Greatest Visual Artists
Biographies of the World's Finest Painters & Sculptors.

Jacob & Esau Relief, Gates of Paradise
(1425–52, Florence) Lorenzo Ghiberti.

PART ONE: Top Artists (c.1000 - 1850)

• For PART TWO, see: Modern Artists (1850-1960s)
• For PART THREE, see: Postmodernist Artists (1960s-present)

• For the greatest European painters (1200-1800), see: Old Masters.
• For the leading artists born after 1945, see: Top Contemporary Artists.

Courtyard of a House in Delft (1658)
National Gallery, London.
By Dutch Realist Peter de Hooch.

THE FIRST VISUAL ARTISTS?
Art has been practised since at
least 700,000 BCE. Unfortunately,
with the exception of certain
sculptors of classical antiquity,
most visual artists remained
unidentified until Romanesque
times. Thus all prehistoric
cave painters and ivory carvers,
along with nearly all artists of
ancient civilizations, and early
Christianity, are unknown to us.
Even most of the 9th and 10th
century Carolingian/Ottonian
court artists, remain anonymous.

Medieval Artists
Medieval visual art came about as part of the massive building program staged by the Christian Church authorities. Thus most artists were sculptors and other craftsmen employed in building the early cathedrals of Europe. The first phase of Medieval art and architecture is referred to as Romanesque, and occurred during the years 1000-1200. After this, came the Gothic style, which flourished during the period 1150-1375, the pre-Renaissance forms of the trecento (1300-1400), and the courtly International Gothic style (1375-1450). Like the earlier Romanesque era, most Gothic visual art was related to cathedral building. So most artists were sculptors, stained glass artists, mosaicists and other craftsmen employed in the cathedral construction program. Only in Italy during the Pre-Renaissance phase (1300-1400) were fresco and panel painters able to demonstrate their true ability. For details of important painters, sculptors and architects from this era, please see: Medieval Artists (c.1000-1450).

Early Renaissance Artists
Visual art in Florence during the 15th century featured architecture, painting and sculpture. The most significant visual artists were commissioned either by the Church or by rich dynastic patrons like the Medici family.

Gentile da Fabriano (c.1370-1427)
Influential International Gothic style painter famous for Adoration of the Magi.
Nanni di Banco (1375-1421)
Sculptor and key figure in early Florentine Renaissance.
Filippo Brunelleschi (1377-1446)
Architect, engineer, sculptor; designer of the Duomo of Florence Cathedral.
Lorenzo Ghiberti (1378-1455)
Florentine sculptor, noted for Gates of Paradise for the Florentine baptistery.
Donatello (Donato di Niccolo) (1386-1466)
The finest European sculptor of the 15th century (quattrocento).
Francesco Squarcione (1395-1468)
Painter from Padua, expert in foreshortening; taught art to Andrea Mantegna.
Paolo Uccello (1397-1475)
Painted the famous Battle of San Romano.
Fra Angelico (c.1400-55)
Religious painter, famous for fresco murals at San Marco convent.
Luca Della Robbia (1400-1482)
Great stone-carver noted for Singing Gallery and tomb of Benozzo Federighi.
Tommaso Masaccio (1401-1428)
The most outstanding early Florentine painter.
Leon Battista Alberti (1404-72)
Architect, art-theorist; wrote treatises like De Sculptura, Della Pittura.
Fra Filippo Lippi (c.1406-69)
Artist monk noted for his frescoes in Prato and Spoleto cathedrals, Florence.
Domenico Veneziano (1410-1461)
Early Renaissance fresco, tempera & oil painter noted for St Lucy Altarpiece.
Andrea del Castagno (c.1420-57)
Important Florentine master of disegno, follower of Masaccio & Donatello.
Piero della Francesca (1420-92)
Italian Renaissance painter, first great master of linear perspective.
Antonio Rossellino (1427-1479)
Sculptor known for the Florentine tomb of Cardinal Jacopo of Portugal.
Antonello da Messina (1430-1479)
Sicilian portraitist who introduced oil painting to the Venetian Renaissance.
Andrea Mantegna (1430-1506)
Painter active in Mantua for Gonzaga family; master of foreshortening.
Antonio Pollaiuolo (1432-98)
Florentine goldsmith & sculptor.
Andrea Della Robbia (1435-1525)
Noted for ceramic, terracotta and marble sculpture.
Niccolo Dell'Arca (1435-94)
Expressionist religious sculptor.
Andrea del Verrocchio (1435-1488)
Italian goldsmith, sculptor and painter; taught Leonardo da Vinci.
Alessandro Botticelli (1445-1510)
One of the greatest Florentine Renaissance painters.
Domenico Ghirlandaio (1449-94)
Prolific fresco painter in Florence of the 1480s.
Guido Mazzoni (1450-1518)
Terracotta sculptor, active in Modena, Naples and France.
Perugino (1450-1523)
Pupil of Verrocchio, noted for Sistine Chapel frescoes, altarpieces, portraits.
Piero di Cosimo (1462-1522)
Eccentric Florentine noted for his mythological paintings and portraits.

