The reason why art today is as it should be is because of the influence of these famous painters.
From the 13th Century till the 21st, some famous artists pioneered art culture by drawing their subjects in a new way and inventing new painting techniques.
Their dedication laid the foundation for the artists around the world and their influence still lives on today.
As opposed to movies, art is something that everybody cannot understand well.
And it sucks the life out of an artist to become a master of their skills and acquire credits and approval from the masses.
Here is the list of 23 famous artists that transformed art throughout the ages and gave us the “Art” that is cherished by all.
Famous Painters That Influenced The Art
Before we start, here is a quick disclaimer for you: This list of 23 famous painters mentioned below is a result of a deep study of artists.
Objectivity or being fair doesn’t exist in the world of art and artists, and we acknowledge that a reader may not 100% agree on the list.
Any in case, we’re thrilled to mention a detailed list of some of the best and famous painters throughout the history of Art.
1. Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519): The Visionary Artist
The Italian polymath who delivered the most famous painting in the world was more than just a painter.
An engineer, scientist, draughtsman, theorist, sculptor, and architect—this guy influenced art history like anything!
Not only did he experiment with mediums, but he also innovated ways to create astonishing compositions.
Being one of the best artists of all time, he perfected the sfumato technique and gave the world “Mona Lisa”
And guess what? His love for art let him make designs of automobiles, tanks, aircraft that were 500 years into the future!
Mona Lisa, The Last Supper, Salvator Mundi.
High Renaissance.
Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan; The Louvre, Paris; National Gallery, London.
Leonardo was ambidextrous, meaning he could draw and write with both hands simultaneously.
2. Pablo Picasso (1881-1973): Founding Father Of Cubism
One of the best artists in the world, Picasso remains one of the most recognized names in western art history.
Looking back to his 80 years career, Picasso practiced many styles and gave the world more than 20,000 artworks including paintings, costumes, ceramics, and prints.
He didn’t just practice painting styles; rather, he mastered one and showed the world that classical art can be manipulated to create a modern, fresh style.
He, along with Georges Braque, came up with Cubism (paintings that appeared fragmented and abstract), an artistic movement that influenced artists around the globe.
Family Of Saltimbanques, Guernica, Les Demoiselles D’avignon.
Cubism, Surrealism, Modernism, Post-Impressionism, Picasso’s African Period.
Museu Picasso, Barcelona, Spain; Antibes, Southern France; Paris, France.
23 words. That’s how long Picasso’s Full Name was: Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Martyr Patricio Clito Ruíz y Picasso.
3. Vincent Van Gogh (1852-1890): The Artist Who Painted Emotions
Although he is one of the famous painters of all time, Vincent Van Gogh wasn’t appreciated in his lifetime.
The Dutch Post-Impressionist artist was claimed to be a psychologically unstable persona, but his artworks made him one of the most popular and famous painters of all time.
His artworks are composed with dramatic brushstrokes and bold color that makes the paintings reflect raw emotions.
His famous painting Starry Night is a depiction of the town that he saw from the windows of the Psychiatric hospital where he was treated for his mental illness.
The Starry Night, The Potato Eaters, Van Gogh Self-portrait
Realism, Post-Impressionism, Impressionism, Japonisme, Cloisonnism, Pointillism, Neo-Impressionism, Modern art,
Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo: Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam: The Museum of Modern Art, New York.
Vincent Van Gogh sliced off his left ear when the friendship between him and Paul Gauguin flared. The reason for this is believed to be the fragile nature of his mind at that time.
4. Salvador Dali (1904-1989): The Artist Who Painted Out-Of- World Paintings
“I’m Surrealism,” Dali quoted when André Breton expelled him from the surrealist movement.
Little did anyone know that Dali’s paintings were to become one of the most famous paintings of the surrealist movement.
With the paintings that look anything but a weird dream, Dali painted surrealistic paintings that had melting watches, flying animals, and settings far from reality.
He even painted while half-asleep and called those artworks “hand-painted dream photographs”
This guy influenced “surrealism” in a way that nobody could.
The Persistence Of Memory, The Great Masturbator, Dream Caused… Awakening.
