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From the Mona Lisa at the Louvre to Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring in The Hague, ten famous paintings and the museums where you can see them
Brittany Chastagnier / Unsplash
Painting ranks as an ancient medium, and even with the introduction of photography, film, and digital technology, it has remained a persistent mode of expression. So many paintings have been created over dozens of millennia that only a relatively small percentage could be considered timeless classics familiar to the general public, produced by some of the most celebrated artists in history.
What mix of talent, genius, and circumstance leads to the creation of a masterpiece remains an open question, though most people recognize one when they see it, regardless of where in the world it hangs. Beyond the art itself, tracking down these works in person often means planning a trip around some of the world’s greatest museums, from the Louvre in Paris to the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
