DailyArt Magazine Lists the Saddest Paintings in Art History

DailyArt Magazine published a listicle titled 'The Saddest Paintings in Art History,' featuring eleven works from the 18th to 20th centuries. The selection includes Vincent van Gogh's 'At Eternity's Gate' (1890, Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo), Paul Cézanne's 'La Douleur (Sorrow)' (1868-1869, Musée d'Orsay, Paris), Andrew Wyeth's 'Christina's World' (1948, MoMA, New York), Louis-Jean-François Lagrenée's 'La Mélancolie' (c. 1785, Louvre, Paris), Pablo Picasso's 'The Old Guitarist' (1903-1904, Art Institute of Chicago), Edgar Degas's 'L'Absinthe' (1876, Musée d'Orsay), Edvard Munch's 'Melancholy' (1892, National Gallery, Oslo), Edward Hopper's 'Automat' (1927, Des Moines Art Center) and 'New York Movie' (1939, MoMA), Frida Kahlo's 'The Wounded Deer' (1946, private collection), and Ivan Albright's 'Picture of Dorian Gray' (1943-1944, Art Institute of Chicago). The article analyzes each painting's emotional impact, noting themes of despair, loneliness, and physical pain, often tied to the artists' personal struggles. It highlights Van Gogh's mental torment, Cézanne's mourning of Christ's death, Wyeth's depiction of a woman unable to stand, and Kahlo's self-portrait as a wounded deer symbolizing her suffering. Hopper's works are praised for capturing urban solitude, while Degas's 'L'Absinthe' conveys isolation in a café. The list also includes Munch's waterfront scene of indignation and Albright's disturbing portrait used in the 1945 film adaptation of Oscar Wilde's novel.