Famous Painters Classified by Style – Discover Their Unique Visual Universe
Famous Painters: Our Selection of the 50 Masters of World Painting
Claude Monet (1840–1926)
Pioneer of Impressionism, Monet transformed light and landscape into a vibrant poetry on canvas.
Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890)
Master of emotional intensity, Van Gogh painted the soul of the world with dazzling and tormented colors.
Gustav Klimt (1862–1918)
Austrian artist of symbolism and Art Nouveau, Klimt glorifies love and gold in captivating compositions.
Paul Klee (1879–1940)
Painter-poet of the Bauhaus, Klee explores shapes, color, and music in a work that is both naive and learned.
Vassily Kandinsky (1866–1944)
Father of abstraction, Kandinsky composes chromatic harmonies between spiritual intuition and geometric rigor.
Caspar David Friedrich (1774–1840)
German romantic landscape painter, Friedrich expresses solitude and transcendence in vast contemplative scenes.
Franz Marc (1880–1916)
A major figure of German Expressionism, he paints nature and animals with visionary energy.
August Macke (1887–1914)
Member of the Der Blaue Reiter group, Macke captures the joy of life in colorful and modern scenes.
William Turner (1775–1851)
A precursor of Impressionism, Turner transformed the seascape into a luminous and dramatic symphony.
Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841–1919)
Painter of softness, happy faces, and social life, Renoir embodies the warmth of Impressionism.
Egon Schiele (1890–1918)
Bold Austrian artist, he explores the body and emotion in a tense and expressive line.
Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519)
Genius of the Renaissance, Leonardo combines science, art, and mystery in works that have become legends.
Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528)
German engraver and painter, he is a master of precision, religious symbolism, and botanical detail.
Johannes Vermeer (1632–1675)
Poet of inner light, Vermeer captures the moment with delicacy and intimacy, as in The Girl with a Pearl Earring.
Carl Spitzweg (1808–1885)
Painter of German romantic everyday life, he reveals humor, melancholy, and tenderness in bourgeois scenes.
Alphonse Mucha (1860–1939)
Icon of Art Nouveau, he celebrates women, nature, and ornamentation in posters of unique graphic elegance.
Max Liebermann (1847–1935)
A figure of German realism and impressionism, he represents society with modernity and humanity.
Paul Cézanne (1839–1906)
Bridge between Impressionism and Cubism, Cézanne reconstructs nature through shapes and volumes.
Rembrandt van Rijn (1606–1669)
Master of Dutch chiaroscuro, he explores the human soul through deeply truthful portraits.
Paul Gauguin (1848–1903)
Traveling painter, he seeks authenticity and the sacred in exotic and symbolic scenes.
Raphael Sanzio (1483–1520)
Prodigy of the Italian Renaissance, he embodies divine harmony through religious and mythological compositions.
Edvard Munch (1863–1944)
Norwegian Expressionist, Munch gives voice to anguish, love, and memory in haunting works.
Amedeo Modigliani (1884–1920)
Painter of elongated faces, he blends sensuality, mystery, and modernity in a unique style.
Sandro Botticelli (1445–1510)
Florentine painter, he elevates grace and myth in paintings such as The Birth of Venus.
Michelangelo Caravaggio (1571–1610)
Genius of the Baroque, he revolutionized religious painting through raw naturalism and the play of dramatic shadows.
Katsushika Hokusai (1760–1849)
Japanese ukiyo-e engraver, he immortalizes nature and spirituality in The Great Wave off Kanagawa.
Piet Mondrian (1872–1944)
Founder of neoplasticism, he structures color within a pure grid of lines and horizons.
Jérôme Bosch (circa 1450–1516)
Visionary of the fantastic, Bosch unfolds dreamlike and moral worlds populated by strange symbols.
Gustave Caillebotte (1848–1894)
Impressionist of Haussmannian Paris, he combines geometry, perspectives, and scenes of urban life.
Edgar Degas (1834–1917)
Master of movement, Degas observes dancers, horses, and stolen moments with precision and poetry.
Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475–1564)
Giant of the Renaissance, he sculpts and paints the power of the body and soul, from David to the Sistine Chapel.
John William Waterhouse (1849–1917)
English Pre-Raphaelite, he enchants with his mythological and feminine figures bathed in mystery.
Pieter Brueghel the Elder (circa 1525–1569)
Flemish painter of peasant life and allegorical scenes, he combines humor, faith, and social critique.
Peder Severin Krøyer (1851–1909)
Danish painter of Scandinavian light, he celebrates the sea, summer evenings, and collective intimacy.
Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640)
A quintessential Baroque painter, he glorifies the body, movement, and opulence in grandiose scenes.
Édouard Manet (1832–1883)
A pioneer of modern art, he captures the attention of Parisian society between realism and boldness.
Camille Pissarro (1830–1903)
A pillar of Impressionism, he paints the countryside and the city with a light-filled softness.
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864–1901)
Chronicler of nightlife, he sketches cabarets, dancers, and bohemia with irony and tenderness.
Joaquín Sorolla (1863–1923)
Spanish painter of light, he captures the reflections of the sun and the liveliness of beach scenes.
Gustave Courbet (1819–1877)
A figure of realism, he celebrates popular life, nature, and material in powerful and straightforward paintings.
William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825–1905)
French academic painter, Bouguereau glorifies feminine grace and mythological purity with delicate and luminous realism.
John William Godward (1861–1922)
British neo-classical painter, Godward sublimates feminine elegance in idealized ancient scenes.
John Singer Sargent (1856–1925)
Virtuoso portraitist, he captures the elite of his era with grace, light, and sophistication.
Jean-Léon Gérôme (1824–1904)
Master of academic Orientalism, he combines historical accuracy with spectacular visual theater.
Francisco de Goya (1746–1828)
Spanish painter of drama, night, and human truth, precursor of modern art.
El Greco (1541–1614)
Mystical artist with elongated figures, he infuses spiritual ecstasy into religious painting.
Diego Velázquez (1599–1660)
Baroque painter of the Spanish court, he combines majesty and naturalism, notably in Las Meninas.
Titian (Tiziano Vecellio, c. 1488–1576)
Giant of the Venetian Renaissance, he celebrates the body, color, and divine sensuality.
Jacques-Louis David (1748–1825)
Thinker of Neoclassicism, he embodies the revolutionary and heroic art of Napoleonic France.
Alma-Tadema (1836–1912)
Painter of the dreamed Antiquity, he composes refined scenes, bathed in marble and light.
Eugène Boudin (1824–1898)
A precursor of Impressionism, he paints the Norman sky with a unique atmospheric sensitivity.
Léon Bonnat (1833–1922)
Official portraitist of the Third Republic, Bonnat captures human expression with intensity and realism.
Frida Kahlo (1907–1954)
Icon of Mexican art and intimate surrealism, Frida Kahlo paints her pain, her identity, and her inner world with symbolic strength.
Henri Matisse (1869–1954)
A major figure of Fauvism, Matisse revolutionizes modern art with his bright color blocks and joyfully simplified forms.
Henri Rousseau (1844–1910)
Self-taught painter and poet of dreams, Henri Rousseau – known as "Le Douanier" – enchants with his imaginary jungles and naive scenes bathed in mystery.
Jean-Honoré Fragonard (1732–1806)
Master of French rococo, Fragonard celebrates love, lightness, and the pleasures of the aristocracy in gallant scenes full of movement, grace, and sensuality.
