Each architectural marvels, the Seven Wonders of the Modern World have long stood as testaments to human imagination, ambition, and craftsmanship.
But their influence extends far beyond history books and archaeological sites – these wonders continue to ignite the creative spark in artists across generations. Whether captured in paint, stone, music, or digital media, each wonder offers a unique blend of myth, mystery, and mastery that invites artistic reinterpretation. Through these artworks, we can discover not only the enduring power of ancient ingenuity but also the ways in which contemporary artists reshape our understanding of the past through their own visionary lenses.
Here is a small selection of artists who have painted, performed, and photographed the Seven Wonders of the Modern World, for a chance to see these historic monuments through their eyes.
Marina Abramovic: The Great Wall Of China
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The year is 1988, and performance and visual artist, Marina Abramovic, is enduring a three-month long pilgrimage along a large expanse of the Great Wall of China. Titled The Lovers: The Great Wall Walk (1988) the initial plan for the art piece was for Marina to meet her lover (Frank Uwe Laysiepen) in the middle of the historic monument after setting off from opposite ends. The artistic duo were then to marry upon re-meeting, but instead they met, ended up separating, and did not speak again for 22 years. Still, the results are photographs that continue to be significant references in the contemporary art world, detailing gruelling hikes, lifts on donkey-pulled carts, and connecting with the local people over dishes, with Marina dressed in her signature bright-red coat along the way.
Eduardo Kobra and Guilia Panzetti: Christ the Redeemer, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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Christ The Redeemer has European roots, and was first proposed by a priest as a way to spread Catholic Christian values across Brazil. It wasn’t until the early 1900s that Brazilian engineer Heitor da Silva Costa collaborated with French engineer Albert Caquot, French-Polish sculptor Paul Landowski, and Romanian sculptor Gheorghe Leonida to complete the 30 metre-tall statue – which now attracts nearly two million visitors yearly. It’s now a muse to many artists, including Brazilian street artist Eduardo Kobra who decorates the entire sides of high-rise buildings with colourful murals, including of Christ the Redeemer, and also Brazilian photographer Guilia Panzetti, who elegantly captured the towering statue at sunrise, depicting its phenomenal scale and influence over the city.
Richard Avedon: The Colosseum, Rome
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The largest amphitheater in the world, built in 72 AD Rome doesn’t really need a lot of describing. While incredibly old, it is still a significant part of modern Roman life, and very much integrated into the city – and always has been. A recent exhibition at the Gagosian in Rome celebrated fashion photographer Richard Avedon’s affinity for Italy. His 1953 photoshoot for Harper’s Bazaar is testament to this, as he stages his models on a vesper outside the Colosseum itself. One of the wonderful things about Avedon’s work is that, while staged, this photo feels like it could capture an ordinary day in Rome with its stylish inhabitants, who flock by the historic monument everyday.
Georgia O’Keeffe: Machu Picchu, Peru
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For American modernist painter, Georgia O’Keeffe, South America proved incredibly rich sources of her creative inspiration. Machu Picchu is one of these spots, which O’Keeffe recreated over a series of paintings in the 1950s following an influential visit. The hilltops are immortalised in her signature simplified style, where vibrant colours work delicately to evoke moods, shadows, and forms. Many of these paintings are available to see at Georgia O’Keeffe’s museum in Santa Fe, New Mexico. To learn more about the indigenous Peruvian art from the Sacred Valley, Casa Concha is home to the largest collection of artefacts from this region in the world, while the nearby ALQA Gallery of Andean Expressions is a cultural space working to conserve and display traditional art from the Andes. You can shop contemporary art and textiles made by talented local people at Centro de Textiles Tradicionales del Cusco.
Charles W. Bartlett and Shahid Nadeem: The Taj Mahal, Agra, India
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Some of the most widely distributed work (across Europe and America) representing the Taj Mahal is signed by English painter and printmaker Charles W. Bartlett who visited the monument during a three-year around the world trip with his wife. His artwork (pictured) depicting the Taj Mahal (a muse he returned to time and time again) can be seen at New York’s MoMa and Cleveland Museum of Art, and has previously been auctioned at Christie’s.
There is also an excellent theatre production narrating the Taj Mahal’s history: Dara, written by Shahid Nadeem and directed by Nadia Fall took to London’s National Theatre Lyttelton Theatre stage ten years ago. Set in 1659 in Mughal India, the plot follows the fight for the throne between two heirs to the empire. The men are brothers, and the sons of Shah Jahan who built the Taj Mahal (in honour of his wife) – a monument at the heart of the familial and power struggle. Dara was originally performed by Pakistan’s Ajoka Theatre, and took four years to complete and then translate the production onto the London stage. It is still available to stream via the National Theatre’s platform.
Patricia Martín Morales and Jean Charlot: Chichén Itzá, Yucatan, Mexico
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Chichén Itzá is one of the greatest Mayan monuments still on earth. Patricia Martín Morales is a contemporary Mexican artist who, since the 1980s, has worked to preserve traditional Mayan art. Working from a studio in Muna, Yucatán, Mexico (called Los Ceibos, available to visit on appointment) Marales has studied for years to perfect the making and painting of Mayan vessels, which includes everything from the shape (fashioned with ancient tools using three different types of local clay) to the polychrome techniques to the specific figurines and their symbolic meanings. Mixing up local minerals for the pigmented colours, each scene depicts Mayan traditions, from the spiritual to the everyday.
The National Museum of Mexican Art is also home to over 20,000 artworks and key pieces, including Jean Charlot’s painting of the relieves (intricate stone carvings and structures found across the monument, pictured above) of Chichen Itza from 1927, which capture the detailed colours and scenes as they would have presented almost 100 years ago.
Petra Opera Nights: Petra, Jordan
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In August and October 2025, the ancient site of Petra in Jordan played host to Petra Opera Nights, founded by the Amman Opera Festival and considered the first opera festival in the Arab world. The festival premiered with A Love Story Through Time which blended classic Arabic tales and music with globally-renowned opera scores, led by the incredible Jordanian soprano Zeina Barhoum. It was largely the incredible “Rose City” backdrop of Petra that stole the show, illuminated by candlelight. A new performance is also in the works, titled Opera Petra, which will bring an original score to the open air theatre.
Bryony Dunne: The Pyramids of Giza
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While technically classed as an ancient wonder of the world (the last still standing), the pyramids of Giza still retain their attraction, especially now that the billion-dollar Grand Egyptian Museum has opened, designed to frame the pyramids from certain view points. Not only are they wonders in terms of architecture and engineering, but they have continued their incredible influence as muses for a whole string of artists, including photographer Bryony Dunne who photographed the local people, including tour guides, in their local vicinity. She explains her photographic style “aims to challenge the “white backdrop” and “decorative prop” conventions found in much 19th- and early 20th-century orientalist photography in Egypt.” Adding “many Western photographers had depicted the Giza plateau in ways that romanticised the landscape and produced reductive reflections of the people who lived and worked there. Rather than using a neutral backdrop to isolate the subject from their environment, this series embraces the iconic landscape on which countless livelihoods rely”. Bryony muses how her subjects “were enthusiastic collaborators, frequently suggesting poses or props for the portraits, many of which came from the nearby tea houses”.
Lead image credit: Taj Mahal, Agra 1916 Charles William Bartlett (British, 1860–1940) England, 20th century color woodcut Bequest of James Parmelee 1940.830
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