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It’s a question that’s as old as time (and art) itself: can a work of art really change the world?

There is the line of thought that argues art can only reflect what it absorbs from society and acts as a mirror to what we see and do in life. There is also the notion that life imitates art.

But it’s an inescapable fact that sometimes a piece of art – in this context, paintings, photographs, installations and sculpture - has such an impact, such a resonance, such an influence on the world that it defines and redefines everything that has gone before it (and often sets a benchmark for what will follow).

Art can say something about the human condition, tap in to our fears and desires, offer a different perspective on the world, make us question our own mortality, and force us to look at ourselves in all our incredulous, mystifying, impossible, unfathomable, contradictory, wonderful glory.

They don’t come along that often but when they do they’re groundbreaking, earth shattering, monumental and unforgettable – as the following seven most certainly are.

Michelangelo – The Last Judgement

One of the most recognisable and imitated images of all time, Michelangelo’s The Last Judgement on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican is a painting that has provided other European artists with treasure trove of images and ideas to plunder. The ceiling tells the story of Genesis – filled with prophets, saints and sinners – and Adam at the moment of creation. It is a dramatic rendering of heaven and hell, resurrection, and a descent in to the underworld.

Edvard Munch - The Scream

Recently sold at auction for $120m, Norwegian expressionist Munch’s The Scream is one of the most vivid, potent, haunting and iconic pieces of art ever. Munch actually created four versions of The Scream which he drew in pastel in 1895.

Eddie Adams  - Murder of a Vietcong by a Saigon Police Chief

An unforgettable image that won photographer Adams a Pulitzer Prize and overnight changed attitudes about the Vietnam War. “Still photographs are the most powerful weapon in the world,“ Adams wrote. With this photograph he was right.

Arthur Sasse - Einstein with his Tongue Out

Just as Einstein changed history with his contributions to nuclear physics and quantum mechanics, so this photograph changed our perceptions of Einstein, the man. By sticking his tongue out he revealed a not-so-serious side to a man whose scientific endeavours seemed all-too serious.

Tracey Emin – My Bed

Without doubt one of the most controversial artworks by one of the most controversial contemporary artists, Emin’s My Bed uses one of the most personal and intimate objects of all to tell a story of chaos, crisis, insecurity and uncertainty that we can all relate to. Personal life and art fused in to one, unforgettable modern day masterpiece.

Andy Warhol – Marilyn Monroe

A tie between this and Warhol’s Campbell’s Soup screen print, this is one of Pop Art’s finest creations, which used prepared photographs which were coloured in using rubber squeegees through the screen.
Alexandros of Antioch - Venus de Milo

Created between 100 and 130 BC, general consensus is that this marble sculpture depicts Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love and beauty – and is most memorable because the arms have been lost. The piece itself was comprised of several parts (bust, legs, foot) that were fixed together with pegs.

These are pieces of original art any museum or gallery in the world would kill for to exhibit – surely that gives us some indication of how influential, important, and world-changing they are.
What other works of art do you think changed, shaped and defined the world?

Author Bio: 
Elise Lévêque is a bubbly writer and amateur photographer with an irrepressible enthusiasm for all things social. She has a keen eye for nature photography and regularly blogs for Art Gallery where she can find new vivid art works by stunning British artists. Eventually she wants to create her own piece of art that will change the world!