Top 100 - History of painting
The 100 painters who changed our outlook
From Leonardo da Vinci to modern art, an imaginary museum of a hundred artists
This ranking crosses centuries, schools and continents to show how painting is transformed: new ways of constructing space, representing bodies, painting light and giving shape to the world.
A visual history from the old masters to the avant-gardes
Before classification
A Top 100 to understand connections, not just adding celebrities
The best-known painters never live alone in history. Each rupture is born from a dialogue: a transmitted workshop, a copied work, a journey, a rivalry or a refusal. Leonardo transforms observation, Rembrandt light, Monet perception, Matisse color and Kandinsky the relationship between form and sensation.
The ranks are used to construct a clear visit. They do not claim to measure with mathematical precision artists separated by several centuries and incomparable contexts.
Each map brings together an image, a biographical reference, an essential idea and direct access to the available works. Search and filters also allow you to browse the list by movement rather than rank.
Invent
Each great painter modifies the rules of the visible
Perspective, chiaroscuro, fragmented touch, flat areas of color or abstraction: technical innovations become new ways of organizing the spectator experience.
Observe
The portrait, the landscape and daily life change with the times
The subjects may remain familiar, but their treatment reveals the social, scientific and political transformations that run through the workshops.
Break up
Modernity advances by successive refusals
Refuse the academic ideal, leave the workshop, release color or abandon representation: each rupture opens up a territory that subsequent generations will be able to inhabit.
Transmit
The works become references long after their creation
A painting remains influential when it continues to be viewed, copied, discussed or contradicted. Its posterity belongs as much to artists as to museums and spectators.
The essentials
The ten names that structure the imaginary museum
Ten artists whose images, inventions and ruptures have lastingly shaped our idea of painting.
#1
Leonardo da Vinci
A genius of the Renaissance, he embodies the union of science, invention and painting.
See the Leonardo da Vinci collection
#2
Vincent van Gogh
Modern icon, its vibrant colors and expressive brushstrokes are instantly recognizable.
See the Vincent van Gogh collection
#3
Claude Monet
Leader of impressionism, he transformed light and the seasons into true pictorial subjects.
See the Claude Monet collection
#4
Michelangelo
Monumental master of the Renaissance, he marks history with the power of his frescoes.
See the Michelangelo collection
#5
Rembrandt van Rijn
Grand master of chiaroscuro, he gives portraits a unique human depth.
See the Rembrandt van Rijn collection
#6
Raphael Sanzio
A symbol of classical harmony, it brings the High Renaissance to an ideal of grace.
See the Raphaël Sanzio collection
#7
Johannes Vermeer
Painter of intimacy and silent light, he fascinates with his interior scenes.
See the Johannes Vermeer collection
#8
Paul Cezanne
An essential bridge between impressionism and modernity, he prepares Cubism through his construction of forms.
See the Paul Cézanne collection
#9
Henri Matisse
Master of color, he renews modern painting through simplification and decorative intensity.
See the Henri Matisse collection
#10
Gustav Klimt
A figure of the Viennese Secession, he combines sensuality, ornament and golden flashes.
See the Gustav Klimt collectionChapter I · Ranks 11 to 25
Renaissance, ancient masters and birth of the modern gaze
Perspective, portrait, color and narration are transformed between Italian workshops, European courts and northern homes.
#11
Sandro Botticelli
His poetic art of the Florentine Renaissance remains linked to mythological grace.
See the Sandro Botticelli collection
#12
Diego Velazquez
A Spanish court painter, he revolutionized portraiture with his freedom of touch.
See the Diego Velazquez collection
#13
Francisco de Goya
A Spanish visionary, he announces modern art with his dark and critical images.
See the Francisco de Goya collection
#14
William turner
A precursor of luminous abstraction, he transforms seas and skies into immaterial visions.
See the William Turner collection
#15
Édouard Manet
A pivotal figure, he opens the way to modernity by shaking up academic rules.
See the Édouard Manet collection
#16
Pierre-Auguste Renoir
A major impressionist, he celebrates the human figure and the vibrant warmth of color.
