Artist and work
|
Creation date(s) (est.)
|
Year lost (est.)
|
Loss event
|
Commission, provenance, documentation and surviving copies
|
Polygnotus Sack of Troy |
-475 475-425 BCE |
|
|
Lesche of the Knidians. Pausanias in Description of Greece, Chapter X
|
Polygnotus Odysseus in the Underworld
|
-475 475-425 BCE
|
|
|
Lesche of the Knidians. Pausanias in Description of Greece, Chapter X
|
Phidias Lemnian Athena bronze
|
-450 450-440 BCE
|
|
|
Parthenon
|
Zeuxis Female Centaur Nursing a Pair of Twins
|
-450 450-400 BCE
|
-86 86 BCE
|
Antikythera wreck
|
Looted by Roman General Sulla in the First Mithridatic War
|
Phidias Statue of Zeus at Olympia
|
-435 435 BCE
|
0448 448
|
Lauseion fire[a]
|
|
Lysippus Seated Herakles colossal bronze
|
-399 399-400 BCE
|
1204 1204
|
Fourth Crusade
|
Taras Acropolis, then the Capitoline Hill,[j] then the Constantinople Hippodrome
|
Praxiteles Aphrodite of Knidos marble
|
-365 365 BCE
|
0306 306-95
|
Persecution of pagans[a]
|
Temple of Aphrodite, Knidos.[k] Iris Love found statue fragments in 1970.
|
Chares of Lindos Colossus of Rhodes
|
-292 292-280 BCE
|
-226 226 BCE
|
Rhodes earthquake
|
|
Regisole
|
0193 193-526
|
1796
|
Jacobin vandalism[l]
|
Erected at Ravenna. Moved to Pavia in the Middle Ages.[m]
|
Portraits of western and eastern imperial family members mosaic
|
0425 425
|
1747
|
Rebuilding
|
San Giovanni Evangelista, Ravenna[n]
|
Portrait of the bishop of Ravenna mosaic
|
0425 425
|
1747
|
Rebuilding
|
San Giovanni Evangelista, Ravenna[n]
|
Buddhas of Bamyan
|
0500 500-99
|
2001 2001
|
Taliban iconoclasm
|
|
Icon of Christ Chalkites
|
0600 600
|
0726 726-30
|
Byzantine Iconoclasm
|
Copies exist.
|
Cavallini, Pietro Stories from the New and Old Testament fresco cycles
|
1277-85
|
1823
|
Fire
|
Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls[28]
|
Cimabue Diptych of Devotion panels
|
1280 1280-89
|
|
|
|
Giotto Navicella mosaic
|
1305 1305-13
|
1650 1650
|
Reconstruction
|
Outside Old Saint Peter's Basilica. Copies and drawings exist. Replicated.
|
Guariento Paradise
|
1338 1338-70
|
1577 1577
|
Doge's Palace fire
|
Doge's Palace
|
Monaco, Lorenzo Virgin Enthroned with Saints and Angels
|
1420
|
1945 1945
|
Friedrichshain flak tower fire
|
|
da Fabriano, Gentile Various works
|
1405 1405-27
|
1577 1577
|
Doge's Palace fire
|
Doge's Palace
|
Donatello Joshua terra cotta |
1410 |
1750 |
Disintegrated |
North tribune of the Duomo of Florence
|
Pisanello Various works
|
1415 1415-55
|
1577 1577
|
Doge's Palace fire
|
Doge's Palace
|
Pisanello Hunting scenes frescoes
|
1424-40
|
1527
|
War of the League of Cognac
|
Visconti Castle for Filippo Maria Visconti
|
Pisanello Saint George Sheathing his Sword fresco
|
1433-38
|
1826
|
Water damage
|
Pellegrini chapel, Sant'Anastasia, Verona[29]
|
Masaccio Sagra del Carmine fresco
|
1422
|
1600
|
Renovation
|
Cloister of Santa Maria del Carmine, Florence
|
Uccello, Paolo Saint Peter Blessing mosaic
|
1426 1425-30
|
1618 1618
|
Renovation[o]
|
Basilica of San Marco façade
|
Lippi, Filippo Bestowal of the Carmelite Rule fresco
|
1426 1425-69
|
1771 1771
|
Fire and Flood
|
Cloister of Santa Maria del Carmine, Florence. Fragments survive in place[p][30]
|
da Fabriano, Gentile and Pisanello Frescoes
|
1427/28
|
1647
|
Reconstruction
|
Basilica of Saint John Lateran
|
Donatello Abundance
|
1428
|
1750
|
Weathering
|
Baptistery of the Duomo, later Mercato Vecchio. Copied in terra cotta[q][31]
|
da Panicale, Masolino and Uccello Illustrious Men fresco cycle
|
1432
|
|
|
For the Palace of Cardinal Orsini in Rome. A watercolor copy by Leonardo da Besozzo survives
|
van der Weyden The Justice of Trajan and Herkinbald
|
1439
|
1695
|
Bombardment of Brussels
|
Brussels Town Hall.[r] Bern Historical Museum has tapestry copies.[s][32]
|
del Castagno, Andrea Flagellation fresco
|
1440-57
|
1650
|
|
Cloister of the Basilica of Santa Croce, Florence
|
Van Eyck Madonna of Nicolas van Maelbeke
|
1441
|
1792–1815
|
French occupation of The Netherlands
|
St Martin's Cathedral. Copy in Germanisches Nationalmuseum.
|
Christus, Petrus (attributed) Crucifixion
|
1444
|
1942
|
World War II
|
Dessau Palace/Palais Reina. Black and white photograph survives.
|
Veneziano, Domenico and del Castagno, Andrea Life of the Virgin frescoes
|
1450-52
|
1594
|
|
In the church of Sant' Egidio (Santa Maria Nuova), Florence
|
Mantegna Lives of Saint James and Saint Christopher frescoes
|
1450-57
|
1944
|
World War II
|
Ovetari Chapel.[t] Photographs survive.