Surrealism, Expressionism, Post-Impressionism, Realism, Cubism, Abstract expressionism, and more.
Teatro Museo Dalí, Figueres, Spain; Salvador Dalí Museum; The Dalí Museum, Petersburg, Florida; L’Espace Dalí, Paris.
Having a rebellious attitude, Dali was expelled from art school- not once, but twice!
5. Michelangelo (1475-1564): The Artist Behind The Famous “Painted Sculptures”
Michelangelo wasn’t known only as one of the best painters; he was a polymath: a painter, sculptor, architect, and poet who defined fresco.
The highly influential Italian artist mastered the wall mural technique fresco and gave us The Creation of Adam.
Michelangelo is also famous for sculpting a marble sculpture of the biblical figure David.
The Creation of Adam, Sistine Chapel ceiling, The Last Judgment.
Italian Renaissance.
Sistine Chapel, Vatican City, Rome; Museo d’arte antica, Sforza Castle, Milan; Galleria dell’Accademia, Florence.
The famous sculpture of David was supposed to be Hercules, but Michelangelo cut the time by 3 years and made a “David” statue instead.
6. Rembrandt Van Rijn (1606-1669): The Dutch Icon
One of the famous painters in art history and most important icon in Dutch Art, Rembrandt Van Rijn was regarded as the master of self-portraits.
His love for art made him paint a wide array of paintings including landscapes, genre scenes, historical scenes, biblical and mythological themes, and realistic self-portraits.
His mastery over the use of light and expressive approach in paintings made him popular among artists (and is still today).
The Night Watch, The Anatomy… Tulp, Danaë.
Baroque, Golden Dutch Period.
Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Staatliche Museen Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Gemäldegalerie, Berlin.
Some scholars argued that Rembrandt had ‘stereo blindness’ (poor perception of depth) that allowed him to paint 3D scenes onto a 2D canvas.
7. Gustav Klimt (1862-1918): The Symbolist Painter Behind Vienna Secession
Somewhere between modernism and symbolism appeared an Austrian symbolist painter: Gustav Klimt, who became a key member of the Vienna Art Nouveau movement.
This Art movement supported the ornament style of art that proposed to create a new style, which is free from historicism.
His paintings included allegories, portraits, abstract artworks, landscapes, and many objects d’ar; but his primary paintings remained sensual portrayal of women.
The Kiss, Judith and the Head of Holofernes, Pallas Athene.
Art Nouveau, Symbolism, Modern Art, Vienna Secession.
Neue Galerie, New York; Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna; Leopard Museum, Vienna, Austria.
Gustav never got married but had many lovers and had said to father 14 children.
8. Frida Kahlo (1907-1954): The Feminist Symbol
The intimate self-portraits and being an embodiment of Mexico’s cultural heritage are few reasons that make Frida Kahlo one of the famous female painters in history.
Frida’s life was remarked with severe health issues, yet her self-portraits remained silent but powerful.
Her famous self-portraits were surrealistically painted that depicted her state of mind.
She influenced modern artists with these portraits, as she believed that art is about expressing inner emotion rather than attempting to please someone.
The Two Fridas, Without Hope, Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird.
The Mexican Revolution
Frida Kahlo Museum, Mexico City; The Museum of Modern Art, New York City: National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington DC.
Frida painted her injuries and disabilities. Her self-portraits depict her wounds from her life with themes of pain, ailment, injury, and fragility.
9. Edgar Degas (1834-1917): Key Founder Of Impressionism
Edgar Degas – a painter, sculptor, and printmaker was a French Impressionist artist famous for pastel drawings and oil paintings.
He found his subjects in the fast-moving city life of Paris where he captured ballet, circus, racetrack, streets, and cafés.
His experiments with painting mediums and techniques led him to create vivid and expressive paintings that made him one of the popular painters of his time.
With his innovative artwork, Degas is credited with influencing many famous painters including Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse.
The Ballet Class, The Blue Dancers, L’Absinthe.
