The "Lucky Cat" carving in Nikko, Japan.

"The Toshogu is the mausoleum of Tokugawa Ieyasu, founder of the Tokugawa shogunate, which ruled Japan for over 250 years until 1868. The shrine is dedicated to the spirits of Ieyasu and two other of Japan's most influential historical personalities, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Minamoto Yoritomo

Everyone made a big deal out of this carving before we saw it. It's this huge cultural icon and like the Mona Lisa, is itty bitty when you actually see it. It was very cool, but the experience was what made it memorable.
Source(s):
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3801.html

Permalink | Report

I have to say my own. Not because it's great... It's just the feeling of creating something beautiful makes me feel accomplished. It really blows off steam too when my mind isn't always in the best place.

The Allentown Art Museum has an amazing gallery of abstract sculptures. It's one of my favorite places to be when I don't have a paint brush in my own hand.
Source(s):
http://www.allentownartmuseum.org/

Permalink | Report

The Kiss -sculpture by Auguste Rodin. It embodies the passion between a man and a woman in a powerful emotional statement, frozen in time, carved in marble.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Rodin_TheKiss_20050609.JPG
Source(s):
The Rodin Museum in Paris, France
http://www.rodinmuseum.org/

Permalink | Report

I viewed Georges Seurat's A Sunday on La Grande Jatte (1884, 1884-86) at the Chicago Art Institute. It inspired me in a way that I cannot adequately describe. It's simple beauty certainly helped me to better appreciate the works of European artists from that same period.

http://www.harley.com/art/abstract-art/images/(seurat)-a-sunday-on-la-grande-jatte.jpg

Close-up of Seurat's work to demonstrate his unique technique...
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_R3r0lSzHpQw/R7ek5gpbB6I/AAAAAAAAAAM/WaOcMpER1DQ/s400/seurat.jpg
Source(s):
http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/artwork/27992

Permalink | Report

I haven't seen a lot of fine art in person. I have seen The Statue of Liberty.
http://wwp.greenwichmeantime.com/time-zone/usa/new-york/new-york-city/tourist-attractions/statue-of-liberty/statue-of-liberty.JPG
Source(s):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fr%C3%A9d%C3%A9ric_Bartholdi

Permalink | Report

Unfortunately, I have not seen real art in a museum for quite some time, so my memory fails me. However, I am lucky enough to have a beautiful painting hanging right in my living room. While abstract artwork may not be everyone's cup of tea, and while it's not necessarily my favorite genre either, this is my favorite piece of art that I have seen in person. Hiromi Okumura is the artist, and she has other works that are pretty good, too. (I can't figure out how to put the image directly into the post.)

http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/images/thumbnail1.php/v6ct200758115558ast.jpg?resize(400x)

It looks like a nebula to me, and I love galaxies, nebulae and the like. Another thing that's interesting about this painting is that from different distances, it takes on a different look and feel. I'm also slightly biased because it was a gift from my co-workers, so it has some sentimental value. (It's slightly larger than 4'x5')
Source(s):
http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/stuart/ViewArtWorks/ast_id/29135

Permalink | Report

The Temptation of St. Anthony, the famous triptych painting by Hieronymus Bosch. It's in the Museu de Arte Antiga, in Portugal.
Source(s):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Temptation_of_St._Anthony

Permalink | Report

Growing up in the Puget Sound area of the Northwest, I was lucky to see a lot of Dale Chihuly's public installations around downtown Tacoma and Seattle.
http://www.chihuly.com/bridgeofglass/Art/pavilion_018_menu.jpg
He's influenced many young people to become glass artists themselves, especially inner-city youth. I like his commitment to the arts and people.
Source(s):
Chihuly - Public Installations in the Puget Sound Area
http://www.chihuly.com/Seasites.html

Dale Chihuly
http://www.chihuly.com/

Permalink | Report

I went to the Dali Exhibit at the Tate Modern in London last year. I saw "The persistance of memory", which is a great piece of art BUT freakin' small. It looks like a stamp compared to the paintings of other artists down the hall.

http://www.timeorientation.com/images/31DaliPersistenceOfMemory.jpg

I also saw a lot of other great pieces when I visited the National Gallery in London. The famous Sunflowers by Van Gogh for instance.
Permalink | Report

I think the Sistine Chapel in Rome
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sistine_Chapel

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1391/1134165951_34feb6ac98_b.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2092/2370055374_ef1e9f70e0_b.jpg
Permalink | Report

I believe that great piece of art work has the power to awe. I love this piece from Louise Bourgeois, a French artist who always expressed her deepest feelings about her childhood with the wildest imagination.

With old doors she could make you capture a moment she has created for you to feel. When I’m completely intrigued and inspired a piece I then can identify with the artist, and admire it even more.
Permalink | Report

My personal favorite would probably be some Monet or other. What he does with color and light is extraordinary. And you can't get that from seeing photographs. The actual paintings, when you can see them in person, are luminous and alive with color.

I've seen a lot of Monets, and which I'd choose as my favorite varies over time. Maybe this one...

Waterloo Bridge, Effect of Fog.

Hanging in the Hermitage, St Petersburg, Russia.

http://www.hermitagemuseum.org/tmplobs/HPADY3K6ZRYB4BFX3.jpg

But the painting which I've personally seen which the experts might rate as the greatest is Picasso's Guernica. It's in the Reina Sofia museum, Madrid.

http://www.mala.bc.ca/~lanes/english/hemngway/picasso/guernica.jpg

http://www.pbs.org/treasuresoftheworld/a_nav/guernica_nav/main_guerfrm.html
Permalink | Report