|
da Messina, Antonello Scenes from the life of Saint Nicholas altarpiece
|
1450-76
|
1908
|
Messina earthquake
|
For the Confraternity of San Nicolò della Montagna in Messina, seen by Cavalcaselle in 1871[33]
|
Fra Angelico, school of Last Judgment
|
1456
|
1945
|
Friedrichshain flak tower fire
|
|
della Francesca, Piero Frescoes
|
1456
|
|
Destroyed?[u]
|
|
Foppa, Vincenzo Triumph of Trajan fresco
|
1457 1456-1500
|
1863
|
Demolition
|
Done for the Medici bank in the Via de' Bossi, Milan.[34] A fragment survives in the Wallace Collection, London
|
Mantegna Lamentation of the People over the Dead Gattamelata
|
1457-60
|
1760
|
|
Palazzo Gattamelata, Padua. A related drawing is in The Wallace Collection, London
|
Perugino Adoration of the Magi fresco
|
1466-80
|
1529
|
Siege of Florence
|
For the convent of S. Giusto alle Mura[35]
|
Botticelli Paintings on "pagan" subjects
|
1470-92
|
1497
|
Bonfire of the Vanities
|
|
Bellini, Giovanni Saint Catherine of Siena Altarpiece (Sacra Conversazione)
|
1470-1500
|
1867
|
|
Chapel of the Rosary of the Church of Santi Giovanni e Paolo, Venice
|
Signorelli, Luca The Court of Pan (The School of Pan)
|
1472-74
|
1945
|
Friedrichshain flak tower fire
|
Painted c. 1490 at the request of Lorenzo de' Medici.[36] Black and white photo and reconstruction drawing (2021) by Olivier Maceratesi
|
Signorelli, Luca Madonna and Saints fresco
|
1474
|
1789
|
|
In the Tower of Città di Castello
|
Vivarini, Alvise Otho Promising to Mediate Between Venice and Barbarossa
|
1476-1500
|
1577
|
Doge's Palace fire
|
Doge's Palace
|
Botticelli Piero di Cosimo de' Medici
|
1478
|
1942
|
World War II
|
Formerly Museo Civico Gaetano Filangieri, Naples. Photographs survive
|
Botticelli Frescoes depicting the criminal conspirators of the Pazzi Conspiracy against the Medici
|
1478
|
1494
|
Removed
|
Painted either in the Bargello or the Dogana in Florence. At the instigation of Pope Alexander VI after the fall of the Medicis
|
da Forlì, Melozzo Ascension with Christ in Glory fresco
|
1478-80
|
1711
|
Renovation
|
For the choir of the Church of the Santi Apostoli, Rome. Fragments survive in the Vatican and Quirinal
|
da Forlì, Melozzo Feo Chapel vault fresco
|
1478-80
|
1945
|
World War II
|
For the San Biagio Church in Forlì. Graphical notes by Girolamo Reggiani (1831) Black and White photo (1944) and color reconstruction drawing (2020) by Olivier Maceratesi
|
da Vinci Leonardo's horse terracotta model
|
1482
|
1499
|
French invasion of Milan
|
|
Costa, Lorenzo Destruction of Troy fresco
|
1483
|
1507
|
Destroyed with the palace by a mob[37]
|
For the loggia of the Bentivoglio Palace, Bologna. Fragment survives in the Pinacoteca Nazionale
|
Vivarini, Alvise Altarpiece for the church of Santa Maria dei Battuti in Belluno
|
1485
|
1942-45
|
World War II
|
|
Botticelli, Ghirlandaio, Filippino Lippi and Perugino Frescoes on mythological themes, including the Forge of Vulcan
|
1487-90
|
1825
|
Water damage then fire[v]
|
For Lorenzo de' Medici in the great hall and external loggia of his villa at Spedaletto, near Volterra
|
Mantegna Baptism of Christ fresco
|
1488
|
1780
|
Redevelopment
|
Belvedere Chapel of the Vatican. Destroyed at the construction of the Pio-Clementino Museum
|
Bellini, Giovanni The Supper at Emmaus
|
1494
|
1750
|
Fire in Vienna in the 18th century
|
Painted for Giorgio Cornaro of Venice
|
Ghirlandaio, Domenico Virgin and Child in Glory with Saints John the Evangelist, Francis, Jerome and John the Baptist
|
1496
|
1945
|
Friedrichshain flak tower fire
|
In the Church of San Francesco in San Casciano, Val di Pesa until 1810.