High Renaissance Artists
Visual art of this period was especially active in Rome, where a series of Popes employed so many visual artists on painting and sculptural projects that they nearly bankrupted the Church.

Luca Signorelli (1450-1523)
Cortona fresco painter, drawing-master, influenced Michelangelo, Raphael.
Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
Greatest High Renaissance oil painter and draftsman, famous for his fresco of The Last Supper, the portrait Mona Lisa, and other rare works.
Michelangelo (1475-1564)
Greatest sculptor of all time: his famous sculptures include Pieta and David. Also known for his magnificent Genesis and Last Judgement frescoes in the Sistine Chapel.
Raphael (1483-1520)
Renaissance painting prodigy, tapestry artist, decorated the Raphael Rooms.
Sebastiano del Piombo (1485-1547)
High Renaissance painter, rival of Raphael, friend of Michelangelo.
Andrea del Sarto (1486-1530)
Greatest painter of the Florentine High Renaissance, once Leonardo, Michelangelo and Raphael had left for Rome.
Antonio Allegri da Correggio (1489-1534)
Parma artist, noted for illusionistic frescoes and altarpiece oil paintings.

Venetian Renaissance Painters
Visual artists in Venice - mostly painters - were influenced by the city's trading links, which provided them with a wider range of colour pigments, and by the damp climate, which favoured oil painting over fresco.

Gentile Bellini (c.1429-1507)
Noted for scenes of Venice and portraits of Doges.
Giovanni Bellini (1430-1516)
Famous for religious paintings; pioneer of Venetian oil painting.
Vittore Carpaccio (c.1465-1525/6)
Conservative but outstanding painter influenced by Gentile Bellini.
Giorgione (1477-1510)
Leader of the Venetian School of painting.
Lorenzo Lotto (1480-1556)
Innovative Venetian painter, noted for religious altarpieces and portraits.
Titian (c.1485-1576)
Greatest Venetian oil and fresco painter.
Jacopo Bassano (1515-1592)
Venetian Mannerist painter noted for his Biblical genre-paintings and portraits.
Jacopo Tintoretto (1518-1594)
Venetian painter noted for his large-scale religious works.
Paolo Veronese (1528-1588)
One of Venice's leading colourists; his masterpiece is The Wedding at Cana.

Northern Renaissance Artists
Broadly speaking, visual artists in Flanders, Holland, England and Germany were less sophisticated than their Italian counterparts, except in the area of oil painting and printmaking.

