Art in Ads

You've seen these paintings everywhere.
Their real stories are somewhere else.

Banknotes, yogurt pots, movie scenes, a toy's name.
Where famous paintings hide today, and the real story behind each one.

  1. 01There's a Wave in Your WalletFlip over a Japanese banknote and a wave more than 190 years old comes crashing toward you.Under the Wave off Kanagawa (Kanagawa oki nami ura), also known as The Great Wave, from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei) · Katsushika HokusaiRead the story →Katsushika Hokusai, Under the Wave off Kanagawa (Kanagawa oki nami ura), also known as The Great Wave, from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei), ca. 1830–32
  2. 02Why the Boy in the Movie Froze in Front of This PaintingA high school kid skips class, walks into a museum, and stares at one painting for a long, long time.A Sunday on La Grande Jatte — 1884 · Georges SeuratRead the story →Georges Seurat, A Sunday on La Grande Jatte — 1884, 1884–86, border added 1888–89
  3. 03The Poster Artist Walking Through His Own PaintingHe made the posters that covered the walls of Paris. Now try to find him inside this painting.At the Moulin Rouge · Henri de Toulouse-LautrecRead the story →Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, At the Moulin Rouge, 1892–95
  4. 04The Day Pikachu Borrowed Van Gogh's HatIn 2023 a Pikachu in a gray felt hat showed up at a museum in Amsterdam.Self-Portrait with a Straw Hat (obverse: The Potato Peeler) · Vincent van GoghRead the story →Vincent van Gogh, Self-Portrait with a Straw Hat (obverse: The Potato Peeler), 1887
  5. 05Vermeer on a Yogurt PotIn a French supermarket fridge, a 17th-century Dutch woman is still pouring milk.Young Woman with a Water Pitcher · Johannes VermeerRead the story →Johannes Vermeer, Young Woman with a Water Pitcher, ca. 1662
  6. 06Meet a Klimt Without Any GoldGold Klimt is on umbrellas and coffee mugs. This girl, though, has not a single flake of gold leaf.Mäda Primavesi (1903–2000) · Gustav KlimtRead the story →Gustav Klimt, Mäda Primavesi (1903–2000), 1912–13
  7. 07Why Photographers Still Call on RembrandtAmong photographers, Rembrandt is the name of a painter and the name of a light.Self-Portrait · RembrandtRead the story →Rembrandt, Self-Portrait, 1660
  8. 08The Dinner Table That Advertisers LoveA long table, one man in the middle, twelve around him. This layout gets called back again and again in ads and parodies.The Last Supper, after Leonardo da Vinci · RembrandtRead the story →Rembrandt, The Last Supper, after Leonardo da Vinci, 1634–35
  9. 09The Mother Portrait With a Musical TitleIt ended up on an American Mother's Day stamp, yet the title the artist gave it never mentions a mother.Nocturne: Blue and Gold—Southampton Water · James McNeill WhistlerRead the story →James McNeill Whistler, Nocturne: Blue and Gold—Southampton Water, 1872
  10. 10Soap Bubbles 150 Years Before the Soap AdA century and a half before the bubble boy in a British soap ad, a young man in Paris was already blowing bubbles.Soap Bubbles · Jean Siméon ChardinRead the story →Jean Siméon Chardin, Soap Bubbles, ca. 1733–34
  11. 11A Quiet Night From the Year of The ScreamThe screaming face is everywhere. But in the same year, Munch also painted something very, very quiet.The Girl by the Window · Edvard MunchRead the story →Edvard Munch, The Girl by the Window, 1893
  12. 12The Painter Who Lent His Name to a Ninja TurtleRaphael, the turtle in the red mask. The original owner of that name was a Renaissance painter.Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints · RaphaelRead the story →Raphael, Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints, ca. 1504