Tension Paintings

Browse free public domain tension artworks, paintings, illustrations, and museum pieces.

Genre scene depicting Khan el-Khalili marketplace, oil painting by Georg Macco

Khan el-Khalili, Cairo

Georg Macco

Landscape by Morten Müller, oil painting depicting a dark patch on the horizon.

Landscape

Morten Müller

Approaching Storm by Edward Mitchell Bannister, oil on canvas depicting a turbulent sea and stormy clouds.

Approaching Storm

Edward Mitchell Bannister

Corwen Marketplace by Edward Dayes, watercolor on paper, depicting a bustling market scene.

Corwen Marketplace, North Wales

Edward Dayes

Interior scene featuring a shadowy doorway, oil painting by James Abbott McNeill Whistler

The Doorway

James Abbott McNeill Whistler

Abstract artwork by Nikolai Triik, featuring gold and dark hues.

Metsaserv

Nikolai Triik

Road Workers, near Lillebonne by Richard Parkes Bonington, oil on canvas depicting laborers in a rural landscape

Road Workers, near Lillebonne

Richard Parkes Bonington

Historical scene of soldiers on horseback in armor, oil painting by Sebastian Vrancx

A procession of soldiers on horseback at the entrance of a forest

Sebastian Vrancx

Religious etching by Jacques Callot depicting figures in suffering and tension

Zes Passiescènes: Kruisdraging, Christus aan het volk getoond (Ecce homo), Doornenkroning, Geseling, Christus voor Pilatus, Gevangenneming

Jacques Callot

Hyde Park by John Martin, oil painting depicting lush greenery and shadowy figures

Hyde Park

John Martin

Landscape with stormy sky and swirling clouds by Paul Signac, oil painting

Le Puy-En-Velay, Ciel D’orage

Paul Signac

Ubaldo en Carlo verwijten Rinaldo zijn zwakte, etching by Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo depicting a tense historical scene.

Ubaldo en Carlo verwijten Rinaldo zijn zwakte

Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo

Historical scene of soldiers by Charles Henry Granger, oil painting

Muster Day

Charles Henry Granger

Engraving by Georg Pencz depicting disciples waking Christ during a storm.

Discipelen wekken slapende Christus tijdens storm op Meer van Galilea

Georg Pencz

Landscape depicting a solitary figure on a path under ominous clouds, oil painting by Edmund Mahlknecht

Returning Home With An Approaching Storm

Edmund Mahlknecht

Engraving by Hans Sebald Beham depicting a couple in an intimate embrace

Vrijende man en vrouw begluurd door een meisje

Hans Sebald Beham

Landscape of Gruyères by Rudolf Wacker, oil on canvas, featuring swirling clouds and rugged terrain.

Gruyères

Rudolf Wacker

Abraham offert zijn zoon Isaac, oil on wood by Lucas Cranach, showing a tense moment of sacrifice.

Abraham offert zijn zoon Isaac

Lucas Cranach (I)

Etching by Jacques Callot depicting a son being expelled, showcasing tension and despair.

De verloren zoon wordt verdreven

Jacques Callot

Etching by Jacques Callot depicting Pilate with raised hands, illuminated by light.

Pilatus wast zijn handen in onschuld

Jacques Callot

Hoogmoed etching by Jacques Callot, featuring a grand figure amidst chaotic lesser figures.

Hoogmoed

Jacques Callot

Place Vintimille by Édouard Vuillard, oil painting depicting a tense café scene with vibrant colors.

Place Vintimille

Édouard Vuillard

The Synagogue in Frankfurt am Main, oil on canvas by Max Beckmann

The Synagogue in Frankfurt am Main

Max Beckmann

Heilige Sebastiaan engraving by Albrecht Dürer showing Saint Sebastian pierced by arrows.

Heilige Sebastiaan

Albrecht Dürer

Historical scene of commanders on a ship, oil painting by Willem van de Velde

"Council of War aboard ""The Seven Provinces"", the Flagship of Michiel Adriaenszoon de Ruyter, 10 June 1666, preceding the Four Days' Battle: episode from the Second Anglo-Dutch War"

Willem van de Velde (I)

Engraving by Lucas van Leyden depicting Potiphar's wife accusing Joseph

De vrouw van Potifar beschuldigt Jozef

Lucas van Leyden

Hertog en de Dood by Hans Holbein (II), paper artwork depicting a duke and death.