|
Fra Bartolomeo Assumption of the Virgin |
1507-08 |
1945 |
Friedrichshain flak tower fire |
|
Michelangelo Battle of Cascina cartoon |
|
|
Putatively destroyed by Bandinelli |
Palazzo Vecchio
|
Michelangelo Cupid marble |
|
1698 |
Palace of Whitehall fire |
Owned by Isabella d'Este and Charles I of England
|
Caravaggio Portrait of a Courtesan |
|
1945 |
Friedrichshain flak tower fire |
Formerly in the Kaiser-Friedrich-Museum, Berlin
|
Michelangelo Pope Julius II in the act of blessing bronze |
|
1511 |
Destroyed by the people of Bologna |
On San Petronio basilica's facade in Bologna
|
Correggio The Coronation of the Virgin fresco |
|
1587 |
|
Church of San Giovanni Evangelista, Parma. Fragments in National Gallery, London, other museums
|
Correggio Saint Mary Magdalen in the Desert fresco |
|
1555 |
Destruction of Palazzo della Delizie |
Painted for Veronica Gambara's Palazzo della Delizie, in the town of Correggio. Described in a letter dated Sept. 3, 1528 from Veronica Gambara to Isabella d’Este[39]
|
Correggio Magdalen in the Desert |
|
1945- |
World War II |
Dresden
|
Raphael Crowning of Saint Nicholas of Tolentino |
|
1700–99 |
Earthquake |
Raphael's first recorded commission, it was made for Andrea Baronci's chapel in the church of Sant'Agostino in Citta di Castello, near Urbino At least four fragments survive (Louvre, Capodimonte)
|
Dürer Ascension of Mary altarpiece |
|
1729 |
Fire |
The central panel added to the collection of Elector Maximilian of Bavaria. A 1615 copy of the entire altarpiece by Jobst Harrich of Nuremberg survives
|
Huber, Wolf Portrait of an Architect (Self-Portrait?) |
1529 |
1947 |
Fire at the Musée de Beaux Arts, Strasbourg, August 13, 1947 (one of 30 paintings destroyed) |
|
Cranach the Elder Cardinal Albrecht of Brandenburg, Archbishop of Mainz |
|
1945 |
Friedrichshain flak tower fire |
|
Cranach the Elder Virgin and Child with Four Female Saints |
|
1945 |
Friedrichshain flak tower fire |
|
Cranach the Elder Madonna and Child with Infant Saint John |
|
1945 |
Friedrichshain flak tower fire |
|
Cranach the Elder Duke Henry of Saxony |
|
1945 |
Bombing of Dresden |
|
Brueghel the Elder The Farmers Brawl |
|
1945 |
Bombing of Dresden |
Engraved by Lucas Vosterman, c. 1620
|
Holbein Henry VIII and family mural |
|
1698 |
Palace of Whitehall fire |
In Whitehall Palace, London
|
Holbein Sir Thomas More and Family |
|
1752 |
Kroměříž Palace fire[40] |
|
Titian Battle of Spoleto |
|
1577 |
Doge's Palace fire |
|
Titian Battle of Cadore |
|
1577 |
Doge's Palace fire |
|
Titian Doge Gritti Praying to the Virgin |
|
1577 |
Doge's Palace fire |
|
Tintoretto Coronation of Frederick Barbarossa |
|
1577 |
Doge's Palace fire |
|
Tintoretto Excommunication of Barbarossa |
|
1577 |
Doge's Palace fire |
|
Tintoretto Last Judgment |
|
1577 |
Doge's Palace fire |
|
Veronese Homage of Frederick Barbarossa |
|
1577 |
Doge's Palace fire |
|
da Fabriano, Gentile Works |
|
1577 |
Doge's Palace fire |
|
Pisanello Works |
|
1577 |
Doge's Palace fire |
|
Carpaccio Pope Alexander III in the Church of St. Marks |
|
1577 |
Doge's Palace fire |
|
Carpaccio Meeting of the Pope and the Doge at Ancona |
|
1577 |
Doge's Palace fire |
|
Vivarini, Alvise Otho Promising to Mediate Between Venice and Barbarossa |
|
1577 |
Doge's Palace fire |
|
Guariento Paradise |
|
1577 |
Doge's Palace fire |
|
Bellini Battle of Salvore |
|
1577 |
Doge's Palace fire |
|
Bellini Presentation of the White Candle to the Pope |
|
1577 |
Doge's Palace fire |
|
Bellini Presentation of the Eight Standards and Trumpets to the Doge |
|
1577 |
Doge's Palace fire |
|
del Vaga Christ at the Pool of Bethesda fresco |
1537–39 |
1850s |
Renovation |
Massimi Chapel, Santa Trinità dei Monti. [w]
|
del Vaga Christ and the Centurion fresco |
1537–39 |
1850s |
Renovation |
Massimi Chapel, Santa Trinità dei Monti.[w]
|
del Vaga The Transfiguration fresco |
1537–39 |
1850s |
Renovation |
Massimi Chapel, Santa Trinità dei Monti.[w]
|
del Vaga The Expulsion from the Temple fresco |
1537–39 |
1850s |
Renovation |
Massimi Chapel, Santa Trinità dei Monti. [w]
|
Titian Death of St Peter Martyr |
|
1867 |
Fire |
For the Chapel of the Rosary, Santi Giovanni e Paolo, Venice. Copies and engravings survive
|
Titian Double Portrait of Emperor Charles V and his wife Isabella of Portugal |
|
1734 |
Royal Alcázar of Madrid fire |
A copy by Rubens survives
|
Titian Penitent Magdalene |
1561 |
1873 |
Fire at Bath House, London, January 21 |
Painted for Philip II of Spain
|
Titian Ixion and Tantalus |
|
1734 |
Royal Alcázar of Madrid fire |
|
Titian Paintings of The Twelve Caesars |
|
1734 |
Royal Alcázar of Madrid fire |
|
Palladio or Giorgio Capobianco The Jewel of Vicenza |
1578 |
1797 |
Destroyed by the Napoleonic army when they tried to melt it down for silver |
Created as an ex-voto and financed by donations from the city of Vicenza. A silver reconstruction was made in 2012–2013
|
Veronese Apollo and Juno |
1580 |
1945 |
Friedrichshain flak tower fire |
Painted for the Fondaco dei Tedeschi, Venice
|
Veronese Saturn Helps Religion to Overcome Heresy |
1580 |
1945 |
Friedrichshain flak tower fire |
Painted for the Fondaco dei Tedeschi, Venice
|
Pontormo God the Father and the Four Evangelists fresco |
|
1700–99 |
Remodeling |
Capponi Chapel, Church of Santa Felicita, Florence
|
Pontormo Last Judgment |
|
1700–99 |
Renovations |
Unfinished fresco at the Basilica of San Lorenzo, Florence
|
Caravaggio Portrait of a Courtesan, aka Fillide Melandroni |
1597-1599 |
1945 |
Friedrichshain flak tower fire |
|
Vroom, Hendrick The Armada Tapestries |
1602 |
1834 |
Burning of Parliament[41] |
For Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Nottingham; sold to James I, 1616 and placed in the House of Lords, London by Oliver Cromwell, 1650. Engraved by John Pine, 1739[42]
|
da Bologna, Giovanni Henry IV of France equestrian bronze |
1614 |
1789–99 |
Scrapped |
Presented to Marie de Medicis by Cosimo II. Melted for cannon (French Revolution).
