Scary, creepy and disturbing - the art history is full of dark themed paintings, as the death and horror were always motifs that intrigued humankind. The main examples of terrifying and bizarre paintings and sculptures of the famous artists dating from the period of the Renaissance when the dark artistic expression freed from the strict Christian dogma but maintain the religious themes as well as classical mythology as the source of the inspiration and allegory. Depicting of the biblical scenes, full of violence and passionate sacrifice with its embodiment in real human bodies built the tradition of dark paintings which lasts to the contemporary art. From the great body of work with the morbid and obscure thematic, we made this disturbing chronological selection of important and unforgettable painting masterpieces dealing with the horror aspects of human existence and imagination.

Featured images: Caravaggio - Judith Beheading Holofernes, 1534, detail via wikimedia; Francisco Goya - Saturn Devouring His Son, 1819-1823, detail via wikimedia; Hieronymus Bosch - The Garden of Earthly Delights, c. 1480-1505, detail via gospelofjohn; Peter Paul Rubens - Massacre of the Innocents, 1611–12, detail via wikimedia; Peter Paul Rubens - Massacre of the Innocents, 1611–12, detail via wikimedia; Salvador Dali - The Face of War,1940, detail via wikimedia; Titian - The Flaying of Marsyas, 1570-1576, detail via wikimedia