Countless paintings and drawings of siblings, young and old, take the form of traditional, forward-looking portraits, or in more recent decades, images of the backs of siblings walking down a path or sitting in a park.

In our curated gallery, works were chosen for their artistic merit, but also for illustrating something meaningful about this unique relationship. Many of these paintings and drawings are also cited as personal favorites by numerous reviewers. Which are your favorites? We welcome your comments!

Sofonisba Anguissola, Three Siblings of the Gaddi Family with Dog, c. 1555-1560

Ralph Earl, Portrait of Two Brothers. ca. 1790.

Thomas Couture, Two Sisters. 1792.

Anonymous, Siblings Balarama and Krishna. 1800s.

Abbott Handerson Thayer, Brother and Sister (Mary and Gerald Thayer), 1889.

Pablo Picasso, Two Sisters (The Meeting). 1902.

Erich Heckel, Siblings (Geschwister). 1913.

Erich Heckel, Geschwister. Frère et soeur. 1913.

Helene Schjerfbeck, Siblings. 1913.

Henri Matisse. Three Sisters with an African Sculpture. 1917.

Paul Klee, Brother and Sister. 1930.

Marc Chagall, Joseph reconnu par ses frères. 1931.

Marc Chagall, Joseph and his Brothers (from the Bible Series). 1958.

Chagall’s etchings and paintings of Joseph and his brothers, the betrayal and shame, are among the most emotional of Chagall’s work. Read more here.

Salvador Dali, Portrait of My Dead Brother. 1963.

Twins Seven-Seven, The Spirits of My Reincarnation Brothers and Sisters. 2007.

Shirley Charlton, No More Tears Brother. 2009.

From the artist’s Malawi period. The intimacy of this painting is highlighted by the contrast between light and dark. See Charlton’s other paintings at shirleycharlton.com.

Miabo Enyadike, Sibling Rivalry. 2020. 

Artist Statement: “Siblings, some of us have some don’t, some siblings bring us great joy, while some bring us much sorrow. My painting is one of rivalry between two siblings, were one overshadows the other and that creates a lot of emotional despair.” For sale on Saatachi Art.