Robert Campin (Master of Flemalle) (c.1378-1444)
Early Northern Renaissance master, known for Merode Altarpiece.
Jan van Eyck (1390-1441)
Pioneer of oil painting, famous for his realistic portraits, Arnolfini Wedding.
Stefan Lochner (c.1400-51)
Late Gothic German painter of the Cologne School.
Roger Van der Weyden (1400-1464)
Outstanding Netherlandish religious panel-painter.
Dieric Bouts (c.1410/20-75)
Flemish painter (Louvain school), noted for devotional images, altarpieces.
Michel Colombe (c.1430-1512)
French sculptor, created the tomb of Francis II of Brittany.
Hans Memling (c.1433-94)
Flemish religious painter, portraitist; pupil of Roger Van der Weyden.
Michael Pacher (1434-98)
Late Gothic/Renaissance painter and sculptor, active in South Tyrol, Austria.
Hugo Van Der Goes (1440-82)
Early oil painter, famous for Portinari Altarpiece and Death of The Virgin.
Veit Stoss (c.1447-1533)
Late Gothic German master wood-carver.
Martin Schongauer (1448-91)
German religious painter, engraver and graphic artist.
Hieronymus Bosch (1450-1516)
Most creative of all medieval painters; famous for complex moralizing works.
Tilman Riemenschneider (c.1460-1531)
Arguably the greatest Late Gothic German wood-carver.
Gregor Erhart (c.1460-1540)
Late Gothic German sculptor in wood/stone; made the Blaubeuren Altarpiece.
Quentin Massys (c.1465-1530)
Antwerp genre painter, also known for caricaturist-style portraits.
Matthias Grunewald (1470-1528)
Noted for his intense expressionist religious paintings; Isenheim Altarpiece.
Albrecht Durer (1471-1528)
The greatest German painter and printmaker of the Northern Renaissance.
Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472-1553)
Leading German portraitist.
Albrecht Altdorfer (1480-1538)
A leader of the Romantic Danube School of landscape art.
Hans Baldung Grien (1484-1545)
Strasbourg painter, engraver, noted for Freiburg altarpiece and woodcuts.
Joachim Patenier (1485-1524)
Netherlandish Renaissance landscape artist, noted for Biblical scenes.
Hans Holbein The Younger (1497-1543)
One of the greatest of German portrait painters.
Pieter Bruegel the Elder (c.1525-1569)
Leading Flemish artist of his day, master landscape painter.
Nicholas Hilliard (1547-1619)
Leader of the English school of miniature painting.

Mannerist Artists
Visual artists known as Mannerists were less balanced and more extravagant than their Renaissance ancestors. This was a reflection of the uncertainties of the age.

Alonso Berruguete (c.1486-1561)
The greatest Spanish Mannerist sculptor; noted for religious works.
Jacopo Sansovino (1486-1570)
Florence-born sculptor, active in Venetian architecture.
Baccio Bandinelli (1493-1560)
Noted for his exquisite terracotta statuettes.
Rosso Fiorentino (1494-1540)
Florentine painter; leader of the French Fontainebleau School of Mannerism.
Jacopo Pontormo (1494-1556)
First Florentine Mannerist painter, noted for altarpieces, frescoes, portraits.
Giulio Romano (1499-1546)
Chief assistant to Raphael, famous for his fresco murals in the Palazzo del Te.
Benvenuto Cellini (1500-1571)
Goldsmith, medallionist and sculptor to Pope Clement VII/Francis I.
Parmigianino (1503-40)
Mannerist painter, etcher; Correggio's younger contemporary from Parma.
Agnolo Bronzino (1503-1572)
Florentine Mannerist, pupil of Pontormo, best known for his cool portraits.
Francesco Primaticcio (1504-1570)
Architect/Sculptor, leader of the First School of Fontainebleau.
Juan de Juni (1507-1577)
French artist active in Spain; compares with Alonso Berruguete.
Federico Barocci (1526-1612)
Finest 16th century painter in Urbino and Le Marche region of central Italy.
Giuseppe Arcimboldo (1527-93)
Best-known for his unique fruit & vegetable portraits.
Germain Pilon (1529-1590)
The most powerful and innovative 16th century French sculptor.
Giambologna (1529-1608)
Hugely influential Mannerist sculptor: active in Italy.
Barthelemy Prieur (1536-1611)
French artist, sculptor to King Henry IV of France.
Jean Goujon (Active 1540-1563)
French sculptor best known for the Fountain of the Innocents.
El Greco (Domenikos Theotocopoulos) (1541-1614)
Greek painter, active in Spain; noted for dazzling spiritual works and portraits.
Adriaen de Vries (1560-1626)
Dutch artist, pupil of Giambologna, outstanding bronze sculptor.
Stefano Maderno (1576-1636)
Rome sculptor, best known for his marble statue of St Cecilia in Trastevere.

