Big, does not always mean beautiful, but this does not apply to the masterpieces of painting. Sometimes, to emphasize the significance of an event or phenomenon, artists depict them on truly huge canvases.
Take a walk through the museums of the world and look at the largest paintings decorating the halls of museums of painting and art.
“Minin's appeal to Nizhny Novgorod”, 41.5 m²
A significant event in Russian history, the artist Konstantin Makovsky depicted on a canvas measuring 698 * 594 centimeters, and the total canvas area is 40 m2. The artist took 6 years to create a magnificent and large-scale picture.
The majestic picture traveled across Russia. In 1896, it was first exhibited at an exhibition in Nizhny Novgorod, and then presented to the imperial family in honor of the 300th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty.
Since 1972, “Appeal” has been exhibited at the Nizhny Novgorod Art Museum, reminding residents and visitors of the city of the great event that saved Russia.
By the way, at thebiggest.ru you can also find out about the most famous paintings around the world.
“The Appearance of Christ to the People”, 40.5 m²
The largest painting of the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow is the immortal masterpiece of Russian artist Alexander Ivanov. He wrote The Appearance of the Messiah for 20 years.
A few hours after the artist’s death in 1858, Alexander II acquired a large-scale painting for 15 thousand rubles. In 1925, she received a permanent residence permit in Moscow. Before placing the canvas in the Tretyakov Gallery, another hall was specially built for the “Main Apparition of Christ to the People” to the main building.
“Marriage in Cana of Galilee”, 65.9 m²
A masterpiece of painting on a biblical plot was written by Italian painter Paolo Veronese for one year. The mastery of the master simply surprises, because 130 pieces fit on the canvas.
After Napoleon captured Venice in 1798, the painting was transported to the Louvre, and is still in it today. This is not only the largest painting in the famous museum, but also the largest in the history of world art.
Note that the size of the canvas is 666 * 990 centimeters, and it hangs in one of the large halls of the Louvre opposite Gioconda Leonardo da Vinci.
“Among the waves”, 12.2 m²
The peak of the work of the Russian painter Ivan Aivazovsky is considered to be his canvas “Among the Waves”. The master was already 81 years old, and he painted a picture in 10 days.
The details of the raging elements are drawn so masterfully that the storm directly breaks out of the canvas, and the picture itself is full of energy and expression.
The masterpiece of the marine painter has become a significant phenomenon in the world of fine art. "Among the waves" is in the art gallery named after the famous artist, and has never left the city of Feodosia.
Heroes, 13.2 m²
For the depiction of the majestic epic Russian heroes, Viktor Vasnetsov took the same size canvas 295.3 * 446 centimeters. And Vasnetsov worked on the “Heroes” for twenty long years.
The plot itself, according to the master himself, was born spontaneously. I wanted to perpetuate the epic heroes and endless Russian spaces. The picture directly breathes the "Russian spirit."
Immediately after writing, Pavel Tretyakov bought it for his gallery. And today it is exhibited in one of the halls on Krymsky Val, but for a holistic perception to emerge, the “Heroes” must be viewed from a distance.
"Paradise", ∼150 m²
In the St. Petersburg Hermitage, occupying an entire wall, the largest painting in the world is exhibited. This is "Paradise", written based on the "Divine Comedy", by the Venetian Tintoretto and his students.
When the canvas measuring 7 by 22 meters was ready, the master turned 70 years old. And they wrote it for one of the halls of the Council of the Rainy Palace in Venice.
The Hermitage houses an artistic version of Paradise written by Francesco Bassano. The composition itself, figures, colors tell that the painters of the Renaissance were inspired by the immortal lines of the work of Dante.
Conclusion
Large size paintings amaze not only with their dimensions, but also with the drawing of the smallest details creating an integral canvas. Experts say that creating such masterpieces is quite difficult, so many painters spent many years creating them.
Cloths of large dimensions by famous painters became a significant phenomenon in the history of world painting, and biblical plots or great historical events were used to create them.
The thebiggest.ru editorial office asks you to write in the comments to the article what the biggest paintings you saw and what impression they made on you.
Article author: Valery Skiba