GuideWorldThe guide for cultural sites

Stories

Every story on GuideWorld, newest first. Where an audio tour tells it, hear it here.

  1. The Triumph of Death

    Bruegel's Triumph of Death: an army of skeletons sweeps across a burnt brown land under a smoking sky, with a cart of skulls on the left, a crowd driven into a huge coffin in the middle and a broken-up dinner on the right.
    Pieter Bruegel the Elder, The Triumph of Death, 1562–1563, Museo del Prado. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

    Pieter Bruegel the Elder, 1562–1563, Museo del Prado

    Bruegel's Triumph of Death hangs in room 055A of the Prado: an army of skeletons taking the whole world at once, painted around 1562. In all that crowd, two people still haven't noticed.

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  2. The Garden of Earthly Delights

    Bosch's Garden of Earthly Delights open: paradise with Adam and Eve on the left, a green garden crowded with naked people in the middle, a dark hell lit by burning cities on the right.
    Hieronymus Bosch, The Garden of Earthly Delights, about 1490–1500, Museo del Prado. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

    Hieronymus Bosch, about 1490–1500, Museo del Prado

    It hangs in room 056A of the Prado: three oak panels painted by Hieronymus Bosch around 1490 to 1500, about two metres high and almost four metres wide when open.

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  3. Las Meninas

    Velázquez's Las Meninas: the Infanta Margarita and her maids of honour in a high dark room, the painter at his easel on the left, the king and queen reflected in a mirror at the back.
    Diego Velázquez, Las Meninas, 1656, Museo del Prado. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

    Diego Velázquez, 1656, Museo del Prado

    It hangs in room 012 of the Prado, a painting over three metres tall that stands on the floor, so the people in it are your size.

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  4. Mona Lisa

    Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa: a woman with folded hands and a faint smile, before a hazy landscape.
    Leonardo da Vinci, Mona Lisa. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

    Leonardo da Vinci, about 1503–1519, Louvre

    It hangs on its own wall in the Salle des États (room 711), on the first floor of the Denon wing, behind protective glass.

    The note in the margin, 1503
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  5. The Raft of the Medusa

    Géricault's The Raft of the Medusa: survivors on a makeshift raft, one waving a cloth toward a distant ship.
    Théodore Géricault, The Raft of the Medusa. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

    Théodore Géricault, 1818–1819, Louvre

    It fills a wall of room 700 in the Denon wing, about 5 by 7 meters of shipwreck.

    About 150 people on one raft
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  6. Liberty Leading the People

    Delacroix's Liberty Leading the People: Liberty, holding the tricolour flag, leads armed Parisians over a barricade.
    Eugène Delacroix, Liberty Leading the People. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

    Eugène Delacroix, 1830, Louvre

    It hangs in room 700, on the first floor of the Denon wing, in the same room as the Raft of the Medusa.

    “At least I'll paint for her”
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  7. The School of Athens

    Raphael’s The School of Athens: philosophers gathered under a vaulted hall, Plato and Aristotle at the center.
    Raphael, The School of Athens. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

    Raphael, 1509–1511, Vatican Museums

    It's in the Room of the Segnatura, one of the four Raphael Rooms, on your way to the Sistine Chapel.

    Fifty thinkers, one impossible moment
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  8. The Last Judgment

    Michelangelo’s The Last Judgment: Christ at the center, the saved rising on the left, the damned falling on the right.
    Michelangelo, The Last Judgment. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

    Michelangelo, 1536–1541, Vatican Museums

    It covers the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel, the last room on the Vatican Museums route.

    Four hundred bodies spinning around one hand
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