Baroque Artists
Visual artists of the Baroque era were often commissioned by the Catholic Church to inspire the faithful, while promoting the religious teachings of Rome.

Annibale Carracci (1560-1609)
Mannerist/Baroque painter noted for Farnese Gallery frescos.
Francisco Ribalta (1565-1628)
First Spanish painter to introduce tenebrism, in the manner of Caravaggio.
Juan Martinez Montanes (c.1568-1649)
Finest Spanish sculptor and wood-carver of the 17th century.
Caravaggio (1573-1610)
Milanese painter noted for his figurative realism, tenebrism, chiaroscuro.
Guido Reni (1575-1642)
Classical Baroque painter, member of the Bolognese school.
Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640)
Greatest Baroque history painter and portraitist.
Adam Elsheimer (1578-1610)
Shortlived but influential landscape artist and history painter.
Domenichino (1581-1641)
Fresco/landscape painter; follower of the Carracci and the Bolognese School.
Giovanni Lanfranco (1582-1647)
Leading High Baroque painter, key member of Neapolitan School of painting.
Simon Vouet (1590-1649)
President of Academy of Art in Rome; also court painter to King Louis XIII.
Jusepe (Jose) de Ribera (1591-1652)
Spanish realist religious painter, active in Naples.
Guercino (1591-1666)
Italian Baroque painter, famed for his drawing, disegno and colorito.
Georges de La Tour (1593-1652)
Leader of French caravaggisti, noted for tenebrism/chiaroscuro.
Artemisia Gentileschi (1593–1656)
Best 17th century female painter; noted for Judith Beheading Holofernes.
Jacob Jordaens (1593-1678)
Leading Flemish Baroque painter after the death of Rubens.
Nicolas Poussin (1594-1665)
One of the greatest classical academic painters.
Pietro da Cortona (1596-1669)
Finest Italian fresco painter of the Baroque; tapestry designer, architect.
Francois Duquesnoy (1597-1643)
Flemish artist; rated with Algardi as the top sculptor in Rome after Bernini.
Alessandro Algardi (1598-1654)
Bernini's great rival. Master of marble, ivory and gold sculpture.
Francisco de Zurbaran (1598-1664)
Spanish religious painter, master of chiaroscuro, and still-life.
Giovanni Bernini (1598-1680)
The leading sculptor/architect of the Counter-Reformation Baroque.
Anthony Van Dyck (1599-1641)
Outstanding portraitist, pupil of Rubens.
Diego Velazquez (1599-1660)
Painter to the Kings of Spain; arguably the greatest Spanish Old Master.
Claude Lorrain (1600-82)
Classical Italianate landscape artist, inventor of Claudean style.
Le Nain Brothers (c.1600-77)
French portraitists, genre painters in the tradition of Dutch realism.
Alonso Cano (1601-1667)
Spanish sculptor, painter, architect; "the Spanish Michelangelo".
Castiglione (Giovanni Benedetto, "Il Grechetto") (1609-64)
Italian Baroque artist, invented monotype; noted for animal scenes, etchings.
Mattia Preti (1613-99)
Fresco painter best known for his contribution to Neapolitan Baroque painting.
Salvator Rosa (1615-73)
The anti-classical wild child of the Italian Baroque.
Bartolome Esteban Murillo (1618-1682)
Spanish religious painter; also noted for sentimental genre-works.
Charles Le Brun (1619-90)
French painter, Director of French Academy, Gobelins tapestry factory.
Pierre Puget (1622-1694)
One of the greatest French sculptors of the 17th century.
Francois Girardon (1628-1715)
The most classical of sculptors at Versailles.
Luca Giordano (1634-1705)
With Solimena, the leading Neapolitan Fresco painter of the late 17th century.
Antoine Coysevox (1640-1720)
French sculptor, best known for his busts of Louis XIV and Charles Lebrun.
Grinling Gibbons (1648-1721)
England's greatest ever wood carver in limewood.
Balthasar Permoser (1651-1732)
Leading Dresden sculptor, carved in wood, ivory, stone, coloured marble.
Francesco Solimena (1657-1747)
Neapolitan virtuoso fresco painter of the late Baroque.
Hyacinthe Rigaud (1659-1743)
Late Baroque French portrait painter of Louis XIV and other royalty.
Andreas Schluter (1664-1714)
German sculptor/architect associated with Petrine Baroque style.
Guillaume Coustou (1677-1746)
French sculptor best known for Horse Restrained by a Groom.

