Humans have been painting since ancient times, as seen in the cave art of Lascaux and Altamira. Over the centuries, many artists have developed their own styles and created masterpieces.
While countless painters have made an impact, a few stand out for their lasting influence on art and the world. Here are some of the most famous.
| ⌛Art period | 🎨Movement | 👩🎨Artists |
|---|---|---|
| Renaissance | Italian Renaissance | Leonardo da Vinci Michelangelo |
| Baroque | Dutch Golden Age | Rembrandt |
| Baroque to Neoclassicism | Rococco | Francisco Goya |
| Romanticism to modern art | Realism | Edward Hopper Paul Cézanne |
| Modern art | Impressionism | Paul Cézanne Claude Monet |
| Post Impressionism | Vincent van Gogh | |
| Expressionism | Vincent van Gogh Edvard Munch | |
| Cubism Dada, Surrealism | Pablo Picasso Salvador Dali Frida Khalo | |
| Contemporary art | Marlene Dumas Barthélémy Toguo | |
| Pop art | Andy Warhol Yayoi Kusama | |
| Installation art | Yayoi Kusama | |
| Fluxus | Nam June Paik | |
| Street art | Banksy Jean-Michel Basquiat | |
| Excessivism | Ai Weiwei | |
| Precisionism | Georgia O'Keefe | |
| Superflat | Murakami Takashi |
Leonardo da Vinci (1452 - 1519)
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci, the genius of the Renaissance, is often hailed as the most famous artist in the world. In addition to being a great painter, he was also a polymath, studying engineering, botany, inventing, writing, sculpting, architecture, urbanism, music, poetics, and philosophy.
His technical mastery quickly catapulted him to renown while he was alive, earning him commissions for everything from sculptures to murals. His most famous painting today, Mona Lisa, was a commission for wealthy Italian merchant Francesco del Giocondo who wanted a portrait of his wife, Lisa.
Michelangelo (1475 - 1564)
Michelangelo
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni was an Italian High Renaissance painter, a contemporary of da Vinci.
He’s famous for his religious works and above all, for having painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. His technique and style led to the Mannerism movement. In addition to painting, he was also an accomplished sculptor and is very famous for his statue, "David.”
Discover painting classes Melbourne with an amazing painting instructor on Superprof!
Rembrandt (1606 - 1669)
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn
Rembrandt was a Dutch Golden Age painter renowned for his masterful chiaroscuro technique and psychological depth in portraiture.
His innovative use of light and shadow profoundly influenced the course of Western art, cementing his legacy as one of history's greatest painters. His work covered a wide variety of subjects, but he is most well-known for his Biblical scenes and realistic depictions of emotionally charged moments in time.
Francisco Goya (1746 - 1828)
Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes
Goya was a famous Spanish Rococo painter who helped usher in the age of Romantic painting styles.
Goya was famous for his bold, expressive brushwork and biting social commentary. His paintings challenged the social norms of his time, and explored the darker corners of humanity. Today, we celebrate his masterpieces for their portrayal of violence, brutality, and the human condition.
Paul Cézanne (1839 - 1906)
Paul Cézanne
Considered the father of modern art, Paul Cézanne's influential style spanned Realism, Impressionism, and Post-Impressionism.
His pioneering techniques laid the groundwork for Expressionism. People scorned Cézanne's bold, geometric paintings, but his painting style became popular in the late 1800s. His work shaped the artistic style of Picasso, Matisse, Van Gogh, and others. Cézanne was a pivotal figure in the evolution of 20th-century art.
Claude Monet (1840 - 1926)
Oscar-Claude Monet
Monet ranks among the famous of the impressionist painters. He studied painting at the Académie Suisse in Paris.
Monet learned about the plein air painting technique from fellow artist Eugène Boudin. At the time, his work was not widely accepted. Critics called it unfinished and unrefined. Over time, attitudes changed and people began to embrace his beautiful painting style.
Vincent van Gogh (1853 - 1890)
Vincent Willem van Gogh
The 19th century Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh was a great painter who went unrecognised during his lifetime.
Vincent van Gogh is famous for his still lifes and landscapes. He made history by bringing Expressionism to the forefront of art. His work ranks among the greatest paintings of all time. He only painted for about a decade, but he created around 2,100 artworks, including paintings, drawings, and other media.
Edvard Munch (1863 - 1944)
Edvard Munch
Growing up in a dysfunctional family shaped Norwegian painter Edvard Munch's artistic vision.
Munch painted anguish and mortality in his Expressionist works. Though initially labelled "insane," Munch's bold paintings eventually found success. He was then able to support his family as a working artist. Dive into learning art with painting classes on Superprof to learn more about his painting style.
Pablo Picasso (1881 - 1973)
Pablo Ruiz Picasso
Picasso was a painter, sculptor, engraver, and ceramist who’s known for helping spark the surrealist movement.
Over his career, Picasso spanned several different “periods,” exploring different techniques and themes in sequence. Eventually, his artistic explorations Helped birthe the Cubist art movement. He achieved critical acclaim by being bold, political, confident, and unapologetic. He created about 147,000 artworks across all his mediums in his lifetime.
Georgia O'Keeffe (1887 - 1986)
Georgia O'Keeffe
O’Keeffe was a leading figure in the modernist art movement of the 1920s. Her paintings had a unique style that hadn’t been seen before.
She was quite the feminist, and showed it in the way she painted flowers. Flowers have been used as a euphemism for womanhood for hundreds of years. O’Keeffe took all the flowery words in poetry and turned them into paintings.
