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The Most Famous Artworks of History Painting

The 60 most celebrated works of the History Painting genre, ranked by renown across 2,044 works in the catalog.

A note on the ranking: "fame" here is a measure of renown, not of merit — synthesised from how widely a work is cited and held. It leans toward the Western canon and the best-digitised collections. Read it as a popular index, not a verdict.

  1. Washington and Lafayette at Mount Vernon, 1784 (The Home of Washington after the War)
    Washington and Lafayette at Mount Vernon, 1784 (The Home of Washington after the War) Thomas Pritchard Rossiter · 1859
  2. The Constitution and the Guerriere
    The Constitution and the Guerriere Thomas Chambers · 1845
  3. Emancipation Proclamation
    Emancipation Proclamation A.A. Lamb · 1864
  4. Washington Crossing the Delaware
    Washington Crossing the Delaware Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze · 1851
  5. The Death of Socrates
    The Death of Socrates Jacques-Louis David · 1794
  6. Cassone with painted front panel depicting the Conquest of Trebizond
    Cassone with painted front panel depicting the Conquest of Trebizond Apollonio di Giovanni di Tomaso · 1461
  7. Finish—First International Race for America's Cup, August 8, 1870
    Finish—First International Race for America's Cup, August 8, 1870 Samuel Colman · 1870
  8. The Last Moments of John Brown
    The Last Moments of John Brown Thomas Hovenden · 1883
  9. 1807, Friedland
    1807, Friedland Ernest Meissonier · 1875
  10. Watson and the Shark
    Watson and the Shark John Singleton Copley · 1778
  11. Watson and the Shark
    Watson and the Shark John Singleton Copley · 1778
  12. Slave Market in Rome
    Slave Market in Rome Jean Léon Gérôme · 1892
  13. Untitled
    Untitled Unknown · 1783
  14. Aristotle with a Bust of Homer
    Aristotle with a Bust of Homer Rembrandt van Rijn · 1653
  15. Untitled
    Untitled Unknown · 1780
  16. Prussian Homage
    Prussian Homage Jan Matejko · 1890
  17. The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere
    The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere Grant Wood · 1931
  18. Untitled
    Untitled Bhima · 1767
  19. An Episode from the Life of Publius Cornelius Scipio
    An Episode from the Life of Publius Cornelius Scipio Giovanni Bellini · 1506
  20. Cleopatra Testing Poisons on Condemned Prisoners
    Cleopatra Testing Poisons on Condemned Prisoners Alexandre Cabanel
  21. The Death of Cleopatra
    The Death of Cleopatra Guido Cagnacci · 1661
  22. Untitled
    Untitled Mohamed · 1714
  23. 聖徳太子絵伝図|Illustrated Biography of Prince Shōtoku (Shōtoku Taishi e-den)
    聖徳太子絵伝図|Illustrated Biography of Prince Shōtoku (Shōtoku Taishi e-den) Unknown · 1316
  24. The suicide of Lucretia
    The suicide of Lucretia Master with the Parrot · 1500
  25. Tarquin and Lucretia
    Tarquin and Lucretia Jacopo Tintoretto · 1590
  26. The Death of Cleopatra
    The Death of Cleopatra Johann Liss · 1622
  27. Judith at the Banquet of Holofernes
    Judith at the Banquet of Holofernes Rembrandt van Rijn · 1634
  28. The Defense of Cadiz Against the English
    The Defense of Cadiz Against the English Francisco de Zurbarán · 1634
  29. Untitled
    Untitled Unknown · 1540
  30. Untitled
    Untitled Unknown · 1825
  31. "King Lear," Act I, Scene I
    "King Lear," Act I, Scene I Edwin Austin Abbey · 1898
  32. Washington Reviewing the Western Army at Fort Cumberland, Maryland
    Washington Reviewing the Western Army at Fort Cumberland, Maryland Frederick Kemmelmeyer · 1795
  33. Tarquin and Lucretia
    Tarquin and Lucretia Giuseppe Maria Crespi · 1698
  34. Washington's Triumphal Entry into New York
    Washington's Triumphal Entry into New York Unknown · 1850
  35. Untitled
    Untitled Unknown · 1700
  36. Pope Gregory XVI Visiting the Church of San Benedetto at Subiaco
    Pope Gregory XVI Visiting the Church of San Benedetto at Subiaco Jean François Montessuy · 1843
  37. 『大織冠』|The Great Woven Cap (Taishokkan)
    『大織冠』|The Great Woven Cap (Taishokkan) Unknown · 1649
  38. Landscape with a Stone Bridge
    Landscape with a Stone Bridge Rembrandt van Rijn · 1638
  39. Untitled
    Untitled Unknown · 1549
  40. 清　王素　東山報捷圖　軸|Bringing the Message of Victory to Dongshan
    清　王素　東山報捷圖　軸|Bringing the Message of Victory to Dongshan Wang Su · 1862
  41. 六波羅合戦　平治物語絵巻　断簡|Battle at Rokuhara, from The Tale of the Heiji Rebellion
    六波羅合戦　平治物語絵巻　断簡|Battle at Rokuhara, from The Tale of the Heiji Rebellion Unknown · 1325
  42. In Hot Pursuit
    In Hot Pursuit Charles Schreyvogel · 1900
  43. The Death of Cleopatra
    The Death of Cleopatra Massimo Stanzione · 1630
  44. Untitled
    Untitled Kano Eisen'in Furunobu 狩野永川院古 · 1715
  45. The Rajah Starting on a Hunt
    The Rajah Starting on a Hunt Edwin Lord Weeks · 1885
  46. The Vigilant Stuyvesant's Wall Street Gate
    The Vigilant Stuyvesant's Wall Street Gate John Quidor · 1863
  47. Seventh Regiment on Review, Washington Square, New York
    Seventh Regiment on Review, Washington Square, New York Otto Boetticher · 1851
  48. Untitled
    Untitled Unknown · 1753
  49. Untitled
    Untitled Unknown · 1685
  50. Untitled
    Untitled Nainsukh
  51. Untitled
    Untitled Dalchand · 1725
  52. The Rape of the Sabine Women
    The Rape of the Sabine Women French 18th Century · 1770
  53. Lucretia
    Lucretia Rembrandt van Rijn · 1664
  54. The House of Representatives
    The House of Representatives Samuel Finley Breese Morse · 1822
  55. Angelica and the Hermit
    Angelica and the Hermit Peter Paul Rubens · 1620
  56. Portrait of Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640)
    Portrait of Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) Unknown · 1630
  57. The Deliverance of Arsinoe
    The Deliverance of Arsinoe Jacopo Tintoretto · 1592
  58. Untitled
    Untitled Unknown · 1900
  59. Joan of Arc
    Joan of Arc Jules Bastien-Lepage
  60. Untitled
    Untitled Unknown · 1798