![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/LCCBYCZOHRETVDCHB5HJ7SVKDM.jpg?smart=true&auth=68163684e23d5903f1502c723179a3209b67dea7f956e49d335836e2aa508d5a&width=400&height=225)
Leonardo da Vinci's 'The Last Supper' depicts the moment Jesus told his Disciples one of them would betray him. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
The background of Leonardo da Vinci's 'Mona Lisa' is as highly debated by scholars as the subject's enigmatic smile. Reuters
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/GCXWI4DBFBHDZGUEOKKFKNRRLM.jpg?smart=true&auth=1e4e22d369804da7ec183ddf0d51ff17869b95674d8990ba54f0837b549fc8dd&width=400&height=225)
The red sky in Norwegian artist Edvard Munch's 1895 masterpiece 'The Scream' is, according to an astronomer in 2004, attributable to the effects of the Krakatoa volcano explosion in Indonesia in 1883 that lasted years. AFP
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/B3JJXIC7HJF7LGF5SPUUUV3OCA.jpg?smart=true&auth=404d265a31f1004838e5142bc0c2a61288e2aca40d8cf9441cc2d2bd5bb3b4f1&width=400&height=225)
The survival of Hungarian artist Robert Bereny's lost 1928 painting 'Sleeping Woman with Black Vase' was confirmed after it appeared in the 1999 Hollywood film 'Stuart Little' and an art historian tracked it down. AFP
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/SCYHBIWZIVHGVNERCYYGVRMLPY.jpg?smart=true&auth=1cea2751b90c97d118feed5590a580dca95e36c1097e6be97bcac4c05922dde6&width=400&height=225)
Pablo Picasso's 'Weeping Woman' was held to ransom in the mid-1980s by a group in Australia who demanded more funding for the arts. Getty
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/QXXB5OZWWJDXLLTQZNI44TCXIQ.jpg?smart=true&auth=c590d322eeb58405f2128a7d923375f29faa39ebc3236a100dad13ee75762227&width=400&height=225)
Debate continues in the art world as to whether the earring in Vermeer's 'Girl with a Pearl Earring' is really an earring. AFP
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/MY67CH2TUZBN3LBAZJUZ6J666Y.jpg?smart=true&auth=4f9a70656984937d8b25067c8db88c6fefca88eaacf991c013168bdc538669ca&width=400&height=225)
'The Arnolfini Portrait' by Jan van Eyck features the artist's personal tag in the background on the wall. Getty Images
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Michelangelo's 'David', created between 1501 and 1504, is more than a paean to youth and beauty — its stern gaze was interpreted as a warning against the ambitions of Rome from its native city state of Florence. AFP
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/KXQFB6N6AJGMVHUYCKJ36HJA24.jpg?smart=true&auth=0a1d59e011e994694f0656551153d6a695274f32053db6501a343d02e01a218f&width=400&height=225)
Artist Grant Wood asked his sister and his dentist to act as models for his masterpiece, 'American Gothic'. Getty
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/KJVFLGYDSJAPTANKSHNQOHQDJU.jpg?smart=true&auth=be3bf22db82b99b1710a37d147103e23198890cde70e9ef7d5e49d65a4f92fe8&width=400&height=225)
'The Starry Night' was the view from the window of the asylum Vincent van Gogh had admitted himself to. Getty
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/LCCBYCZOHRETVDCHB5HJ7SVKDM.jpg?smart=true&auth=68163684e23d5903f1502c723179a3209b67dea7f956e49d335836e2aa508d5a&width=400&height=225)
Leonardo da Vinci's 'The Last Supper' depicts the moment Jesus told his Disciples one of them would betray him. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
The background of Leonardo da Vinci's 'Mona Lisa' is as highly debated by scholars as the subject's enigmatic smile. Reuters
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/GCXWI4DBFBHDZGUEOKKFKNRRLM.jpg?smart=true&auth=1e4e22d369804da7ec183ddf0d51ff17869b95674d8990ba54f0837b549fc8dd&width=400&height=225)
The red sky in Norwegian artist Edvard Munch's 1895 masterpiece 'The Scream' is, according to an astronomer in 2004, attributable to the effects of the Krakatoa volcano explosion in Indonesia in 1883 that lasted years. AFP
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/B3JJXIC7HJF7LGF5SPUUUV3OCA.jpg?smart=true&auth=404d265a31f1004838e5142bc0c2a61288e2aca40d8cf9441cc2d2bd5bb3b4f1&width=400&height=225)
The survival of Hungarian artist Robert Bereny's lost 1928 painting 'Sleeping Woman with Black Vase' was confirmed after it appeared in the 1999 Hollywood film 'Stuart Little' and an art historian tracked it down. AFP
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/SCYHBIWZIVHGVNERCYYGVRMLPY.jpg?smart=true&auth=1cea2751b90c97d118feed5590a580dca95e36c1097e6be97bcac4c05922dde6&width=400&height=225)
Pablo Picasso's 'Weeping Woman' was held to ransom in the mid-1980s by a group in Australia who demanded more funding for the arts. Getty
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/QXXB5OZWWJDXLLTQZNI44TCXIQ.jpg?smart=true&auth=c590d322eeb58405f2128a7d923375f29faa39ebc3236a100dad13ee75762227&width=400&height=225)
Debate continues in the art world as to whether the earring in Vermeer's 'Girl with a Pearl Earring' is really an earring. AFP
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/MY67CH2TUZBN3LBAZJUZ6J666Y.jpg?smart=true&auth=4f9a70656984937d8b25067c8db88c6fefca88eaacf991c013168bdc538669ca&width=400&height=225)
'The Arnolfini Portrait' by Jan van Eyck features the artist's personal tag in the background on the wall. Getty Images
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/LOH4UU6M5RHD7OGZRVK2BVGXUA.jpg?smart=true&auth=0534ad15307b005b45f3d287764b3fa0cf4321925585e1dba3a5b4eff0166b1a&width=400&height=225)
Michelangelo's 'David', created between 1501 and 1504, is more than a paean to youth and beauty — its stern gaze was interpreted as a warning against the ambitions of Rome from its native city state of Florence. AFP
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/KXQFB6N6AJGMVHUYCKJ36HJA24.jpg?smart=true&auth=0a1d59e011e994694f0656551153d6a695274f32053db6501a343d02e01a218f&width=400&height=225)
Artist Grant Wood asked his sister and his dentist to act as models for his masterpiece, 'American Gothic'. Getty
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/KJVFLGYDSJAPTANKSHNQOHQDJU.jpg?smart=true&auth=be3bf22db82b99b1710a37d147103e23198890cde70e9ef7d5e49d65a4f92fe8&width=400&height=225)
'The Starry Night' was the view from the window of the asylum Vincent van Gogh had admitted himself to. Getty
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/LCCBYCZOHRETVDCHB5HJ7SVKDM.jpg?smart=true&auth=68163684e23d5903f1502c723179a3209b67dea7f956e49d335836e2aa508d5a&width=400&height=225)
Leonardo da Vinci's 'The Last Supper' depicts the moment Jesus told his Disciples one of them would betray him. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
10 little-known facts about world-famous artworks, from 'Mona Lisa' to 'The Scream'
Which world-famous painting was based on the artist’s dentist? And how did the film ‘Stuart Little’ help to rediscover a lost masterpiece?
Gemma White
24 May, 2022
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