Salvador Dali (1904 - 1989)
Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech
Dali's works are legendary for their dreamlike and bizarre depictions. Strange as they might be, those paintings show great technical skill.
Dali worked with many different media, such as film, sculpture, and photography. He's almost as famous for his clowning antics, some of which were controversial. He was an entertaining personality that made people interested in his art.
Frida Kahlo (1907 - 1954)
Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón
Frida Khalo ranks among some of the most famous female painters in history. She learned painting while she was recovering from injuries sustained in a bus accident when she was 18.
Frida's painting style shows influence from traditional Mexican folk art. Her work is famous for its feminist messages, commentary on colonialism, and critique of contemporary politics. She painted many self-portraits that show her unibrow and upper lip hair. That was her way of rejecting the strict beauty standards imposed on women at the time.
Andy Warhol (1928 - 1987)
Andrew Warhola Jr
Warhol ranks among well-known artists for his alternative art, and his lifestyle. However, he wasn't a 'standard' painter.
Warhol’s work reflected the counterculture of the time. It commented on consumerism and the American celebrity culture. He started his own art studio in New York City, called The Factory. It became an artist meeting place, for collaboration and sharing their ideas.
Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960 - 1988)
Jean-Michel Basquiat
Basquiat's life was short, but he became a highly influential and famous painter in that time. We first met him as a graffiti artist, half of a duo called SAMO.
Basquiat's work was mostly critique and commentary on socioeconomics, colonialism, and race. He focused on issues like wealth versus poverty, integration versus segregation, and inner versus outer experience. To find your inner Basquiat, you can hone your artistic techniques with Superprof painting classes Perth.
Banksy (active since the early 1990s)
Banksy
Who Banksy is remains a secret; all we know about them is what their work expresses.
Banksy typically creates graffiti, but they also paint on canvas and make prints. They leave art in places around the world. Their work is often political, making Banksy a popular topic of discussion as the most famous artist. Interest in his work has also given other street artists a platform in the art world.
Marlene Dumas (1953 - present)
Marlene Dumas
Marlene grew up during South Africa's apartheid period. What she saw and experienced during those times give her paintings political undertones.
Marlene's work tends to be personal; she paints from polaroids of friends and partners, rather than models. She sometimes copies images she finds in magazines, or creates erotic art from pornographic images. Marlene began studying art in South Africa, and then at the University of Amsterdam. Today, she still lives in the Netherlands.
Barthélémy Toguo (1967 - present)
Barthélémy Toguo
Barthélémy may be one of the most important artists creating visual works today. He uses different media to address race, colonialism, migration and exile.
We don't know a lot about Barthélémy's personal situation while growing up, only that he's had an artistic sense since childhood. He studied art in Abidjan, in France, and in Germany. He's been nominated for France's highest art award, the Prix Marcel Duchamps, as well as other honours. He built an art centre in Cameroon to mentor and foster future artists.
Yayoi Kusama (1929 - present)
Kusama Yayoi
Kusama Yayoi has battled mental illness since she was a child. Among her first art works were vivid pumpkins she drew, seeing them while hallucinating in elementary school.
Later, she recreated that vision as an installation piece, pictured above. She's been open about her mental health, insisting that her visions give her the inspiration to create art. In return, art creation gives her an outlet that helps keep her in control of her illness.
Edward Hopper (1882 - 1967)
Edward Hopper
When the question is famous artists and their work, we often know the work better than the artist. Such is the case with Edward Hopper.
Edward Hopper specialised in painting American 'loneliness'. That might have been because he grew up in a small town, that didn't see much excitement. He had a hard time trying to define his style, which led to many years of struggle before taking his place in the ranks of famous painters.
Nam June Paik (1932 - 2006)
Baek Namjun
This artist was at the peak of his powers when video went mainstream. Many consider him the founder of video art, and he gets credit for describing the 'electronic super highway'.
It must have been tough, growing up in Korea at the end of the Japanese imperial grip. Still, Nam June Paik had some privileges, because he was from a wealthy family. He received music training from his earliest education. But when he travelled abroad, he discovered he preferred creating visual art.
Ai Weiwei (1957 - present)
Ai Weiwei
Nothing in Ai Weiwei's past hinted that he would become one of the most famous artists in history. He exploded onto the global art scene in 2015 but, even before then, we'd all seen his work.
Ai Weiwei was the artistic consultant for the Bird's Nest, Beijing's National Stadium. It was built for the 2008 Olympics, with images of it broadcast around the world. Artist Ai is less than thrilled with it, though he loved the creative process.
Takashi Murakami (1962 - present)
Murakami Takashi
As popular as manga and anime are in Japan, it's no surprise that they influence many Japanese artists. Takashi is no exception.
He studied at at Tokyo University of the Arts, intending to become an animator. However, he chose a traditional Japanese art style, Nihonga, as his major. He then applied those methods to contemporary art, as in this work.
Raja Ravi Varma (1848 - 1906)
Raja Ravi Varma
Indian art is often overlooked on the global stage. Still, Raja Ravi Varma should be among the famous artist names to know.
Varma was the first Indian artist to blend European and Indian painting styles. He was also the first to deliver art to everyone, making lithograph prints of his art work anyone could afford. Unfortunately, he is not as well-known outside of India as he should be.
Enjoyed this article? Leave a rating!
Loading...
I know it’s very easy to criticise, so I will caveat that I get this list, and everyone will have their favourite, but as an oil painter myself, Turner is well ahead of several on this list, the most spoken of in front of me and is the father of many of these.