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The White House is created by James Hoban
Upon winning a contest, Hoban’s original design was altered to incorporate more square footage and increased in size drastically. Created with white-painted Aquia Creek sandstone in the Neoclassical style, the design mirrors Roman architect Vitruvius or Andrea Palladio work. After completion, President John Adams was the structure’s first inhabitant. -
Für Elise is created by Ludwig van Beethoven
Published 40 years after his death in 1827, Für Elise was not published until 1867. The discoverer of the piece, Ludwig Nohl, affirmed that the original autographed manuscript was dated April 27th, 1810. The piece is one of Beethoven’s most popular works.
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The Three Muses is created by Antonio Canova
Carved from a single block of marble, The Three Graces is an example of the Neoclassic movement that depicted principles of simplicity and symmetry that conflicted with the earlier Baroque style of art with its lavish attention to detail. Seemingly to have no sense of time, Canova’s piece welcomes to the viewer to create their own backstory for the piece; another trait of the artist movement. -
Lion of Lucerne is created by Lukas Ahorn
Built into a live rock face above a naturally fed pool of water in Lucerne, Switzerland , The Lion Monument was created as a memorial to the Swiss Guards who were massacred in 1792 at Tuileries Palace in Paris during the French Revolution. The monument of the mortally wounded lion is dedicated "To the loyalty and bravery of the Swiss" and Mark Twain stated the monument is "the most mournful and moving piece of stone in the world.” -
Marble Arch is created by John Nash
Designed to be the state entrance to the cour d'honneur of Buckingham Palace, Nash designed the structure to resemble the Arch of Constantine in Rome and the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel in Paris. Due to setbacks, construction restarted in 1832 under the supervision of Edward Blore who drastically altered the aesthetic design of the arch to simplify the final product. Pieces that were not used found placements in other London landmarks including Buckingham Palace. -
William Tell Overture was created by Gioachino Rossini
Created as the overture for the opera William Tell, the piece is scored for a piccolo, a flute, two oboes, two clarinets in A, two bassoons, four French horns in G and E, two trumpets in E, three trombones, timpani, triangle, bass drum and cymbals, and strings. The performance of the piece lasts for twelve minutes and creates the environment of the Swiss Alp’s for the opera’s setting.
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The Great Wave off Kanagawa is created by Katsushika Hokusai
The first in a series of thirty-six prints depicting Mount Fuji, The Great Wave or The Wave is a woodblock print that depicts a rogue wave and the most famous created by Hokusai. The print is showcased worldwide and most recognized works of Japanese art. -
Jane Eyre is written by Charlotte Brontë
A coming of age novel that shows the character’s gradual moral conflicts as she explores life and love in a prose that had been limited to poetry during the time period. Focusing on a strong female protagonist, Jane Eyre is thought to be ahead of its time in regards to the novel’s themes. Set in a patriarchal society, Jane challenges gender roles and pushes for a sense of equality among her male characters. The novel is argued to be the first true exploration of feminism. -
San Francisco's "Painted Ladies" are constructed
Often called “Postcard Row,” The Painted Ladies is a term used for the 48,000 Victorian houses and buildings painted in three or more colors that embellish or enhance their architectural details of this era of architecture. -
The Scarlet Letter is written by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Focusing on an adulterous affair that results in an illegitimate birth shows Hawthorne's concerns with the tension between the public and the private selves. Publicly disgraced and out casted, Hester Prynne draws on her inner strength to become the first true heroine of American fiction. Arthur Dimmesdale, trapped by the rules of society, stands as an example of a self-divided. -
Ophelia is created by Sir John Everett Millais
An oil on canvas creation, the Romantic era piece showcases the drowning death of William Shakespeare’s character Ophelia from play Hamlet as its described in Act IV, Scene VII of Hamlet in a speech by Queen Gertrude. Under appreciated when first released, the piece has become admired for its aesthetics and accuracy in depicting a natural landscape. -
Crime and Punishment is written by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Crime and Punishment is considered to be Dostoevsky first novel from his mature period of writing. Breaking away from the previous generations’ views on just morality, the novel focuses on the protagonist robbing a local pawnshop after falling on hard times. Stating that although the crime itself is immoral, what the character will do with the money will be just, counteracting the crime. The novel in praised for its portrayal of poverty which most of society could relate to at the time. -
Impression, Sunrise is created by Claude Monet
Part of a six painting series of the harbor is Monte’s hometown of Le Havre during different times of day, Impression, Sunrise became known as the "Exhibition of the Impressionists" and is attributed to giving the rise to the Impressionist movement along with its title. Monet received criticism that the style used left the painting seemingly unfinished and it is argued that this is why he added “impression” into the title. -
The Palais Garnier is created by Charles Garnier
Named after its creator, Palais Garnier is a French opera house located in Paris that is used today for ballet performances. A building of extraordinary luxury, the style is considered Second-Empire Beaux-Arts style with symmetry and diverse exterior decoration with an abundance of Neo-Baroque elements including multicolored marble murals, columns, and statuary. -
Basílica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Familia is created by Antoni Gaudí
Basilica and Expiatory Church of the Holy Family is a large Roman Catholic church in Barcelona that after over one hundred years, remains incomplete. With an estimated completion date in the late 2020’s, the structure will never be designated as a cathedral as the pope will not be seated there and its divergent aesthetics. Praised for its personal interpretation of Gothic architecture, it falls within the Art Nouveau period and focuses on decorative features. -
A Sunday on La Grande Jatte is created by Georges Seurat
Being Georges Seurat most famous and largest creations, this piece showcases his highly systematic and "scientific" technique called Pointillism that separates his work from Impressionist pieces of the time. Modern life was a continued subject matter for Seurat but his ability to create natural light in this piece has made it a noteworthy creation of the time period. -
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is written by Mark Twain
Hemingway stated that “All modern American literature comes from ‘Huckleberry Finn’ ” which is one of the first great pieces of literature written in the vernacular of southern society. The novel is an often criticized for its crude language and as being a satire on deep-rooted attitudes, particularly of racism that the South is noted for. Twain argued that it was simply and tale of adventure for its two protagonists. -
The Statue of Liberty is created by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi
The neoclassical sculpture was a gift from France and serves as a symbol of freedom for those coming to start anew in the United States. Bartholdi was inspired by French law professor and politician Édouard René de Laboulaye, who stated that any monument raised in honor of American independence would be a joint project of the French and American peoples. -
Dracula is written by Bram Stoker
Defining the vampire’s modern form, Stoker’s novel depicts Dracula’s attempts to relocate to England from Transylvania to acquire new hunting grounds and populate a new area with his undead curse. Composed as a series of letters, diary entries, and ships' log entries, and supplemented with newspaper clippings relating events over the six-month plot line, Dracula becomes the foundation for the horror genre of fiction. -
The Starry Night is created by Vincent van Gogh
Following a break down in late 1888 that resulted in the mutilation of his ear, Van Gogh voluntarily admitted himself for treatment at Saint-Paul-de-Mausole lunatic asylum on May 8th, 1889. The Starry Night, completed during his treatment, is an oil of canvas creation that depicts the view of Van Gogh’s east facing room in the treatment facility with the addition of the village. The iconic painting is a part of the permanent collection at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.
