Famous Mythology Paintings

Gods, nymphs and heroes from the classical myths painters returned to for centuries.

42 paintings, with works by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, Jean-Honoré Fragonard, François Boucher and Nicolas Poussin. Most often they suit the living room, bedroom and dining room.

42 paintings

Large painting of soldier asleep outdoors surrounded by two women and a cupid.

Giovanni Battista Tiepolo Armida Encounters the Sleeping Rinaldo, c. 1742–45 Art Institute of Chicago

The Musicians, Caravaggio, 1597, oil on canvas

Caravaggio The Musicians, 1597 The Met

Blind Orion Searching for the Rising Sun, Nicolas Poussin, 1658, oil on canvas

Nicolas Poussin Blind Orion Searching for the Rising Sun, 1658 The Met

Large painting, woman in pink dress in front of classical sculpture, shrine.

Joshua Reynolds Lady Sarah Bunbury Sacrificing to the Graces, 1763–65 Art Institute of Chicago

Cupid and Psyche, Jacques-Louis David, 1817, oil on canvas

Jacques-Louis David Cupid and Psyche, 1817 Cleveland Museum of Art

A Hunting Scene, Piero di Cosimo, ca. 1494–1500, tempera and oil transferred to Masonite

Piero di Cosimo A Hunting Scene, ca. 1494–1500 The Met

St. George on white horse, piercing green, gold dragon

Bernat Martorell Saint George and the Dragon, 1434–35 Art Institute of Chicago

Lush tall grasses with small white flowers foreground a grove of bushy trees of varying types and heights, their leaves ranging from deep green to golden.

Vincent van Gogh The Poet's Garden, 1888 Art Institute of Chicago

Rinaldo and Armida in Her Garden, Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, c. 1742–45, oil on canvas

Giovanni Battista Tiepolo Rinaldo and Armida in Her Garden, c. 1742–45 Art Institute of Chicago

Orange, yellow, and white flowers in a brown vase on a round table, with a blue-green floral tablecloth and mottled, brownish background.

Pierre-Auguste Renoir Chrysanthemums, 1881–82 Art Institute of Chicago

Two Tritons at the Feast of Acheloüs, Anthony van Dyck, 1627, oil on canvas

Anthony van Dyck Two Tritons at the Feast of Acheloüs, 1627 The Met

The Chariot of Aurora, Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, 1760s, oil on canvas

Giovanni Battista Tiepolo The Chariot of Aurora, 1760s The Met

Six women, eight men, two satyrs, and one child gather in pairs and trios in a loose row that spans the width of this nearly square painting. They are set within a landscape with craggy rocks, cliffs, and trees.

Giovanni Bellini The Feast of the Gods, 1514/1529 National Gallery of Art

Diana and Her Nymphs Departing for the Hunt, Peter Paul Rubens, c. 1615, oil on canvas

Peter Paul Rubens Diana and Her Nymphs Departing for the Hunt, c. 1615 Cleveland Museum of Art

Neptune and the Winds, Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, 1760s, oil on canvas

Giovanni Battista Tiepolo Neptune and the Winds, 1760s The Met

Music and Dance and Cupids in Conspiracy, François Boucher, 1740s, oil on canvas

François Boucher Music and Dance and Cupids in Conspiracy, 1740s Cleveland Museum of Art

The Apotheosis of the Spanish Monarchy, Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, 1760s, oil on canvas

Giovanni Battista Tiepolo The Apotheosis of the Spanish Monarchy, 1760s The Met

A nude woman with brown skin and long black hair stands to our right against a landscape swirling with jewel-toned greens, pinks, and purples while a man, also with brown skin, sits under a tree behind her in this stylized vertical…

Paul Gauguin Parau na te Varua ino (Words of the Devil), 1892 National Gallery of Art

A young, pale-skinned boy wearing a brilliant blue toga sits on a rock and holds a gold pitcher in a landscape in this vertical painting.

