The Starry Night (Van Gogh, 1889)

The Starry Night attracts over 5 million visitors annually to MoMA, making it the second most-viewed painting on this list but still 44% fewer than the Mona Lisa. Created by Vincent van Gogh in June 1889 while confined at the Saint-Paul-de-Mausole asylum, the oil-on-canvas work measures 73.7cm x 92.1cm and depicts the pre-sunrise view from his window. Despite van Gogh selling only one painting during his lifetime, The Starry Night has inspired over 15,000 adaptations in music, film, and digital art—far more than any other entry here. Its swirling sky and vivid colors cement its status as a masterpiece of post-impressionism.