Dutch Realist Painters
An exception to the Counter-Reformation Baroque were the Dutch Realists, who created exquisite oil paintings of portraiture, still life and genre scenes, for their new Protestant middle-class patrons.

For biographies of important painters in 17th-century Protestant Holland, see: Dutch Realist Artists.

Rococo Artists
Visual artists who exemplified the rococo style sought to infuse scenes with light-hearted humour and romance, as a reaction to the over-serious Baroque.

Jean-Antoine Watteau (1684-1721)
Noted for his "fetes galants".
Giambattista Tiepolo (1696-1770)
Greatest rococo fresco painter. Best known for his Wurzburg Palace frescos.
Canaletto (1697-1768)
Celebrated topographical/architectural landscape painter of Venice.
Jean Chardin (1699-1779)
One of the greatest 18th century still life artists.
Francois Boucher (1703-1770)
Noted for his "mythologie galante" paintings and porcelain/tapestry designs.
Francesco Guardi (1712–1793)
Venetian view-painter, noted for his Venice cityscapes.
Etienne Maurice Falconet (1716-1791)
The most Rococo of all 18th century French sculptors.
Bernardo Bellotto (1720–1780)
Noted for his architectural cityscapes of Venice, Dresden and Warsaw.
Jean-Honore Fragonard (1732-1806)
Best-known for The Swing and his "figure de fantaisie" portraits.
Angelica Kauffmann (1741-1807)
Swiss Rococo/Neoclassical portrait artist, history painter.
Elisabeth Vigee-Lebrun (1755-1842)
Rococo artist, court portrait painter to Queen Marie-Antoinette.

18th Century and Neoclassical Artists
Visual artists who worked in the neoclassical style were harking back to classical values of heroicism, stoicism and gravitas.

Louis-Francois Roubiliac (1695-1762)
Known for his seated marble statue of Handel.
Jean-Baptiste Pigalle (1714-1785)
Best known for his nude sculpture of Voltaire.
Anton Raphael Mengs (1728-79)
German portrait painter, religious artist, close friend of Johann Winckelmann.
Franz Xaver Messerschmidt (1736-1783)
Austrian artist famous for his expressionist caricature busts.
Joseph Nollekens (1737-1823)
Greatest British sculptor of the late 18th century.
Jean Antoine Houdon (1741-1828)
Neoclassical French sculptor best known for his portraits.
Jacques-Louis David (1748-1825)
Passionate, classical but political French painter.
John Flaxman (1755-1826)
Outstanding English Neoclassical sculptor.
Antonio Canova (1757-1822)
Most successful Italian neoclassical sculptor; hugely influential.
Bertel Thorvaldsen (1770-1884)
The greatest neoclassical sculptor after Canova.
Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres (1780–1867)
The leading exponent of "academic painting."

Romantic Artists
Visual artists of a romantic inclination placed their trust in human nature, rather than reason and logic. Romanticism went hand in hand with symbolism, and back-to-nature philosophies.