|
Poussin The Martyrdom of Erasmus |
1630 |
1945 |
Bombing of Dresden |
|
Poussin Penance, one of the seven Sacraments |
1637–1640 |
1816 |
Belvoir Castle fire |
|
Lorrain, Claude Queen Esther Approaching the Palace of Ahasuerus |
1658 |
1755 |
Fonthill Abbey fire[43] |
A fragment in the collection of the Earl of Leicester, Holkham Hall
|
Lorrain, Claude Apollo Guarding the Herds of Admetus and Mercury Stealing Them |
1660–1673 |
1871 |
Holker Hall fire[4] |
|
Rubens The Crucifixion |
1601–02 |
1820- |
Lost at sea |
Painted for the Church of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, Rome.[44] Imported to England 1811; there auctioned 1812, 1820
|
Rubens Madonna of the Rosary |
|
1695 |
Bombardment of Brussels |
Painted for the Royal Chapel of the Dominican Church, Brussels
|
Rubens Virgin Adorned with Flowers by Saint Anne |
1610 |
1695 |
Bombardment of Brussels |
Painted for the Church of the Carmelite Friars, Brussels
|
Rubens Saint Job Triptych |
1613 |
1695 |
Bombardment of Brussels |
Painted for Saint Nicholas Church, Brussels
|
Rubens Cambyses Appointing Otanes Judge |
|
1695 |
Bombardment of Brussels |
Decoration for the Magistrates' Hall, Brussels
|
Rubens Judgment of Solomon |
|
1695 |
Bombardment of Brussels |
Decoration for the Magistrates' Hall, Brussels
|
Rubens Last Judgment |
|
1695 |
Bombardment of Brussels |
Decoration for the Magistrates' Hall, Brussels
|
Rubens Neptune and Amphitrite |
1615 |
1945 |
Friedrichshain flak tower fire |
|
Rubens Nativity |
|
1731 |
Coudenberg Palace fire |
|
Rubens Adoration of the Magi |
|
1731 |
Coudenberg Palace fire |
|
Rubens Pentecost |
|
1731 |
Coudenberg Palace fire |
|
Rubens The Abduction of Proserpine |
|
1861 |
Fire at Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, February 5, 1861[45] |
Engraved before 1621 by Pieter Soutman
|
Rubens Crucifixion with Mary, St. John, Magdalen |
1622 |
1643 |
English Civil War |
In the Queen's Chapel, Somerset House, London, 1643[46]
|
Rubens Portrait of Philip IV of Spain |
1628 |
1985 |
Incendiary attack at the Kunsthaus, Zurich, in 1985[47] |
|
Rubens Diana and Nymphs Surprised by Satyrs |
1635–1638 |
1945 |
Friedrichshain flak tower fire |
|
Rubens Equestrian Portrait of Philip IV of Spain |
|
1734 |
Royal Alcázar of Madrid fire |
A copy is in the Uffizi Gallery
|
Rubens The Continence of Scipio |
|
1836 |
Western Exchange Fire |
In the Western Exchange, Old Bond Street, London, March 1836[48]
|
Rubens The Lion Hunt |
|
1870 |
Fire at the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Bordeaux[49] |
Removed by Napoleon's agents from Schloss Schleissheim, near Munich, 1800
|
Rubens Equestrian Portrait of the Duke of Buckingham |
|
1949 |
Fire[50] |
Owned by the Earl of Jersey at Osterley Park
|
Van Dyck and Rubens Series of 39 ceiling paintings for the Jesuit Church in Antwerp (nl:Carolus Borromeuskerk#Branden, Dutch wiki) |
|
1718 |
Fire |
Engravings by Jan Punt (Amsterdam 1751) of 31 of the paintings from drawings executed 1711-12 by Jacob de Wit exist[51]
|
Rubens and Brueghel the Elder Vision of Saint Hubert |
|
1945 |
Friedrichshain flak tower fire |
|
Brueghel the Elder and other artists Allegories of Sight and Smell |
|
1731 |
Coudenberg Palace fire |
Bought (with the following entry) by the City of Antwerp and hung in audience hall, Tervuren Castle 1619[52]
|
Brueghel the Elder and other artists Allegories of Hearing, Taste and Touch |
|
1731 |
Coudenberg Palace fire |
|
Van Dyck Group Portrait of the Town Council of Brussels |
1634-35 |
1695 |
Bombardment of Brussels |
|
Van Dyck Christ Crowned with Thorns |
|
1945 |
Friedrichshain flak tower fire |
|
Van Dyck Lamentation over Christ |
|
1945 |
Friedrichshain flak tower fire |
|
Van Dyck Nymphs Surprised by Satyrs |
|
1945 |
Friedrichshain flak tower fire |
|
Van Dyck Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist |
|
1945 |
Friedrichshain flak tower fire |
|
van Honthorst, Gerrit Adoration of the Shepherds (Birth of Christ) |
|
1993 |
Uffizi car bombing |
|
de Keyser, Thomas Six Gold and Silver Smiths (The "Bankers of Amsterdam") |
1627 |
1947 |
Fire at the Musée de Beaux Arts, Strasbourg, August 13, 1947[53] (one of 30 paintings destroyed) |
|
van Ruisdael, Jacob Bentheim Castle with Christ and Disciples on the Road to Emmaus |
|
1864 |
Museum Boymans fire |
|
van Ruisdael, Jacob The Windmill |
|
1871 |
Holker Hall fire[54] |
|
Fabritius, Carel Large family portrait |
|
1864 |
Museum Boymans fire |
|
Cuyp, Aelbert Sleeping Man |
|
1864 |
Museum Boymans fire |
|
Steen, Jan Tobias Healing His Father |
|
1864 |
Museum Boymans fire[55] |
|
Potter, Paulus White Ox in a Field |
|
1864 |
Museum Boymans fire |
|
Potter, Paulus Large Herd of Oxen |
|
1771 |
Vrouw Maria sinking[56] |
Purchased for Fl. 9050, Braamcamp sale, Amsterdam, 1771 by agents of Catherine the Great.