Hertog en de Dood

Hans Holbein (II)

Portrait of Don Ramón Satué, oil on canvas by Francisco de Goya

Portrait of Don Ramón Satué

Francisco de Goya

The Departure by Thomas Cole, oil painting depicting a tender embrace in golden light

The Departure

Thomas Cole

Engraving by Jacques Callot of a figure before a large rock with shadows and crevices

The Great Rock

Jacques Callot

Portrait of the Van Der Witte family overlooking their estate, oil painting by Gillis van Tilborgh

A Family Portrait Said To Be Of The Van Der Witte Family, Depicted On A Rise Overlooking Their Estate

Gillis van Tilborgh

Cain and Abel in a tense moment, paper medium, unknown artist

Kain doodt Abel

Unknown Artist

oil on canvas by Max Beckmann depicting a stormy sea with gulls

Braunes Meer mit Möwen

Max Beckmann

Engraving by Monogrammist AC showing five Roman soldiers in battle

Gevecht tussen vijf romeinse soldaten

Monogrammist AC (16e eeuw)

Construction site in oil on canvas by George Hendrik Breitner

Bouwterrein aan de De Clercqstraat

George Hendrik Breitner

Salomo's afgoderij, drypoint by Meester van het Amsterdamse Kabinet, depicting Solomon with deep reds and gold.

Salomo's afgoderij

Meester van het Amsterdamse Kabinet

Abraham and Isaac, etching by unknown artist, showing a father and son in a moment of sacrifice.

Abraham and Isaac

Unknown Artist

Engraving by Pierre Woeiriot depicting a historical battle scene with figures and dramatic light.

Veldslag

Pierre Woeiriot (II)

Storm Clouds by Johan Christian Dahl, oil painting depicting dark storm clouds and a glowing horizon.

Storm Clouds

Johan Christian Dahl

Landscape depicting a serene moment before a hunt, oil painting by Julian Falat

Before a hunt in Rytwiany

Julian Falat

The Great Sacrifice by Nicholas Roerich, oil on canvas depicting mythological figures in dynamic tension.

The Great Sacrifice. Setting for I.F.Stravinsky’s Ballet Sacred Spring

Nicholas Roerich

Figurative oil painting by Amaldus Nielsen depicting a slender figure in a tense moment.

Snefokk i Majorstuveien 8

Amaldus Nielsen

Quay Wall by Max Beckmann, oil on canvas depicting dark figures and reflections

Quay Wall

Max Beckmann

Simson en Delila by Lucas van Leyden, paper artwork depicting Samson and Delilah in a tense moment.

Simson en Delila

Lucas van Leyden

Kansas City, Kansas by Henry Ossawa Tanner, oil on canvas

Kansas City, Kansas

Henry Ossawa Tanner

A wooded landscape with hunters, oil painting by Willem van den Bundel

A wooded landscape with hunters

Willem van den Bundel

Portrait of Basil Parker by Denman Waldo Ross, oil on canvas

Basil Parker

Denman Waldo Ross

Abstract artwork Carthage by William Linton, medium unknown

Carthage

William Linton

Abraham en Isaak by Lucas van Leyden, etching on paper showing a father poised to sacrifice his son.

Abraham en Isaak

Lucas van Leyden

Unfinished oil painting by an unidentified artist featuring a central figure and muted background.

Unfinished Copy after Sketch for the "Death of Chatham," after Copley

Unidentified artist

Wood study by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres showing a mother and proconsul in a dimly lit chamber.

Studies for "The Martyrdom of Saint Symphorien" (Saint, Mother, and Proconsul)

Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres

Historical scene depicting soldiers during wartime, oil painting by Moritz Ledeli

Wachablösung i. d. Hofburg zur Kriegszeit 1914-16

Moritz Ledeli

Genre scene with figures in dialogue, oil on panel by Cornelis Saftleven

‘Who sues for a cow’

Cornelis Saftleven

Study for Seated Musicians for 'El Jaleo' oil painting by John Singer Sargent

Study for Seated Musicians for "El Jaleo"

John Singer Sargent

The Surrender of the Royal Prince, oil on canvas by Willem van de Velde the Younger

The Surrender of the Royal Prince

Willem van de Velde the Younger

Three figures in procession, oil on canvas by Robert David Gauley

Three Figures in Procession, after Tintoretto

Robert David Gauley

Genre scene depicting a village altercation, oil painting by André Victor Édouard Devambez

Rixe sur une place de village, vue de haut

André Victor Édouard Devambez

Eva en Kaïn, etching by Dirck Vellert, depicting figures in a tense conversation.

Eva en Kaïn

Dirck Vellert

Drawing by Alexandre Nozal, Carnet de dessins Pl.47, depicting silence and emotion.

Carnet de dessins Pl.47

Alexandre Nozal

De verdrijving van Sorgheloos, oil on panel by Cornelis Anthonisz, depicting figures in divine light.