Impressionism, Realism, Modern Art
Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg; the Musée d’Orsay,Paris; the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
After Degas’s death in 1917; a vast collection of paintings, drawings, and prints were discovered that included artworks of Ingres,Daumier, Delacroix, Cezanne, Gauguin, Cassatt,Manet, Pissarro, and Van Gogh
10. Raphael (1483-1520): The Artist Of Sistine Madonna
Love him or hate him – there’s no denying that Raphael was one of the famous painters of the renaissance with a specialty in drawing and colors.
Apart from being good at drawing, printmaking, and being an architect; he is best known for creating Madonnas and large figure compositions in the Vatican.
Raphael’s work is cherished due to its easy composition, clarity, and visual achievement.
His work made him influential and he was admired for the clarity of form, and ease of composition of his artwork.
Transfiguration, The School of Athens, Sistine Madonna.
High Renaissance, Italian Renaissance. Mannerism.
The Raphael Rooms, Vatican Museums, Vatican City; Palazzo Barberini, Rome; Galleria Borghese, Rome.
Although Raphael died young at the age of 37 he packed a lot of living in his short life. Apart from his artworks, he was considered one of the masters of the high renaissance.
11. Grant Wood (1891-1942): The Famous Painter Of American Midwest
Famous for depicting the rural American Midwest, Grant Wood became a symbolic example of 20th-century American art.
Adding humor subtly into his artworks, especially in American Gothic, Grant Wood captured the isolation of modern life.
He was a key integral of the Regionalist art movement that included paintings, lithographs, and illustrations depicting realistic scenes of rural and small-town America.
Grant Wood’s famous artwork remains American Gothic which is portrayed in TV shows, movies, magazines, and news articles.
This painting got him a third prize at the Art Institute of Chicago and got his name on the list of America’s most influential artists.
American Gothic, Young Corn, Daughters of Revolution
Modern Art, Regionalism, Social Realism
The Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, Iowa.
Everyone thought that subjects in American Gothic Painting were husband and wife. But in reality, the painting portrays father and daughter, not husband and wife.
12. Henri Matisse (1869-1954): Father Of Fauvism
A draughtsman, sculptor, printmaker, and one of the best painters—Matisse was considered the founding father of Fauvism along with André Derain.
Fauvism let the artists use bright colors and use thick, flat brushstrokes to create vivid paintings.
Matisse is recognized as one of the best painters in the world who contributed to defining the revolutionary developments in the visual arts.
The Starry Night, The Potato Eaters, Van Gogh Self-portrait
Realism, Post-Impressionism, Impressionism, Japonisme, Cloisonnism, Pointillism, Neo-Impressionism, Modern art,
Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo; Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam; The Museum of Modern Art, New York.
After the successful surgery of duodenal cancer, Henri spent 3 months bedridden where he developed a new artform using paper and scissors. He would cut painted papers in shapes and arrange them on walls to make artwork.
13. Jackson Pollock (1912-1956): The Drip Painter
One of the famous artists in the world, Jackson Pollock contributed to the creation of the Abstract Expressionism movement that influenced artists in the 1940s.
Abstract Expressionism was based on spontaneous and personal emotional expression to create paintings.
Pollock was famous for inventing a spontaneous painting technique called drip painting (that is a type of action painting.)
He was hindered by addiction, self-doubt, and awkwardness, but his spontaneous drip artwork got him fame between 1947 and 1950.
No. 5, 1948,; Alchemy; Convergence.
Abstract Expressionism.
Museum of Contemporary Art, LA, California; Museum of Modern Art, New York; Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice.
Jackson’s masterpiece “No. 5, 1948” in the year 2006 became the world’s most expensive painting when it was sold for $140 million.
14. Edvard Munch (1863-1944): The Painter Of The Scream
Edvard Munch was a famous Norwegian painter who acquired recognition with his famous painting “The Scream” which became one of the iconic paintings in history.
Having mental illnesses, most of Munch’s artworks consisted of psychological themes that portrayed his emotions.
Edward Munch’s work positively affected German Expressionism in the early 20th century and accelerated the progression of late 19th-century Symbolism
Although being a famous artist, he suffered mental issues throughout his life.