|
Caravaggio The Inspiration of Matthew first version |
1601 |
1945 |
Friedrichshain flak tower fire |
|
Caravaggio Christ on the Mount of Olives |
1605 |
1945 |
Friedrichshain flak tower fire |
From the collection of Vincenzo Giustiniani
|
Caravaggio Saint John |
|
1798 |
Earthquake |
Done for the Fenaroli chapel, Sant'Anna dei Lombardi, Naples
|
Caravaggio Saint Francis |
|
1798 |
Earthquake |
Done for the Fenaroli chapel, Sant'Anna dei Lombardi, Naples
|
Caravaggio Resurrection |
|
1798 |
Earthquake |
Done for the Fenaroli chapel, Sant'Anna dei Lombardi, Naples. A 1763 description by Charles-Nicolas Cochin[57] survives.
|
Gentileschi, Orazio The Conversion of Saint Paul altarpiece |
|
1823 |
Fire |
Done for the basilica of San Paolo fuori le Mura, Rome
|
Fontana, Lavinia The Stoning of Saint Stephen altarpiece |
|
1823 |
Fire |
Done for the basilica of San Paolo fuori le Mura, Rome
|
Gentileschi, Artemisia Hercules and Omphale |
1628 |
1734 |
Royal Alcázar of Madrid fire |
Painted for Philip IV of Spain
|
Gentileschi, Artemisia Bathsheba |
1650–1652 |
1940 |
Fire at Gosford House, Scotland[58] |
|
Manfredi, Bartolomeo La Buonavventura |
|
1993 |
Uffizi car bombing |
|
Manfredi, Bartolomeo Ciclo Vito |
|
1993 |
Uffizi car bombing |
|
Carracci, Annibale Danae |
|
1941 |
The Blitz (Bridgewater House bombing) |
Ellesmere collection
|
Carracci, Annibale Saint Gregory Praying for Souls in Purgatory, altarpiece |
1600 |
1941 |
The Blitz (Bridgewater House bombing) |
Church of San Gregorio Magno, Rome; then Ellesmere collection
|
Carracci, Ludovico Descent from the Cross |
|
1941 |
The Blitz (Bridgewater House bombing) |
Ellesmere collection
|
Reni, Guido Immaculate Conception |
|
1941 |
World War II |
Formerly Seville Cathedral, Spain, later in the Ellesmere collection, Bridgewater House, Westminster, London
|
Bernini Bust of King Charles I (Bernini) |
|
1698 |
Palace of Whitehall fire |
|
Bernini Crucified Christ in bronze |
|
1789–99 |
French Revolution |
Formerly in the French royal collection
|
Velasquez Expulsion of the Moors with Philip III |
1627 |
1734 |
Royal Alcázar of Madrid fire |
|
Velasquez Venus and Adonis |
|
1734 |
Royal Alcázar of Madrid fire |
|
Velasquez Cupid and Psyche |
|
1734 |
Royal Alcázar of Madrid fire |
|
Velasquez Apollo and Marsyas |
|
1734 |
Royal Alcázar of Madrid fire |
|
Zurbarán Saint Bonaventure Reveals the Crucifix to Saint Thomas Aquinas |
|
1945 |
Friedrichshain flak tower fire |
Commissioned by the Colegio de San Buenaventura, Seville. Taken from Spain by Marshal Soult
|
Murillo Caritas Romana (Roman Charity) |
|
1845 |
Fire |
Taken from Spain by Joseph Bonaparte and sold to the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art
|
Giordano, Luca The Labors of Hercules sixteen frescoes |
1692–1702 |
1800–99 |
|
Central hall of the Casón, Buen Retiro Palace
|
Giordano, Luca Life of Saint Benedict frescoes |
|
1944 |
Battle of Monte Cassino |
Painted for the Abbey of Monte Cassino.
|
Giordano, Luca The Rape of the Sabine Women |
|
1945 |
Bombing of Dresden |
Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister
|
Kneller, Godfrey William III Leading Troops at the Battle of the Boyne |
|
1965 |
Grocers' Hall fire |
|
Coypel, Antoine Venus Imploring Jupiter on Behalf of Aeneas ceiling painting |
1702 |
1783- |
|
Grand Gallery of the Palais-Royal. A sketch for it survives
|
van Nost, John King George I of Great Britain equestrian statue |
1716 |
1872 |
Vandalised, sold and removed[59] |
Formerly part of the Duke of Chandos' collection at Cannons; moved to Leicester Square in London in 1784
|
Chardin Still Life with Copper Kettle, Bowl with Eggs |
1724–25 |
1945 |
Friedrichshain flak tower fire |
|
Watteau Idol of the Goddess Ki Mao Sao in the Kingdom of Mang in the country of Laos |
1719 |
1789–99 |
French Revolution |
Château de la Muette decorations
|
Watteau Spring |
1717-18 |
1966 |
Fire |
Pierre Crozat collection. Rediscovered in 1964 then destroyed. Autumn and Winter still missing. Engravings survive.
|
Hogarth, William A Harlot's Progress |
1731 |
1755 |
Fire at Fonthill Abbey |
1732 engravings survive
|
Hogarth, William Strolling Actresses Dressing in a Barn |
1738 |
1874 |
Fire at Littleton House in December[60] |
An engraving by the artist survives
|
Hudson, Thomas William Bouverie |
|
1952 |
Coleshill House fire[61] |
|
Hudson, Thomas Anne Bouverie |
|
1952 |
Coleshill House fire[61] |
|
Hudson, Thomas Mary Bouverie |
|
1952 |
Coleshill House fire[61] |
|
Tiepolo, Gianbattista The Translation of the Holy House of Loreto fresco |
|
1915 |
Austrian shelling in World War I |
In the Church of the Scalzi, Venice. There is a copy of the entire ceiling from before 1914, painted in gouache after the original by Mariano Fortuny, a 1914 photograph by James Anderson and a reconstruction drawing (2019) by Olivier Maceratesi
|
Tiepolo, Gianbattista and Giandomenico Tiepolo Soderini family frescoes |
1754 |
1918 |
Italo-Austrian engagement in World War I, June 15–19[62] |
Villa Soderini, Nervesa della Battaglia, in the Veneto. Photographs survive.