See the Pierre-Auguste Renoir collection
#17
Edgar Degas
An observer of the movement, he made famous dancers, urban scenes and modern framing.
See the Edgar Degas collection
#18
Paul Gauguin
A daring post-impressionist, he sought a symbolic painting with colorful solid colors.
See the Paul Gauguin collection
#19
Edvard Munch
A precursor of expressionism, he gives shape to anxiety and modern emotions.
See the Edvard Munch collection
#20
Albrecht Durer
German master of the Renaissance, he combines rigor of drawing and humanist ambition.
See the Albrecht Dürer collection
#21
Jan van Eyck
A Flemish pioneer, he fascinates with the precision of details and the richness of materials.
See the Jan van Eyck collection
#22
Hans Holbein the Younger
An exceptionally precise portraitist, he fixes the faces of the Northern Renaissance.
See the Hans Holbein the Younger collection
#23
Fra Angelico
A Renaissance painter monk, he combines spirituality, narrative clarity and delicacy.
See the Fra Angelico collection
#24
#25
Andrea Mantegna
A painter of perspective and antiquity, he imposes an intense sculptural style.
See the Andrea Mantegna collectionChapter II · Ranks 26 to 50
From romantic landscape to color revolutions
The landscape becomes an experience, modern life enters the painting and color gradually emancipates itself from drawing.
#26
Giovanni Bellini
A Venetian master, he enriched religious painting with color and light.
See the Giovanni Bellini collection
#27
Giorgione
A mysterious Venetian painter, he opens a poetic path where the atmosphere becomes central.
See the Giorgione collection
#28
Nicolas Poussin
A reference in French classicism, he composes historical scenes with order and measure.
See the Nicolas Poussin collection
#29
Claude Lorrain
A great classic landscaper, he transforms the sun and horizons into ideal scenes.
See the Claude Lorrain collection
#30
Antoine Watteau
Painter of gallant festivals, he installs a melancholic poetry in the elegance of the 18th century.
See the Antoine Watteau collection
#31
François Boucher
A major Rococo painter, he combines sensuality, decor and refined mythology.
See the François Boucher collection
#32
Jean-Honoré Fragonard
A rococo virtuoso, he celebrates the movement and free spirit of the 18th century.
See the Jean-Honoré Fragonard collection
#33
John Constable
An essential English landscaper, he observes the countryside and the skies with freshness.
See the John Constable collection
#34
Eugene Delacroix
A romantic leader, he magnifies dramatic energy through color and movement.
See the Eugène Delacroix collection
#35
Théodore Géricault
Intense romantic, it gives the body, drama and current events a new force.
See the Théodore Géricault collection
#36
Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres
Master of neoclassical drawing, he imposes an ideal of pure line.
See the Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres collection
#37
Gustave Courbet
A figure of realism, he asserts a direct, social and anti-academic painting.
See the Gustave Courbet collection
#38
Jean-Francois Millet
Painter of peasant life, he gives rural workers monumental dignity.
See the Jean-François Millet collection
#39
Camille Pissarro
A pillar of Impressionism, it explores landscapes, towns and rural scenes with a vibrant touch.
See the Camille Pissarro collection
#40
Alfred Sisley
An impressionist of the landscape, he captures rivers, roads and seasons.
See the Alfred Sisley collection
#41
Berthe Morisot
A great impressionist, she paints modern intimacy with a light and luminous touch.
See the Berthe Morisot collection
#42
Mary Cassatt
An American artist close to the Impressionists, she excels in maternity scenes.
See the Mary Cassatt collection
#43
Georges Seurat
Inventor of pointillism, he constructs his images through a rigorous science of color.
See the Georges Seurat collection
#44
Alphonse Mucha
Emblem of Art Nouveau, it combines arabesques, female figures and decorative elegance.
See the Alphonse Mucha collection
#45
#46
Juan Grey
An essential cubist, he brings clear and structured rigor to the movement.
