Exceptional Visual Arts

An anthology of visual arts

This collection displays some works of visual arts throughout history that I find exceptional. Exceptions may apply, but I will try to adhere to the following rules:

The work must be aesthetically significant. The artistic value must surpass its editorial and functional value, but not its informational value, as determined by me.
The work must have no copyright protection in the United States.*
The work, or a representation of it, must still exist.
The work must be standalone, it cannot be extracted from another work.†
The author must not be me or someone I know personally.

* I will still consider and include copyrighted works, but the bar will higher.

† I will not consider films.

These work should be appreciated on its own. I will only provide the metadata.

If you have suggestions for an entry, let me know.

A note on bias

This collection is based on the art I see on a daily basis, mostly from the internet. There will be a bias towards:

American art
Western European art
Art from societies that are prominent at the time
What is considered as aesthetically pleasing nowadays

Images are resized to fit a typical screen, check the links for higher resolution versions and more information. Images may take a while to load.

Images are served by external sources (most by a Wikimedia Foundations project) which may be susceptible to link rot. Contact me if an image doesn't exist.

Bliss

Charles O'Rear, 1996, California, United States

I cannot display the image due to copyright restrictions. Microsoft used the image as the default background image of Windows XP. See it here.

Helene

Cassini-Huygens spacecraft, 2011, Saturn's orbit.

Image of Helene taken by Cassini. Wikimedia Commons.

Image of Helene

Rabbit used to test nerve gas at RMA

Denver Post Photographer, 1970, Colorado, United States. Library of Congress.

Rabbit in a cage held by a person in a full protective suit.

View of docked Apollo 9 Command/Service Module and Lunar Module

Russell L. Schweickart, 1969, Low earth orbit. NASA.

An astronaut looking out of an opened door of a spacecraft.

Gateway Arch

Eero Saarinen, 1965, Missouri, United States.

This is a structure standing in St. Louis.

Bullet through apple

"Doc" Edgerton, 1964, United States. Smithsonian.

Bullet right after it passed through an apple

Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima

Joe Rosenthal, 1945, Iwo Jima, Japan. Wikimedia Commons.

US Marines rising the US flag on an island

Golden Gate Bridge

Irving Morrow, 1937, California, United States.

This is a structure standing in San Francisco.

Hindenburg Diaster

Sam Shere, 1937, New Jersey, United States. Wikimedia Commons.

A burning airship falling

The Sleeping Gypsy

Henri Rousseau, 1897, France. Wikidata.

A person laying in the desert with a string instrument and a vase next to them. A lion is in the middle on the frame. The moon is in the top right. It appears to be at night or during dawn or dusk.

The Slient Voice

Gerald Moira, ca. 1892, British Isles. Wikidata.

A woman with an uneasy facial expression sits while a ghostly figure kisses her head.

Starry Night Over the Rhone

Vincent Van Gogh, 1888, Western Europe. Wikidata.

Riverscape at night. Some stars in the sky. Boats in the river. Two people (may be a couple) appears in the midground.

The Magpie

Claude Monet, 1868, France. Wikidata.

A snowscape, a house rests behind trees in the right and a bridge is in the foreground.

Isambard Kingdom Brunel Standing Before the Launching Chains of the Great Eastern

Robert Howlett, 1857, British Isles. MET Museum. Wikipedia Upload.

A man stands in front of a wall of chains. Each links of the chain is about the size of one's head plus hat.

Queen Victoria

Franz Xaver Winterhalter, 1843, British Isles. Royal Collection. Wikidata.

A portrait of a woman, she is looking to the right of the image and she shoulders can be seen. Her hair extends to cover one of her shoulders.

Napoleon Crossing the Alps

Jacques-Louis David, 1805, France. Wikidata.

David painted multiple versions; this is the one displayed in Malmaison.

A man in a military uniform with an orange cloak mounted on a horse. The horse is in some sort of a jump. The background is mountains.

The Great Wave off Kanagawa

Katsushika Hokusai, 1831, Japan. Wikimedia Commons.

A big wave. Mount Fuji can be seen in the background, small. Multiple boats are in the water.

An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump

Joseph Wright of Derby, 1768, British Isles. Wikidata.

A group of people, including men, women, and children, gathering around a science experiment in a dimly lit room.

The Foursome

Jean-Antoine Watteau, ca. 1713, Western Europe. Wikimedia Commons.

Four people, two women and two men, including one with a string instrument, gathering around a fountain-like structure at what looks to be night.

Portrait of Mumtaz Mahal

India. Wikimedia Commons.

A portrait of a woman

Taj Mahal

Ustad Ahmad Lahori, 1653, India

This is a structure standing in Agra. Currently administered by India.

Potala Palace

1649, Tibet

This is a structure standing in Lhasa. Currently administered by China.

Registan

1600s, Uzbekistan

These are structures standing in Samarkand. Currently administered by Uzbekistan.

Moai

Easter Island

These are structures standing in Easter Island. Currently administered by Chile.

Birth of Venus

Sandro Botticelli, ca. 1484, Italy. Wikidata.

A nude woman standing on a seashell surrounded by flying people.

Auspicious Cranes

1112, China. Wikipedia Upload.

Around or exactly 20 cranes surrounding a structure. All of two cranes are in flight.

Life on the Nile during the flood

200 BCE, Italy. Wikimedia Commons.

A scene filled with structures, livestock, and people; the landscape seems to be flooded.

Terracotta Army

209 BCE, Xi'an, China

These are statues standing in Xi'an, China.

Acropolis

500 BCE, Greece

These is a structure standing in Athens, Greece.