivity, especially given his tendency to shift genres. Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, which depicts five prostitutes in a less-than-welcoming manner, is considered a pioneering piece in the development of both cubism and modern art as we know these genres today. Not to mention, it's a seminal work in Picasso’s ever-evolving portfolio.

Just three years after making his first “drip” painting, Jackson Pollock proved how far his methodology had come with this abstract canvas, in which he used sticks, trowels, knives, and anything else he could get his hands on to create this large-scale piece, which has no single point of focus. While Pollock pieces are normally accompanied by "WTF how is that art" types of conversations, Autumn Rhythm and many similar pieces created around the same time created defining moments in contemporary art.

Damien Hirst’s most iconic artwork, which is an actual tiger shark preserved in formaldehyde, then encased in a vitrine, has required a bit of upkeep, and, as such, challenges the definition of “original art.” Commissioned by advertising giant Charles Saatchi in 1991, the original shark had to be replaced in 2006 because of deterioration. When questioned as to whether that meant the work was still the original piece, Hirst admitted, “It’s a big dilemma. Artists and conservators have different opinions about what’s important: the original artwork or the original intention. I come from a Conceptual art background, so I think it should be the intention. It’s the same piece. But the jury will be out for a long time to come." 

Because it straddles the line between fantasy and reality, Diego Velázquez's Las Meninas has become one of the world’s most analyzed paintings. The artist’s decision to paint himself into the portrait, in the background, is a main part of its curious nature, leading authors Hugh Honour and John Fleming, in their book The Visual Arts: A History, to call the painting, "Velazquez's supreme achievement, a highly self-conscious, calculated demonstration of what painting could achieve of the easel painting.” If that isn't enough of a reason to be sure you know it when you see it, we don't know what is.

Georges Seurat spent more than two years painting this portrait of pointillism in its most detailed version. In order to highlight the methodology with which he painted the piece, Seurat chose to surround it with a contrasting “frame” of dots and a white frame, which is how it is still displayed at the Art Institute of Chicago. Your art knowledge points go up by recognizing this less piece that's less familiar than the rest on this list.

Edward Hopper’s statement on the loneliness of city life has been re-created by fellow artists, musicians, and moviemakers, but the simple elegance of his original piece, which was sold to the Art Institute of Chicago for $3,000 shortly after its completion, has yet to be matched.

Pope Julius II commissioned Michelangelo to paint this Biblical fresco onto the ceiling of The Sistine Chapel, and it is the best known of the four panels that reside there. Like Hopper’s Nighthawks, it has been copied in various media over the years (including as a key plot point in Arrested Development).

Originally modeled after Paolo and Francesca, from Dante’s Divine Comedy, The Kiss was meant to reside in Rodin’s The Gates of Hell. The passion depicted in the final marble sculpture didn’t feel right to the artist, so he displayed it on its own. If there's a single sculpture you should recognize, it's this one.

If you didn’t have a cheap poster of Dalí’s The Persistence of Memory on your dorm room wall, your roommate probably did (or at least someone on your floor, let's be real). You may have just called it “that cool melting clock poster,” but it's actually one of the most iconic art pieces to have ever been made and represents the entire surrealist movement and aesthetic.

Jeff Koons’ Balloon Dogs come in various colors. An orange one actually sold for a record $58.4 million at Christie’s in November. There are red, green, and blue ones, nut the hot pink version of this stainless steel sculpture is his most iconic, most notably because of the backlash that followed its incongruous display at Versailles in 2008. Just because you can recognize a literal balloon dog doesn't excuse you from knowing its iconic fine art equivalent.

Also known as “The Dutch Mona Lisa,” the origins of Johannes Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring aren’t well-known, but that didn’t stop director Peter Webber from turning it into a period romance back in 2003, with Scarlett Johansson playing the accessory-wearing “girl” of the title.

Edvard Munch's series of expressionist paintings and pastels are relatable images for all audiences. The fourth version of the image, a pastel created in 1895, was sold for more than $119 million at Sotheby’s in 2012. If nothing else, you should know this painting because it has inspired artists and designers for many decades since its creation. 

Vincent van Gogh’s most famous work, of the view from his window inside an asylum in Saint-Rémy, has called New York’s MoMA its home for more than 70 years. Whether or not you can make the trip to NY to see it, you should know its name when you see it (and chances are, you have many times).

Whether or not you're among the more than six million people who visit the Louvre annually in order to see the world's most famous painting, you know who she is. And you recognize her smile, or rather, you should. They even made a crappy Julia Roberts movie about it.