See the Juan Gris collection
#47
Amedeo Modigliani
Recognizable by his elongated faces, he unites modern portraiture and melancholy.
See the Amedeo Modigliani collection
#48
Paul Klee
Poet of abstraction, he mixes signs, color and imagination with inventiveness.
See the Paul Klee collection
#49
Piet Mondrian
Master of geometric abstraction, he reduces painting to primary lines and colors.
See the Piet Mondrian collection
#50
Frida Kahlo
A major figure in self-portraiture, she transforms pain and identity into icons.
See the Frida Kahlo collectionChapter III · Ranks 51 to 75
American schools, symbolisms and avant-gardes
The ranking crosses continents and shows how realism, abstraction, myth and modernity construct new languages.
#51
Diego Rivera
Mexican muralist, he combines social commitment, monumentality and historical narration.
Read Diego Rivera's biography
#52
Jackson Pollock
Leader of abstract expressionism, he makes gesture a pictorial language.
See the Jackson Pollock collection
#53
Grant Wood
American painter, he celebrates a frontal and symbolic regional realism.
See the Grant Wood collection
#54
John Singer Sargent
A cosmopolitan portraitist, he combines virtuosity of touch and worldly elegance.
See the John Singer Sargent collection
#55
Winslow Homer
A great American painter, he gives seascapes a sober intensity.
See the Winslow Homer collection
#56
Thomas Eakins
An American realist, he observes the body and the portrait with rigor.
See the Thomas Eakins collection
#57
Albert bierstadt
Painter of great American landscapes, he magnifies mountains and spectacular lights.
See the Albert Bierstadt collection
#58
Adolph von Menzel
A Prussian observer, he excels in historical and everyday realism.
See the Adolph von Menzel collection
#59
Alexandre Cabanel
French academic painter, he embodies the elegance of drawing in the 19th century.
See the Alexandre Cabanel collection
#60
Ivan Aivazovsky
Master of the sea, he paints waves, storms and moonlight with intensity.
See the Ivan Aivazovsky collection
#61
Isaac Levitan
A Russian landscaper, he gives the seasons and horizons a deep melancholy.
See the Isaac Levitan collection
#62
Caspar david friedrich
A great German romantic, he makes the landscape a place of solitude and infinity.
See the Caspar David Friedrich collection
#63
Arnold Boecklin
A Swiss symbolist, he populates his landscapes with mythological and visionary images.
See the Arnold Böcklin collection
#64
Gustave Moreau
A master symbolist, he transforms myths and sacred stories into precious visions.
See the Gustave Moreau collection
#65
Odilon Redon
Artist of dreams and symbols, he opens an inner world made of flowers and apparitions.
See the Odilon Redon collection
#66
Henri Rousseau
A self-taught painter, he creates imaginary jungles and a recognizable naive universe.
See the Henri Rousseau collection
#67
Egon Schiele
An Austrian expressionist, he pushed the portrait towards radical psychological tension.
See the Egon Schiele collection
#68
Anthony van Dyck
A great baroque portraitist, he had a lasting influence on European court art.
See the Anthony van Dyck collection
#69
Hieronymus Bosch
Flemish visionary, he populates his paintings with fantastic and moral images.
See the Hieronymus Bosch collection
#70
El Greco
A spiritual and expressive painter, he lengthens forms in a unique style.
See the El Greco collection
#71
Wassily Kandinsky
A pioneer of abstraction, he thinks of color as a musical force.
See the Wassily Kandinsky collection
#72
Artemisia Gentileschi
A major figure in Caravaggio, she imposes powerful and dramatic heroines.
See the Artemisia Gentileschi collection
#73
Bartolome Esteban Murillo
A great Spanish painter, he is admired for the gentleness of his religious subjects.
See the Bartolomé Esteban Murillo collection
#74
Guido Reni
Classical Italian Baroque, it seeks ideal beauty and clear light.
See the Guido Reni collection
#75
David Teniers the Younger
Flemish master of the genre scene, he observes popular life with wit.