Giovanni Bellini The Infant Bacchus, probably 1505/1510 National Gallery of Art

Omnia Vincit Amor, or The Power of Love in the Three Elements, Benjamin West, 1809, oil on canvas

Benjamin West Omnia Vincit Amor, or The Power of Love in the Three Elements, 1809 The Met

Study for the Ceiling of the Marquand Music Room, Frederic Leighton, ca. 1886, oil and gold on canvas

Frederic Leighton Study for the Ceiling of the Marquand Music Room, ca. 1886 The Met

Nymphs and a Satyr (Amor Vincit Omnia), Nicolas Poussin, c. 1625–27, oil on canvas

Nicolas Poussin Nymphs and a Satyr (Amor Vincit Omnia), c. 1625–27 Cleveland Museum of Art

Cupids in Conspiracy, François Boucher, 1740s, oil on canvas

François Boucher Cupids in Conspiracy, 1740s Cleveland Museum of Art

Fountain of Venus, François Boucher, 1756, oil on canvas

François Boucher Fountain of Venus, 1756 Cleveland Museum of Art

Jupiter, in the Guise of Diana, and Callisto, François Boucher, 1763, oil on canvas

François Boucher Jupiter, in the Guise of Diana, and Callisto, 1763 The Met

The Muse: History, Camille Corot, ca. 1865, oil on canvas

Camille Corot The Muse: History, ca. 1865 The Met

Bellona, Rembrandt van Rijn, 1633, oil on canvas

Rembrandt van Rijn Bellona, 1633 The Met

Three men and a woman sit around a wooden table on the right side of a dimly lit room in this horizontal painting. The scene is painted entirely in warm shades of bronze, golden yellow, and dark brown.

Rembrandt van Rijn Philemon and Baucis, 1658 National Gallery of Art

This oval painting shows a cherubic figure floating in mid-air with one leg bent and arms outstretched. The cherub has curly hair, a round face, and rosy cheeks, and they are smiling gently.

Jean-Honoré Fragonard Love as Folly, c. 1773/1776 National Gallery of Art

This painting image depicts a cherubic child in a garden setting. The child is standing with one foot in front of the other and has small wings on their back.

Jean-Honoré Fragonard Love the Sentinel, c. 1773/1776 National Gallery of Art

Painted entirely with tones of white and gray, a pudgy, winged baby-like putto, Cupid, holds onto a wheel in this vertical canvas. Cupid’s body is angled to our left, where he hunches over the shoulder-high wheel.

Titian Cupid with the Wheel of Time, c. 1515/1520 National Gallery of Art

A partially nude woman with pale, peachy skin sits to our left looking into a mirror held up by a nearly nude, winged child to our right in this vertical painting.

Titian Venus with a Mirror, c. 1555 National Gallery of Art

A cleanshaven man in a saffron-yellow cloak runs and points to a nude woman whose fingers are turning into leafy tree branches in this horizontal painting.

Giovanni Battista Tiepolo Apollo Pursuing Daphne, c. 1755/1760 National Gallery of Art

Close to us, a woman and a winged, child-like putto float on clouds above a clean-shaven young man in a forest setting in this horizontal painting. All three people have smooth, pale skin, rosy cheeks, and ash-blond hair.

Jean-Honoré Fragonard Diana and Endymion, c. 1753/1756 National Gallery of Art

A man and woman are surrounded by six pudgy children, some with wings, against a deep landscape in this square painting. At the center of the composition, the man, Bacchus, sits astride a wine barrel, which is about half his height.

Giovanni Battista Tiepolo Bacchus and Ariadne, c. 1743/1745 National Gallery of Art

Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres Ulysses, 1827 National Gallery of Art

This oval painting shows a cherubic child floating mid-air with one leg bent and their arms outstretched. The cherub has curly hair, a round face, and pale skin dusted with rosy pink and light teal shadows. They are smiling gently.

Jean-Honoré Fragonard Love as Folly, c. 1773/1776 National Gallery of Art

This oval painting depicts a cherubic child in a garden setting. The child is standing with one foot in front of the other and has small wings on their back. The child has light skin, curly blond hair, rosy cheeks, and a playful expression.

Jean-Honoré Fragonard Love the Sentinel, c. 1773/1776 National Gallery of Art

This painting shows a landscape with castle-like structures on a green hill, with a group of people gathering in colorful clothing in the bottom left.

Dosso Dossi The Trojans Building the Temple to Venus and Making Offerings at Anchises's Grave in Sicily, c. 1520 National Gallery of Art

The Return of Persephone, Frederic Leighton, ca. 1890–91, oil on canvas

Frederic Leighton The Return of Persephone, ca. 1890–91 The Met

A baby-like winged putto flies above and drops a stream of white flowers onto a woman who sits leaning against a cut tree trunk this vertical landscape painting.

Lorenzo Lotto Allegory of Chastity, c. 1505 National Gallery of Art

This is a painting of four people outside of a circular stone wall that contains a statue and several trees. The four people are on the left, next to an opening in the curving wall.

Arnold Böcklin The Sanctuary of Hercules, 1884 National Gallery of Art

Rooms these paintings suit

Styles