Some of the most stunning pieces of art are also the most controversial. Do you ever wonder what on earth an artist was thinking when they came up with it? Whether controversy is created by the scandalous subject of the artwork, by the artist's interpretation or by a simple misunderstanding, it can be quite stirring. Check out these conversation starters from a wide range of artists across history and present day. Bet we can shock you.

2. "The Trench Warfare" by Otto Dix
A thought-provoking piece of original artwork by this German soldier reflects the
horrors of WWI. Dix painted these scenes from his nightmares after returning home
from the front. He was later banned by the Nazi regime from creating any disturbing
artwork similar to this second piece in a war trilogy.

3. Banksy (1974-)
A British street artist whose true identity is unknown has made a
career of crating controversy in his graffiti, films and paintings.
He re-creates what he sees and perceives, but it's rarely a
flattering picture. Banksy's works include the aftermath of
Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and sobering scenes of Israeli
children in the war-torn West Bank.

4. "The Last Judgment" by Michelangelo
The use of nudes in this Sistine Chapel painting were the centerpiece of derision by the
Catholic Church. Although Michelangelo was commissioned by Pope Clement VII to
create the altar wall painting, it was an artistic display of his interpretation of divine
beauty intertwined with the human soul. After Michelangelo's death in 1564, portions of
the work were painted over to hide the portrayal of genitalia on some of the figures, which
the church considered offensive. It wasn't until the fresco was restored more than 400
years later that the hidden details were revealed.

5. Martin Luther King Jr.
Memorial
by Lei Yixin
The memorial featuring several
quotes and a sculpture of this
American civil rights activist was
created in Washington, DC under
much controversy. While the sculptor
aimed to capture the essence of King,
many people took issue with the fact
that Yixin isn't American, but Chinese
– and so is the white granite from
which King was carved. One of the
quotes carved into the memorial was
paraphrased to save space. Critics
believed the meaning of his words
was misrepresented, prompting the
removal of the words two years after
its dedication.

6. "Mona Lisa" by Leonardo da
Vinci
This 16th-century oil painting is at the
midst of multi-faceted controversy. While
the true identity of the woman is unknown,
many believe she was the wife of an Italian
merchant named Francesco del Giocondo,
and that da Vinci was commissioned to
paint her between 1503 and 1506. The
painting's landscape background is said to
harbor illusions of wild animals, including
snakes, buffaloes and a lion. Mona Lisa's
mysterious smile and riveting eyes have
been in the midst of rumors and innuendo
for centuries.

7. "Myra" by Marcus Harvey
The portrait painting of British
child murderer Myra Hindley was
created by Harvey out of the
handprints of small children. A
public protest over its display in
the Royal Academy of Art in
London featured an angry mob
that threw eggs at the painting.

8. Georgia O'Keefe (1887-1986)
This American watercolor artist was looking for a subject to paint. Inspired by her
garden, she wandered among her flower blooms with a magnifying glass. Her up-
close-and-personal paintings of flowers became famous for their resemblance to
female genitalia. Even though the artist insisted that wasn't her intent, O'Keefe's works
are still considered shocking and are sometimes celebrated as groundbreaking.

9. "Everyone I Had Ever Slept
With 1963-1995" by Tracey
Emin
Among the most controversial works of
art from the 1990s, this artistic
representation included names of
friends, family and others mounted
inside the walls of a small tent. While
many critics of the piece assumed a
sexual connotation and considered it
tasteless, Emin later explained that
while it did include that type of
intimacy, it also included the innocence
of sleeping in the same bed with friends
and family, such as her grandmother.
The piece was destroyed in a
warehouse fire in 2004.

10. "Guernica" by Pablo Picasso
This mural commemorates a fascist coup marked by the bombing massacre of the
Basque village of Guernica in Spain in 1937. Picasso's original intent was not as an anti-
war piece, but as a piece for the World's Fair. After the massacre, he became outraged
and created this representation. He said that the symbols could have many meanings,
although most art enthusiasts interpret the painting as a symbol of the pains of war.

11. Marcel Duchamp (1887-1968)
A surrealist and cubist, this French-born
artist displayed mundane and unattractive
objects at the center of his paintings and
sculptures. Among his most famous is
"Fountain," which features an upside-down
urinal.

12. "The Raft of Medusa" by Jean-Louis Andre Theodore Gericault
This portrayal of a doomed raft with 149 passengers and crew aboard was the focus
of a political row in 1819. Gericault's oil painting was based on a true shipwreck story,
but the scene was glamorized in the Romantic Era portrayal of those denied entry to
lifeboats and stranded on the raft. Gericault exaggerated the number of bodies
depicted in this gruesome painting that stretched about 23 feet long and 16 feet tall.
At the epicenter of the political controversy, the ship's captain who abandoned the
scene was tried and acquitted by the French for fear of ridicule from the British.

13. Chris Ofili (1968-)
He uses intense colors and bold images to make a statement. This Nigerian native was
the focus of a lawsuit in 1999 after he created "The Holy Virgin Mary" out of cut-up
pictures of women. He spread elephant dung on this and other works of art in what is
described as an honorable yet satirical manner.

14. "Alison Lapper" by Marc Quinn
The nude marble sculpture of a disabled
and pregnant artist caused much
controversy upon its unveiling in London's
Trafalgar Square. The shock value was high
in the public eye because she has truncated
legs and no arms, and Quinn was highly
criticized from many sides. Lapper posed
for Quinn's sculpture, and she has painted
many self-portraits.

15. "Yo Mama's Last Supper" by Renee Cox
The Brooklyn Museum of Art displayed this photograph in a 2001 exhibit entitled
"Committed to the Image: Contemporary Black Photographers." It portrays a disrobed
African-American woman posing as Jesus with arms outstretched. The artist's
comments about the Roman Catholic church in America were more the subject of the
controversy with then-Mayor Rudi Guiliani than the actual biblical portrayal. Part of the
artist's purpose in participating in the exhibit was to uncover pockets of racism and
sexism that she believed should no longer exist.