13 Must-See Paintings Around the World

The Peggy Guggenheim Collection holds a number of paintings by the eclectic surrealist Max Ernst, and Attirement of the Bride (1940) is one of the German artist’s most arresting. Ernst depicts two mysterious figures: one cloaked in a red robe with a large hood of feathers akin to an owl’s head; the other, a bird-like woman positioned towards a picture on the wall that seemingly portrays the same central figure. Green hybrid creatures, one of which resembles an egret, lurk in the periphery. Ernst was known to have a bird alter ego called Loplop, thus a number of his paintings feature avian motifs.

Frida Kahlo’s relationship with Diego Rivera was historically tumultuous, and their divorce inspired her to paint one of her most important artworks. The Two Fridas (1939), on view at the Museo de Arte Moderno in Mexico City, channels the artist’s dual heritage (her mother was Mexican, her father, a German immigrant). Both Fridas bear their hearts, but the ‘European’ Frida’s heart is wide open, causing her to bleed stoically on her dress. Referencing Rivera’s particular adoration for Kahlo’s Mexican identity, The Two Fridas hints at the artist’s resentment of her European blood after their separation.

On view at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Figure Study I (c. 1946) is one of Francis Bacon’s few surviving paintings from his early career. Most of Bacon’s subseqent figures are ethereal though substantially represented, while Figure Study I merely implies a figure hunched beneath a heavy, textured overcoat and trilby hat. For the first time in decades, Figure Study I hangs beside Figure Study II(c. 1945/46) (on loan from the Kirklees Collection at Huddersfield Art Gallery), a companion piece featuring another hunched figure, partially concealed by the same tweed coat, screaming.

Brilliant in both color and composition, Henri Matisse’s The Dessert:Harmony in Red(1908) is a luxurious masterpiece on view at the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg. Matisse imbued his flat fauvist perspective with depth and dimension through a bold yet pleasant floral motif, offset by complementary hues of deep blue, calming green, and sunny golden tones. Originally intended as a “decorative panel” for the dining room of Russian collector Sergey Shchukin, Harmony in Red (also referred to as TheRed Room) became one of the artist’s most important paintings.

One of the Belgian surrealist’s most recognizable works, The Castle of the Pyrenees (1959) hangs in Jerusalem’s Israel Museum. A fairytale-like fortification stands atop a colossal boulder, hovering amid the clouds over a rolling seascape. Completed in 1959, the fantastical painting was commissioned by writer, lawyer, and a friend of the artist, Harry Torczyner, and serves as one of Magritte’s more mysterious compositions.

Norwegian expressionist Edvard Munch was known to struggle with anxiety and depression, which inspired a legacy of deeply emotive, oftentimes harrowing works—most notably, The Scream(1893). But Dance of Life(1899–1900), on view at Oslo’s National Museum of Art, is a luminous composition depicting the various stages of a woman’s life, set against the backdrop of a moonlit coastline.

Also known as The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, the Ghent Altarpiece(1432) is considered one of the world’s most important and coveted masterworks—The Guardiancalled it “the most stolen artwork of all time.” In 2012, the Koninklijk Instituut voor het Kunstpatrimonium (KIK) kicked off a seven-year restoration project, which is due for completion in 2019. Two-thirds of the original altarpiece remain on view in St. Bavo Cathedral, while the panels being restored are temporarily replaced by black and white replicas. The Just Judges panel was stolen in 1934—and a reproduction stands in its place.