Have you ever wondered how long the lengthiest poem is? How about the longest piece of art?

What's the lengthiest book you've ever read? How about the biggest artwork you've ever seen?

Throughout history, some writers and artists have had a lot to say. From paintings that span miles to million-word novels, 91�ȱ� Bitesize takes a look at a selection of history’s longest works of art.

A black and white photograph of a man with short hair sat on a chair. He is dressed in a suit. He rests his hand on his chin. — Image caption,
Proust was born in Paris, France, in 1871

In Search of Lost Time

In Search of Lost Time, or Remembrance of Things Past, is a novel written in seven volumes by the French writer and literary critic Marcel Proust.

Published between 1913 and 1927, it is estimated that the combined collections contain 9,609,000 characters, well over a million words and around 4,000 pages.

The novel parallels some aspects of Proust’s own life, as the narrator recollects his childhood experiences and contemplates meaning in high-society France.

The work is noted for its defiance against the realist and plot-driven conventions, which defined the Victorian fiction that preceded it.

The collection is now considered a literary masterpiece and widely recognised as one of the greatest novels of the 20th Century. Proust's novel was also hailed by his contemporaries.

In 1922, the same year the initial volumes were translated and published in English, the modernist writer Virginia Woolf wrote a letter exclaiming “Oh, if I could write like that!” after reading his work.

A close up image of a Manas statue against the skyline. Manas wears armour, his hand is raised. — Image caption,
A statue of Manas can be found in Uzgen, located in the south of Kyrgyzstan

The Epic of Manas

If you thought 91�ȱ�r’s Odyssey was a lengthy poem, then the Epic of Manas takes it to another level. The originates from Kyrgyzstan and tells the story of a warrior named Manas who is said to have united the 40 tribes of the Kyrgyz region. One version of the epic consists of around 500,000 verse lines.

Some scholars speculate that several of the events and characters featured in the epic, including Manas himself, belong to a historical period in the 9th Century. However, the dating of the tale has been subject of many academic debates.

A tiny fragment of the story, written in Persian, was found in a work dating back to the end of the 15th Century or the beginning of the 16th Century. The earliest written version of the epic was recorded by the Chokan Valikhanov in the 19th Century.

In 1995, the Republic of Kyrgyzstan celebrated an event called Manas 1000 and Unesco declared it the year of the Manas to mark the 1000th birthday of the major epic. Several landmarks in Kyrgyzstan have since been named after the poem’s hero, including Manas International Airport and the Kyrgyz-Turkish Manas University. He has even featured on the Kyrgystani Som, the nation’s banknote.

A man sits crossed legged outside on the floor. He is holding a lit torch. The floor is covered by a long, colourful artwork. — Image caption,
Luca Fruzzetti, known as Dale, broke the previous Guinness World Record of 3.3km set in the United States

The Walk of Peace

It’s said that great art takes time. But while some paintings take a lengthy time to create, others are physically long - over three miles long to be exact!

On 5 September 2020, the Italian artist Luca Fruzzetti exhibited an artwork called The Walk of Peace.

The installation measured 5.31km (3.2 miles) and stretched across the Italian towns of Forte dei Marmi and Massa.

This earned Fruzzetti the Guinness World Record for longest painting by an individual.

The canvas cost over £43,000 and took five months to plan and create. The piece explores the themes of environmental sustainability, inclusion and diversity and peace.

Fruzzetti embarked on the project during the COVID-19 pandemic with the aim of sharing a message of hope and optimism through his work.

The piece has been toured across Italy. To mark International Day of Peace on 21 September 2020 it was exhibited outside the Colosseum in Rome.

This article was published in January 2024