Anxiety, The Scream, Vampire.
Expressionism, Modern art, Symbolism, Impressionism, Realism, Post-Impressionism
Munch Museum, Oslo, Norway; Tate Modern, London; University Aula, Oslo.
Edward Munch, being an expressionist and a visionary, predicted the mobile phone in the year 1910.
15. Claude Monet (1840-1926): The Father Of Impressionism
Claude Monet: an iconic French Impressionist who mastered open-air landscape painting (Plein air painting) was one of the famous painters in the world.
He studied the effect of time and light on the painting and captured the varying intensities of light in his paintings.
“Water Lilies” is one of his famous art series with about 250 oil paintings iterations of the subject.
His painting “Impression, Sunrise” lead the start of the Impressionism art movement in the 1870s.
Impression, Sunrise; Poppies; Haystacks.
Impressionism
Musée de l’Orangerie, Paris; Musée Marmottan Monet, Paris;
At the age of 15 before becoming a painter, Claude Monet was a famous caricaturist who sold charcoal caricatures of the locals of Le Havre.
Interested readers can take a look at the list of Most Expensive Paintings ever sold.
16. René Magritte (1898-1967): A Strong Surrealism Influencer
When it boils down to the list of the world’s best painters, René Margitte cannot be excluded.
A Belgian surrealist artist whose surreal paintings spoke of bizarre concepts with a twist of fantasy, comedy, mystery, and horror.
His painting involved subjects or characterization of symbols in an unsettling and strange situation. Often, his artworks were thought-provoking and mind-blowing.
Often he is regarded as one of the leading figures of surrealism
His work influenced many contemporary artists including Ed Ruscha, John Baldessari, Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, Martin Kippenberger, Duane Michals, and Jan Verdoodt.
The Son of Man, The Lovers, The Treachery of Images
Surrealism
Musée Magritte Museum, Brussels, Belgium; Museum of Modern Art, NYC;
A street in Brussels was named “Ceci n’est pas une rue” which translates to “This is not a street” to honor his famous work, The Treachery of Images.
17. Edward Hopper (1882-1967): The Painter Of Urban Loneliness
Edward Hopper was one of the best painters of all time whose artwork shocked the people.
He described everyday urban scenes in a way that depicted the strangeness of familiar places. Most often, his painting described loneliness.
This American Realist painter’s artwork strongly influenced pop art and New Realist painters of the 60s and 70s.
Apart from having mastery in oil paintings, he was skilled at water coloring and printmaking in etching.
Automat, Chop Suey, Nighthawks.
Neoclassicism, American Realism, Social realism, Modern Art, modernism, Nouveau réalisme, Impressionism.
he Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC; Whitney Museum of American Art, NYC; The Museum of Modern Art, NYC.
Before becoming recognized as a famous painter, Edward Hopper gained his first financial success from etching.
18. Georgia O’Keeffe (1887-1986): Mother Of American Modernism
Georgia O’Keeffe, one of the famous female artists, is the person who redefined Western American painting.
With her creative vision, she could turn a normal painting into wonderful artwork with her abstract painting qualities.
Although flower painting is an old tradition, no one had ever done it better than O’Keeffe. Her zoomed-in depiction of flowers with a punch of abstraction made her a unique artist.
Being one of the early abstract painters, she helped to start the American modernism movement.
Jimson Weed; Cow’s Skull: Red, White, and Blue; Oriental Poppies.
Modernism, Precisionism, American Modernism.
Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, New Mexico; National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C; The Cleveland Museum of Art, Ohio.
Georgia tried to quit painting many times in her lifetime due to financial troubles, nervous breakdowns, degrading eyesight; but her passion for painting motivated her to never quit.
19. Georges Seurat (1859-1891): The Father Of Neo-Impressionism
Georges Pierre Seurat, an important French post-Impressionist artist, was the founder of the 19th-century school for Neo-Impressionism.
Having the mastery over the use of light, and by using tiny brushstrokes of contrasting paints, he invented pointillism (Divisionism).
With the use of this technique, he made huge paintings with tiny strokes (dots) of colors that looked brilliant when looked at as a whole.
