Lost Paintings and Their History

Lost paintings are the ones that have either been accidentally destroyed or intentionally stolen and never recovered. The loss of these masterpieces is a great loss to the history of art. If the theme moves you, you may also enjoy the most appreciated works of unsung painters. Here are some of the paintings the world has lost.

Le Peintre — Pablo Picasso

Picasso's Le Peintre (The Painter) was destroyed and lost in a Swissair plane crash in 1998. Painted in 1963, it showed a man painting at his canvas, and was considered one of Picasso's great works. The crash killed 229 people and destroyed half a million dollars' worth of precious jewels. Only about twenty centimetres of the painting could be recovered; the rest was lost forever.

Water Lilies — Claude Monet

Among the great losses to Monet's celebrated water-lily series, more than one canvas has been damaged or destroyed over the decades — most infamously in a fire. Each surviving painting from the series is different from the last, and whenever one comes to auction it sells for a fortune, a measure of how keenly the lost ones are mourned.

Leda and the Swan — Michelangelo

Created by Michelangelo, this painting depicted the story in which Zeus, in the form of a swan, seduces Leda. Michelangelo gave it to one of his students, Antonio Mini, who was also a good friend; Antonio took it to France and sold it. The painting was last seen in the royal collection at Fontainebleau in the 1530s. Many painters copied it and made new versions, but none came close. This masterpiece was lost, and never found.

The Painter on His Way to Work — Vincent van Gogh

The Painter on His Way to Work dates to 1888 — an oil painting in Van Gogh's signature style, showing a man heading to work with his bag and stick. It was kept in the Kaiser Friedrich Museum in Berlin and was destroyed by fire during the Second World War. It is a self-portrait of sorts, showing the artist carrying his painting supplies along the road.

Medusa Shield — Leonardo da Vinci

One of the earliest works of Leonardo da Vinci's career, depicting the mythological Medusa. Many of his works have been lost over time, but this is the most mysterious of them. The painting was said to be so realistic that Leonardo's own father was frightened of the hairy Medusa — and, without telling Leonardo, sold it to Florentine merchants at a great profit. Though this has never been proven, the painting has not been seen for a very long time.

Some paintings are not stolen or burned. They simply walk out a door, quietly sold, and are never seen again.