|
Tiepolo, Gianbattista The Triumph of the Arts and Sciences ceiling fresco |
1731 |
1943 |
Palazzo Archinto, Milan bombing[63] |
Photographs survive
|
Tiepolo, Gianbattista Apollo and Phaethon ceiling fresco |
1731 |
1943 |
Palazzo Archinto, Milan bombing |
|
Tiepolo, Gianbattista Perseus and Andromeda ceiling fresco |
1731 |
1943 |
Palazzo Archinto, Milan bombing |
|
Tiepolo, Gianbattista Juno with Fortuna and Venus ceiling fresco |
1731 |
1943 |
Palazzo Archinto, Milan bombing |
|
Tiepolo, Gianbattista Triumph of Hercules ceiling fresco |
1761 |
1945 |
Reduced to fragments by bombing in WWII |
Painted for the principal salon of the Palazzo Canossa, Verona
|
de Loutherbourg, Philip James The Eidophusikon |
1781 |
|
|
|
Reynolds, Sir Joshua Nativity |
|
1816 |
Belvoir Castle fire[64] |
|
Reynolds, Sir Joshua The Infant Jupiter |
|
1816 |
Belvoir Castle fire |
|
Reynolds, Sir Joshua General James Oglethorpe |
|
1816 |
Belvoir Castle fire |
|
Gainsborough David Garrick leaning on a bust of Shakespeare |
1766 |
1946 |
Fire at Stratford-upon-Avon Town Hall[65] |
Painted for the Stratford Shakespeare Jubilee. Known from engravings and various copies
|
Gainsborough Wooded landscape with gipsies round a camp fire also named The Gipsies |
1754 |
<1831 |
|
A 1764 engraving published by John Boydell exists
|
Gainsborough The Woodman and his Dog in a Storm |
1787 |
1810 |
Fire at Exton Old Park[66] |
A 1791 mezzotint by Pierre Simon exists
|
Gainsborough Cottage Children with an Ass |
|
1810 |
Fire at Exton Old Park |
Survives in mezzotint
|
Gainsborough Portrait of Sir Francis Sykes of Basildon with a groom, two horses, and a dog |
|
1874 |
Fire at the Pantechnicon warehouse, London February 13–14[67] |
|
Wilson, Richard The Destruction of Niobe's Children |
|
1944 |
World War II |
National Gallery, London
|
Copley, John Singleton Numerous colonial portraits |
|
1872 |
Great Boston Fire of 1872[68] |
Formerly belonging to Peter Wainwright
|
Peale, Charles Willson Portrait of Thomas Paine |
1777 |
1893 |
Fire at Joseph Jefferson's summer house in Buttermilk Bay, April 1[69] |
Exhibited in Peale's Museum to 1854, later owned by T.B. MacDonough and the actor Joseph Jefferson. An engraving survives.
|
Houdon, Jean-Antoine Bust of the composer Gluck in marble |
|
1873 |
Fire at the Paris Opera |
Terra cotta versions exist
|
Tiepolo, Giandomenico Glorification of the Giustiniani Family (fresco) |
1784 |
1866 |
Allowed to decay and replaced |
Executed for the Doge's Palace, Genoa. A preliminary sketch is in the Metropolitan Museum.
|
Beechey, William George III and the Prince of Wales Reviewing Troops |
1797–98 |
1992 |
Windsor Castle fire |
|
Goya Don Antonio de Porcel |
1806 |
1956 |
Fire in the Jockey Club, Buenos Aires |
|
Stuart, Gilbert Seated portrait of President Washington |
|
1851 |
Library of Congress fire |
|
Stuart, Gilbert Seated portrait of President Adams |
|
1851 |
Library of Congress fire |
|
Stuart, Gilbert Seated portrait of President Jefferson |
|
1851 |
Library of Congress fire |
|
Peale, Charles Willson Portrait of Peyton Randolph, Speaker of the Virginia House of Burgesses |
|
1851 |
Library of Congress fire |
|
Canova George Washington, marble sculpture |
|
1831 |
Fire in the North Carolina State House, Raleigh |
The artist's plaster model survives
|
Peale, Rembrandt The Dream of Love (Jupiter and Io) |
|
<1855 |
Fire while on exhibition in New York prior to 1855, according to the artist |
|
Peale, Rembrandt Musidora |
|
1850–51 |
Fire at a Philadelphia art gallery in 1850 or 1851 |
|
Friedrich, Caspar David Winter |
1807–08 |
1931 |
Glaspalast (Munich) fire |
|
Friedrich, Caspar David The Farewell |
1818 |
1931 |
Glaspalast (Munich) fire |
|
Friedrich, Caspar David The Harbor at Grifswald |
1820 |
1931 |
Glaspalast (Munich) fire |
|
Friedrich, Caspar David Autumn Landscape with Brush Collector |
1824 |
1931 |
Glaspalast (Munich) fire |
|
Friedrich, Caspar David Evening |
1825 |
1931 |
Glaspalast (Munich) fire |
|
Friedrich, Caspar David Mountain Chapel in the Mist |
1811 |
1945 |
Friedrichshain flak tower fire |
|
Friedrich, Caspar David Monastery Graveyard in the Snow |
1817–18 |
1945 |
Friedrichshain flak tower fire |
|
Friedrich, Caspar David High Mountain Region |
1824 |
1945 |
Friedrichshain flak tower fire |
|
Friedrich, Caspar David Northern Lights |
1830–1835 |
1945 |
Friedrichshain flak tower fire |
|
Turner The Mouth of the Thames |
1807 |
1939–1945 |
World War II |
|
Turner Fish Market on the Sands |
1830 |
1956 |
Fire |
formerly owned by Billy Rose
|
Landseer, Sir Edwin War and Peace |
1846 |
1928 |
Thames flooding |
Was in the basement of the Tate Gallery. Engravings of both survive. A copy of War appeared on the television program Fake or Fortune, where it was thought to possibly be the original.[70]
|
Bragaldi, Mario Jupiter on Mount Olympus ceiling fresco |
1850s |
2018 |
National Museum of Brazil fire |
Done for Emperor Pedro II of Brazil
|
Bragaldi, Mario Justice ceiling fresco |