Seurat changed the direction of modern art by starting Neo-impressionism, with his large scale artwork “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte”
A Sunday Afternoon… Jatte, Bathers at Asnières, The Circus.
Post-Impressionism, Neo-impressionism, Pointillism.
The Museum of Modern Art, NYC; Metropolitan Museum Of Art, NYC.
When studying the science of optics and colors, Seurat found that placing tiny dots of different colors next to each other will let the viewer perceive the dots as a different color altogether.
20. Diego Rivera (1886-1957): The Mexican Fresco King
Diego Rivera, although a less famous painter, was the greatest Mexican painter of the twentieth century and had a profound effect on the international art world.
Rivera is credited to begin a mural movement in Mexican and international art. He is well known for reintroducing fresco painting into architecture and modern art.
Due to his importance in the country’s art history, the government of Mexico declared Rivera’s works as “monumentos historicos” which means “historical monuments”.
Detroit Industry Murals, The Flower Carrier, Pan American Unity.
Mexican muralism, Cubism, Modern art, Realism, Impressionism, Post-Impressionism.
Palacio Nacional, Mexico; Secretaría de Educación Pública, Mexico; Palacio de Bellas Artes, Mexico.
Rivera had many marriages and affairs. His fourth wife was the famous painter Frida Kahlo, with whom he shared a volatile relationship till she passed away.
21. Sandro Botticelli (Death in 1510): The Painter Who Changed The Perspective
Sandro Botticelli, an Italian artist, was one of the popular painters of the Early Renaissance.
The revival of Greek and Roman in Florence influenced him so much that he became the first western artist (since classical times) to paint non-religious subjects.
Art could be created for pleasure, not just for religion—His idea brought a breakthrough in western art.
During his time, the portrayal of religious subjects was iconographical. But with his skills, he brilliantly put religious subjects in a way that was relatable to a human.
His famous painting “Madonna and Child” proves his art.
Primavera, The Birth of Venus, The Adoration Of The Magi.
Early Renaissance
The Uffizi Gallery, Florence; Kupferstichkabinett Berlin, Germany; Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC.
Sandro Botticelli’s real name wasn’t Sandro. It was Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi. Botticelli (meaning “little barrel”) was given to him by his brother.
22. Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775-1851): The Painter Of Light
J.M.W. Turner or known in his time as William Turner was the famous painter of Western painting who excelled in landscape painting.
Known as a forerunner of modern art, JMW turner excelled at romantic painting, printmaking, and water coloring.
He strived to achieve realism in his artwork—which was unheard of at his time.
Experimenting with light, colors, and brushwork on thousands of oil and watercolor paintings; Tuner mastered his art and later painted outside—which influenced Impressionists.
His artworks speak of vibrant colors, creative sceneries, and turbulent marine paintings.
Fishermen at Sea, Steam and Speed, Dido building Carthage.
Romanticism
Tate Britain, London; Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indiana; Yale Center for British Art, Connecticut
Being talented, Turner started art from early childhood.By the time he was 13, his father sold his drawing by displaying them in his barbershop.
23. Andy Warhol (1928-1987): The Famous Painter Of Pop Art
Andy Warhol, the leader behind the visual art movement known as pop art, was a controversial pop artist.
He used irony and popular elements in the art, and mixed art with celebrities and advertisements that lead to people criticizing that he did this for making money, rather than for the love of art.
Andy’s artworks display the relationship between artistic expression, advertising, and celebrity culture. Apart from being a painter, Andy was a film director and producer.
Shot Marilyns, Campbell’s Soup Cans, Reigning Queens.
Pop art, Abstract expressionism, Modern art, Contemporary art, Naïve art.
Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Museum of Modern Art, New York City; Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois.
Andy normalized the drag queen culture. Drag queens were in the periphery, but it was Andy who brought them from the outskirts into artistic movement. With this, drag queens were no longer seen as freaks.
Art is a creative endeavor that is evolving as new artists emerge and leave a profound effect on the course of art with their talents.
So when are you picking up that brush and changing the art course forever?
Hey Artists!
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