See the David Teniers the Younger collectionChapter IV · Ranks 76 to 100
Smugglers, independents and international traditions
These artists extend, move or contradict major movements, revealing a history of painting that is less linear than it appears.
#76
Joshua Reynolds
Founder of the Royal Academy, he gave English portraiture a noble ambition.
See the Joshua Reynolds collection
#77
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo
The last great Venetian decorator, he illuminated frescoes and ceilings with theatrical brilliance.
See the Giovanni Battista Tiepolo collection
#78
Paul Signac
A great theorist of neo-impressionism, he developed pointillism with rigor.
See the Paul Signac collection
#79
Franz Marc
A German expressionist, he gives animals a symbolic force carried by color.
See the Franz Marc collection
#80
Fernand Léger
A French modernist, he celebrates the machine, the tubular shapes and the monumental color.
See the Fernand Léger collection
#81
Robert Delaunay
Inventor of Orphism, he constructs modernity through circular rhythm.
See the Robert Delaunay collection
#82
August Macke
A luminous expressionist, he transforms modern life into colorful and harmonious scenes.
See the August Macke collection
#83
Franz von Stuck
A German symbolist, he mixes mythology, sensuality and chiaroscuro.
See the Franz von Stuck collection
#84
George Inness
An American landscaper, he seeks a spiritual and tonal atmosphere in nature.
See the George Inness collection
#85
John atkinson grimshaw
Victorian painter, he is famous for his urban nights and his foggy atmospheres.
See the John Atkinson Grimshaw collection
#86
Robert Henry
Leader of the Ashcan School, he defends a direct painting of modern life.
See the Robert Henri collection
#87
Leon Bonnat
An academic portraitist, he left his mark on French painting with his realism.
See the Léon Bonnat collection
#88
Alexej von Jawlensky
An expressionist close to the Blue Rider, he stylizes the face down to the modern icon.
See the Alexej von Jawlensky collection
#89
Max Slevogt
A German impressionist, he likes stage effects and freedom of touch.
See the Max Slevogt collection
#90
Maxfield Parrish
American illustrator and painter, he creates luminous visions with deep blues.
Read the biography of Maxfield Parrish
#91
Annibale Carracci
Reformer of the Bolognese Baroque, he links naturalism, classicism and great decoration.
See the Annibale Carracci collection
#92
Antonello da Messina
Sicilian Renaissance: his portraits and his light left their mark on Italian painting.
See the Antonello da Messina collection
#93
Giuseppe Arcimboldo
Famous for his portraits composed of fruits, flowers and objects.
See the Giuseppe Arcimboldo collection
#94
Melchior d'Hondecoeter
A Dutch bird specialist, he brings animal painting to a high refinement.
See Hondecoeter's Melchior collection
#95
Pierre Subleyras
French painter in Rome, he combines classicism, precision and narrative intensity.
See the Pierre Subleyras collection
#96
John Sloan
Painter of American urban life, he observes New York with spontaneity.
See the John Sloan collection
#97
Anna Ancher
A major artist of Skagen, she transforms interior light into human scenes.
See the Anna Ancher collection
#98
Anders Zorn
A Swedish virtuoso, he shines in portraiture, watercolor and outdoor scenes.
See the Anders Zorn collection
#99
Anton raphael mengs
Neoclassical theorist and painter, he embodies the return to the ancient ideal.
See the Anton Raphael Mengs collection
#100
Armand Guillaumin
An impressionist close to Pissarro and Cézanne, he is distinguished by colorful landscapes.
See the Armand Guillaumin collectionAfter the hundredth artist
Build your own imaginary museum
Reread the classification by light, by color, by subject or by era. The most fruitful connections are not always those of rank: Vermeer can dialogue with Hopper, Turner with Monet, Goya with Munch and Cézanne with Mondrian.
Unmissable collections
Blog guides
Benchmarks for further investigation
One hundred artists, one hundred gateways into the history of painting
This ranking is not intended to close the debate, but to facilitate the first meetings and feedback. First choose a light, a color or a presence that stops you: behind each work begins a network of influences, journeys and transformations that goes far beyond its framework.
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