1850s |
2018 |
National Museum of Brazil fire |
|
Bragaldi, Mario Fortitude ceiling fresco |
1850s |
2018 |
National Museum of Brazil fire |
|
Bragaldi, Mario Temperance ceiling fresco |
1850s |
2018 |
National Museum of Brazil fire |
|
Bragaldi, Mario Prudence ceiling fresco |
1850s |
2018 |
National Museum of Brazil fire |
|
Leutze, Emanuel Washington Crossing the Delaware (first version) |
1849–50 |
1942 |
Air raid on Bremen |
|
Ingres Apotheosis of Napoleon I ceiling painting |
|
1871 |
Hôtel de Ville fire[71] |
|
Delaroche, Paul The Storming of the Bastille |
1830 |
1871 |
Hôtel de Ville fire |
|
Delacroix, Eugène Justinian Drafting his Laws |
1826 |
1871 |
Fire in the Paris Commune |
Painted for the Council of State, Paris. An 1855 photograph survives[72]
|
Delacroix, Eugène Peace Consoles Mankind and Brings Abundance |
1852–1854 |
1871 |
Hôtel de Ville fire |
|
Chassériau, Théodore War and Peace murals |
1848 |
1871 |
Fire in the Paris Commune |
Painted for the Cour des Comptes, Palais of the Quai d'Orsay, Paris. A fragment of Peace is preserved in the Louvre
|
Winterhalter, Franz Xaver Napoleon III |
1856 |
1871 |
Tuileries Palace fire |
Models by the artist and copies exist
|
Winterhalter, Franz Xaver Empress Eugénie |
1856 |
1871 |
Tuileries Palace fire |
Models by the artist and copies exist
|
Millet, Jean-François The Jewish Captivity in Babylon |
1848 |
1870–71 |
Painted over by the artist with a scene executed in Normandy |
|
Courbet The Stone Breakers |
|
1939–1945 |
World War II, while in transit from the Dresden Gallery |
|
Courbet The Return from the Conference |
1863 |
1909 |
Destroyed by its owner due to its anticlerical content |
|
Courbet Venus and Psyche |
1864 |
1945 |
Enemy air action, Berlin, World War II |
|
Van Gogh Donkey Cart with Boy and Scheveningen Woman |
1882 |
1940 |
Fire |
Formerly in Rotterdam
|
Carpaccio, Vittore Virgin and Child Enthroned with Saints Faustinus and Jovita, patron saints of Brescia (the Averoldi Altarpiece) |
|
|
|
Sacristy of S. Giovanni Evangelista, Brescia. Sold to the National Gallery London, lost in a shipwreck crossing the English Channel
|
Van Gogh The Parsonage Garden at Nuenen with Pond and Figures |
1885 |
1940 |
In the German bombing of Rotterdam during World War II |
|
Van Gogh Windmill on Montmartre |
1886 |
1967 |
Fire |
|
Van Gogh Still Life: Vase with Five Sunflowers |
1888 |
1945 |
American air raids on Ashiya District, August 5–6[73] |
Formerly in the collection of Koyata Yamamoto, Japan
|
Van Gogh The Painter on his Way to Work |
1888 |
1939–1945 |
Fire in World War II |
In the Kaiser-Friedrich Museum, Berlin
|
Van Gogh The Park at Arles with the Entrance Seen Through the Trees |
1888 |
1939–1945 |
Fire in World War II |
|
Inness, George The New Jerusalem |
|
1880 |
Partial collapse of Madison Square Garden[74] |
Salvaged fragments survive, including Valley of the Olive Trees in the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore
|
Rousseau, Henri Portrait of Alfred Jarry |
1895 |
|
Destroyed by the sitter, who disliked it |
|
Sargent Head of Sir Henry Irving |
|
|
Destroyed by the sitter, who disliked it |
|
Chase, William Merritt Portrait of Thomas Eakins |
1899 |
|
Presumed destroyed by the sitter |
|
Klimt Musik II |
1898 |
1945 |
Schloss Immendorf fire |
Formerly Lederer family collection, Vienna
|
Klimt Schubert at the Piano |
1899 |
1945 |
Schloss Immendorf fire |
Formerly Lederer family collection, Vienna
|
Klimt Portrait of Serena Lederer |
1899 |
1945 |
Schloss Immendorf fire |
Formerly Lederer family collection, Vienna
|
Klimt Medicine |
1899–1907 |
1945 |
Schloss Immendorf fire |
|
Klimt Philosophy |
1899–1907 |
1945 |
Schloss Immendorf fire |
|
Klimt Jurisprudence |
1899–1907 |
1945 |
Schloss Immendorf fire |
|
Klimt Golden Apple Tree |
1903 |
1945 |
Schloss Immendorf fire |
Formerly Lederer family collection, Vienna
|
Klimt Procession of the Dead |
1903 |
1945 |
Schloss Immendorf fire |
Formerly Lederer family collection, Vienna
|
Kandinsky Composition I |
1910 |
1944 |
British air raid on Braunschweig, Germany |
Known from photographs
|
Sloan, John Tammany Hall at Night |
1910 |
|
Fire, during transit |
The artist later created a replica from photographs
|
Klimt Farm Garden with Crucifix |
1911–12 |
1945 |
Schloss Immendorf fire |
Color images survive
|
Csaky, Joseph Groupe de femmes |
1911–12 |
1912 |
First World War |
Salon d'Automne, 1913 Salon des Indépendants, Paris. Black & white images survive
|
Csaky, Joseph Danseuse, (Femme à l'éventail) |
1912 |
1912 |
|
Salon d'Automne, Paris, Galerie Moos, Geneva, 1920. Black & white images survive
|
Archipenko, Alexander La Vie Familiale (Family Life) |
1912 |
|
First World War bombardment |
1912 Salon d'Automne, 1913 Armory Show. Was in Paris during WWI. New York Black & white images survive
|
Comper, Ninian Rood screen, with sixteen paintings |
1912[75] |
1993 |
Bishopsgate bombing |
Part of St Ethelburga's Bishopsgate, City of London.[76] Black & white images survive
