Which artworks are the most sacred?

[eve_prime]

Today I read a paper in which people were asked to identify one or two artworks that they consider sacred - not in the sense of being about religion, necessarily, but in the sense that some people think of their country's flag as a sacred object. They did this in two different studies, and the same four artworks were most commonly mentioned in each study. Want to guess what they are? I'll put the answer in the comments. Hint #1: They were all paintings. Hint #2: The study was about collective beliefs and values, so the question is largely about having a good idea of what other people think.

Comments

[eve_prime]

1. The Mona Lisa
2. The Last Supper
3. The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel
4. Starry Night

The paper: Chen, Siyin, Rachel L. Ruttan, and Matthew Feinberg. "Collective transcendence beliefs shape the sacredness of objects: The case of art." Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 124.3 (2023): 521.

[kaishin108]

Oh my, those first three, so religious. I like that Starry Night is in there. The first thing that came to my mind was a Van Gogh landscape painting.

[eve_prime]

Mona Lisa isn't religious, she was just some random woman for whom he did a portrait. Interesting that she can seem religious to us now, though, isn't it?

[kaishin108]

You are so right, and I do know that but isn't that interesting that my first impression was that it was religious. LOL.

[eve_prime]

I agree -it seems like a natural impression, doesn't it?

[kaishin108]

Maybe it is her look of serenity.

[eve_prime]

It could be - she certainly looks more like a saint than a housewife!

[kaishin108]

I can't even think of her as 'a housewife' ha hah!

[eve_prime]

Maybe it doesn't count as a housewife when they have lots of servants, as she surely did - but I can't picture her walking around a house and sitting down to eat some pasta, that's just unreal.