Did you know Vincent Van Gogh regarded his painting ‘The Starry Night’ a failure because he made the stars too large? That the globally famous Mona Lisa portrait by Leonardo da Vinci was meant to be spelt ‘Monna’, the Italian word for “my lady”? Or that the ‘Girl with a Pearl Earring’ painting by Johannes Vermeer was bought for the equivalent of just €24 at auction in The Hague in 1881?
Even some of the world’s most admired and famous paintings have secrecy behind them. There are many unknown facts behind these artworks that even the most ardent of art lovers don’t know. Here we delve into the unknown history of some of our favourites pieces as we explore paintings by Grant Wood, Pierre Auguste Renoir, Édouard Manet, Jean-Antoine Watteau and many more titans of the art world.
Want to find out more about famous art? Visit cadogantate.com