|
Csaky, Joseph Head (Tête d'homme) |
1913 |
|
|
1913 Salon des Indépendants, Paris, Galerie Moos, Geneva, 1920. Black & white images survive
|
Klimt Malcesine on Lake Garda |
1913 |
1945 |
Schloss Immendorf fire |
Color images survive
|
Klimt Garden Path with Chickens |
1916 |
1945 |
Schloss Immendorf fire |
Color images survive
|
Klimt Portrait of Wally |
1916 |
1945 |
Schloss Immendorf fire |
Formerly Lederer family collection, Vienna
|
Klimt The Girlfriends |
1916–17 |
1945 |
Schloss Immendorf fire |
Formerly Lederer family collection, Vienna. Color images survive
|
Klimt Leda |
1917 |
1945 |
Schloss Immendorf fire |
Formerly Lederer family collection, Vienna
|
Klimt Gastein |
1917 |
1945 |
Schloss Immendorf fire |
|
Shrady, Henry Robert E. Lee equestrian statue |
1924 |
2023 |
City council was offended (it had been a focal point of the Unite the Right rally) and had it removed |
Stood in Charlottesville, Virginia. Removed from its pedestal in 2021, and wilfully destroyed by melting in unspecified location two years later[77]
|
Monet Water Lilies (major study) |
1925 |
1958[78] |
Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) fire |
|
Monet Water Lilies (small study) |
1925 |
1961 |
Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) fire |
|
Rivera, Diego Man at the Crossroads mural |
1933 |
1934 |
Rockefeller was offended (it included a portrait of Lenin) and had it removed |
Nelson Rockefeller commissioned the work. Rivera later recreated the work as Man, Controller of the Universe in the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City.
|
Seligman, Hilda Bust of Haile Selassie |
1936 |
2020[79] |
Vandalism linked to unrest in Ethiopia and persecution of the Oromo people |
Originally located in the house in Wimbledon, London where Selassie lived in exile; moved to nearby Cannizaro Park in 1957
|
Miró The Reaper |
1937 |
1937 |
Sent to Valencia and presumably destroyed |
Created for the Spanish Republican pavilion of the 1937 Paris Exposition. Photographs of the installed mural exist
|
Dalí The Seven Lively Arts |
1944 |
1956 |
Fire |
A series of seven paintings for Billy Rose. Known only from photographs
|
Gorky, Arshile Works housed in his studio |
1940–1946 |
1946 |
Arshile Gorky Studio Fire |
|
Gorky, Arshile 15 Works |
1940–1946 |
1962 |
American Airlines Flight 1 plane crash |
|
Hopper, Edward Corn Belt City |
1947 |
1975 |
Park Avenue apartment fire |
|
Sutherland, Graham Portrait of Winston Churchill |
1954 |
1954 |
Destroyed by the Churchills' private secretary |
Color photographs survive
|
Picasso Works for the documentary The Mystery of Picasso |
1956 |
1956 |
Created on camera and then destroyed |
|
Picasso Cubist Head |
1909-1912 |
1978 |
Museum of Modern Art, Rio de Janeiro fire[8] |
|
Picasso Portrait of Dora Maar |
1937 |
1978 |
Museum of Modern Art, Rio de Janeiro fire[8] |
|
Kauffman, Craig Untitled Wall Relief, an acrylic lacquer on Plexiglas piece |
1967 |
2006 |
Fell and shattered at the Pompidou Center of Paris[80] |
|
Alexander, Peter Untitled piece, molded polyester resin work |
1971 |
2006 |
Fell and shattered at the Pompidou Center of Paris[80] |
|
Calder, Alexander World Trade Center Stabile |
1971 |
2001 |
World Trade Center Collapse[broken anchor][81] |
|
Nagare, Masayuki World Trade Center Plaza Sculpture |
1972 |
2001 |
World Trade Center Collapse[broken anchor][81] |
Survived the initial collapse of the buildings, and was destroyed during cleanup.
|
Miró, Joan, Josep Royo World Trade Center Tapestry |
1973 |
2001 |
World Trade Center Collapse[broken anchor][81] |
Hung in the South Tower Lobby
|
Lichtenstein, Roy One painting from The Entablature Series |
1971–72 or 1974–1976 |
2001 |
World Trade Center Collapse[broken anchor] |
|
Rosati, James Ideogram |
1974 |
2001 |
World Trade Center Collapse[broken anchor][81] |
|
Nevelson, Louise Sky Gate, New York |
1978 |
2001 |
World Trade Center Collapse[broken anchor][81] |
|
Budd, Kenneth Chartist Mural |
1978 |
2013 |
Redevelopment[82] |
A 115 by 12 feet mosaic mural in Newport, Wales
|
Pearl Monument |
1982 |
2011 |
Torn down by the government after becoming a focal point for protesters |
Stood in the center of the Pearl Roundabout, Bahrain
|
Central Academy of Fine Arts students Goddess of Democracy |
1989 |
1989 |
Destroyed by People's Liberation Army during Tiananmen Square protests |
|
Whiteread, Rachel "House" temporary sculpture |
1993 |
1994 |
Removed by London Borough of Tower Hamlets council on 11 January |
|
Picasso The Painter |
1901–1973 |
1998 |
Swissair Flight 111 Plane Crash |
|
Emin, Tracey Everyone I Have Ever Slept With 1963–1995 ("The Tent") |
1995 |
2004 |
Momart fire |
|
Serra, Richard Tilted Arc |
1981 |
1989 |
Dismantled and removed |
|
Heatherwick, Thomas B of the Bang |
2005 |
2009 |
Dismantled |
Parts remain in storage
|
Prymachenko, Maria Works of folk art |
|
2022 |
2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine |
In the Ivankiv Historical and Local History Museum
|