Art is at its best when it is able to depict and evoke emotion in its viewers.

The most powerful art pieces are ones that resonate with their audiences and have a long-lasting impact.

Audiences may be drawn in by the aesthetics but it’s the raw emotion embedded in the artwork that packs a punch and leaves a haunting affect.

There are certain emotions that art expresses more powerfully than others. Let’s take a closer look at some of them:

Fear

Some of the most iconic art pieces are the ones that induce fear. Whether it’s a poem, song or visual art; fear is always expressed wonderfully in art.

Throughout history artists have used their paintings to induce fear in viewers. From Edward Munch’s Scream that shares his personal fears about death to Picasso’s Guernica that showed the horrors of the Spanish Civil war, artists have conveyed strong messages by painting alarming images that make the viewer’s spine tingle!

Fear is also a big part of political art. Classic war paintings consist of disturbing images of brutality and violence.

Love

Love is another emotion that is beautifully expressed in artwork.

Gustav Klimt’s The Kiss shows a couple embracing in bed. The painting pulls you in with its bright colors and patterns but it’s the calm in the woman’s face that strums your heartstrings.

Pierre Auguste Renoir’s In the Garden is slightly more subtle. The painting was made in the in the late 1800s and perfectly captures an adorable moment between a couple in which the man longingly gazes at his partner trying to grab her attention.

It’s not just paintings that express love; there are many famous sculptures that show the love and passion between two people. Auguste Rodin’s marble sculpture The Kiss was actually considered inappropriate for public viewing due to its “erotic imagery”.

Sadness

Artists use their pieces to release to their emotions; it’s not a surprise that so much of it personifies sadness.

In his painting Death at Funeral, Picasso created an image of his friend Carles Casagemas who committed suicide after being rejected by his love. The painting consists of dark shades of blue and shows a young man laying with his eyes closed in his coffin.

Vincent Van Gogh knew sadness very well. He painted an image of an old man with his face buried in his palms. The painting represents his struggles with sadness and depression which he would eventually lose his life to.

These are just some of the paintings that stir up emotions in viewers.

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