De verdrijving van Sorgheloos

Cornelis Anthonisz.

Three figures stand under a large tree, oil painting by Anne Rushout

Three Figures Standing under a Large Tree

Anne Rushout

Landscape with a Wheatfield, oil painting by Jacob van Ruisdael

Landscape with a Wheatfield

Jacob van Ruisdael

Landscape depicting figures in Barnes Common, oil painting by T. E. Jeffers

Barnes Common, June 1836

T. E. Jeffers

Religious scene with Izebel and Elia, paper artwork by Jacob Cornelisz van Oostsanen

Izebel bedreigt Elia en Babyloniers eisen de dood van Daniel

Jacob Cornelisz van Oostsanen

Portrait of Martin Brimmer, oil on canvas by Sarah Wyman Whitman

Martin Brimmer (1829-1896)

Sarah Wyman Whitman

Etching by Wenceslaus Hollar depicting a knight confronting death.

De ridder en de Dood

Wenceslaus Hollar

Luminous landscape by Arkhip Ivanovich Kuindzhi, 1913, oil painting

A. I. Kuindž Pl.15

Arkhip Ivanovich Kuindzhi

Genre scene depicting a staircase with men arguing, unknown medium, unknown artist

We see the staircase of the Chateau d’Avignon, on which several men were furious . . .

Unknown Artist

Christus en de overspelige vrouw tapestry by François Spiering, depicting Christ and a woman in contrasting light.

Christus en de overspelige vrouw, in een cartouche en een groteskendecor

François Spiering

Figurative oil painting by Kanji Nakamura depicting emotional tension with blue and orange tones.

Denman W. Ross (1853-1935)

Kanji Nakamura

Abstract watercolor on paper by Burhan Doğançay featuring dynamic shapes and colors.

Abstraction

Burhan Doğançay

Loguivy by Henri Rivière, watercolor on paper featuring swirling forms in gold and blue

Loguivy

Henri Rivière

The Tree and the River III, Post-Impressionism by Carl Fredrik Hill, depicting a tranquil river landscape.

The Tree and the River III (The Seine at Bois-le-Roi)

Carl Fredrik Hill

Christ stands restrained with a somber expression in etching by Jacques Callot

Christus voor Kajafas

Jacques Callot

Corn Fields by Félix Vallotton, oil on canvas depicting golden stalks in a serene landscape.

Corn Fields

Félix Vallotton

A halt at the fountain by Eugène Fromentin, oil painting depicting figures around a fountain.

A halt at the fountain

Eugène Fromentin

Genre scene of a sunlit square with figures in traditional attire, oil on canvas by Charles Théodore Frère.

A Square in Beirut

Charles Théodore Frère

Thunder Clouds oil painting by Halfdan Egedius depicting dark clouds over a vibrant landscape

Thunder Clouds

Halfdan Egedius

Historical scene depicting soldiers preparing for conflict, by Michael Angelo Rooker, 1789

Design for the Haymarket Theatre; ‘The Battle of Hexham’, by Colman the Younger

Michael Angelo Rooker

Two Human Beings (The Lonely Ones) by Edvard Munch, oil on canvas depicting two isolated figures.

Two Human Beings (The Lonely Ones)

Edvard Munch

Etching by Rembrandt van Rijn depicting a regal figure with a scroll surrounded by a crowd.

The triumph of Mordecai

Rembrandt van Rijn

Religious scene with figures in despair, paper by Jacob Cornelisz van Oostsanen

Bespotting van Christus

Jacob Cornelisz van Oostsanen

Backyard by Nils Kreuger, oil on canvas, depicting a tranquil landscape with a looming tree.

Backyard

Nils Kreuger

Figurative scene of a marksman in uniform on grass by Hellmuth Rätzer, 1875

Eisholer auf der Schiesswiese in Karlsruhe

Hellmuth Rätzer

Landscape with hillside in greens and golds by Albert Marquet, oil painting

Le talus à La Frette

Albert Marquet

A soldier stands facing a firing squad, tension in the air, with smoke and rigid columns in the background.

A Soldier's Standoff

José Guadalupe Posada

Historical oil painting by Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg depicting soldiers in battle

Livjægernes udfald i Classens have 31.august 1807.

Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg

The Beheading of St John the Baptist, etching by Rembrandt van Rijn, depicting a dramatic execution scene.

The beheading of St John the Baptist

Rembrandt van Rijn

Gevangenneming by Albrecht Dürer, etching on paper, depicting a bound man in darkness.

Gevangenneming

Albrecht Dürer

Christ Presented to the People, oil on panel by North Netherlandish, depicting Christ amidst a crowd.

Christ Presented to the People

North Netherlandish