While we might recognize most of these masterpieces and their artists, we probably don’t know much about the stories behind them. From personal experiences to hidden messages, each painting has an origin story that’s as captivating as the artwork itself. Some artworks weren’t understood, while others received critical acclaim. But what they all have in common is that they became revolutionary pieces of art that broke barriers in their time. We’ve compiled a list of 21 paintings that changed art forever, along with the intriguing stories behind them.
#1 Café Terrace At Night, Vincent Van Gogh (1888)
We really don’t have to dig very deep into the history of this painting to figure out how it came about. Vincent Van Gogh himself described his work in a letter to his sister, detailing the reasons why he didn’t want to use black, despite painting a night scene. It turns out that he wanted to capture the true colors of the night and portray it as full of life rather than darkness.