Francisco Goya (1746-1828)
Spanish court painter, pioneer of modern art.
Antoine-Jean Gros (1771-1835)
French painter of Napoleon's campaigns; influenced Gericault and Delacroix.
Caspar David Friedrich (1774-1840)
Highly influential German romantic landscape painter.
Theodore Gericault (1791-1824)
French painter, best known for his masterpiece The Raft of the Medusa.
Paul (Hippolyte) Delaroche (1797-1856)
Famous romantic history painter, noted for engravings of historical scenes.
Eugene Delacroix (1798-1863)
Leader of French Romanticism, known also for his mural painting.
Ernest Meissonier (1815-91)
Famous for his miniaturist history painting and genre works.

American School of Artists (c.1700-1900)
From chroniclers of Colonial America, to 19th-century society portraitists, the American school is really an umbrella term which embraces Romantic landscape artists, Realist genre painters and some of the greatest exponents of portraiture.

John Singleton Copley (1738-1815)
Colonial American portrait artist and history painter.
Benjamin West (1738-1820)
History painter, portraitist, active mainly in England.
Gilbert Stewart (1755-1828)
Greatest 18th century portrait painter noted for portraits of US Presidents.
Thomas Cole (1801-48)
Founder of Hudson River school of American landscape painting.
George Caleb Bingham (1811-1879)
Missouri frontier genre-painter, landscape artist (Luminism school), portraitist.
Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze (1816-68)
German-American history painter noted for Washington Crossing the Delaware.
George Inness (1825-1894)
Greatest 19th century landscape painter, who defined Tonalism.
Frederic Edwin Church (1826-1900)
Pupil of Cole, and America's greatest late-19th century landscape painter.
Albert Bierstadt (1830-1902)
Landscape painter, Hudson River School, Luminist, Rocky Mountain School.
James Abbott McNeill Whistler (1834-1903)
Famous for his "Nocturnes" and etchings; member of the Aesthetic Movement.
Winslow Homer (1836-1910)
American painter, Civil War paintings, noted for naturalistic seascapes.
Thomas Eakins (1844-1916)
American figurative realist, portraitist. Best known for The Gross Clinic.
John Singer Sargent (1856-1925)
Outstanding society portrait artist in the grand manner.
Frederic Remington (1861-1909)
Painter of American Wild West; famous for Harper's Weekly illustrations.
Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959)
Leader of Prairie School; designed Unity Temple and Guggenheim Museum, NY.

English School of Painters (1700-1900)
The English schools of figurative and landscape painting embraced a wide variety of visual artists, including painters and sculptors from Ireland. Thanks to English watercolourists like Girtin and Turner, watercolour painting matured into a fully fledged genre of landscape art.

William Hogarth (1697-1764)
English painter, engraver, known for A Rake's Progress, Marriage a la Mode.
Richard Wilson (1714-82)
Founder of modern English landscape art.
Joshua Reynolds (1723-92)
Eminent portrait artist, President of London Royal Academy.
George Stubbs (1724-1806)
England's greatest equestrian painter and animalier.
Thomas Gainsborough (1727-88)
Famous and successful portrait and landscape artist.
Joseph Wright of Derby (1734-1797)
Portraitist, chiaroscuro master, industrial scenes and interiors.
Henry Fuseli (1741-1825)
Romantic expressionist, symbolist painter.
Henry Raeburn (1756-1823)
Scottish portraitist, noted for The Skating Minister.
William Blake (1757-1827)
Unique symbolist painter, printmaker and book illustrator.
John Crome (1768-1821)
Norfolk landscape painter, founder of Norwich School of Painting.
Thomas Lawrence (1769–1830)
Rococo-style Regency portraitist, President of London Royal Academy of Arts.
Thomas Girtin (1775-1802)
England's earliest top watercolourist.
JMW Turner (1775-1851)
The finest English watercolourist and landscape painter.
John Constable (1776-1837)
England's greatest naturalist landscape painter. Noted for The Hay Wain.
John Sell Cotman (1782-1842)
Watercolourist, landscape painter, leading member of Norwich School.
David Wilkie (1785-1841)
Scottish genre painter and portraitist.
John Martin (1789-1854)
Romantic history painter, mezzotint engraver.
Richard Parkes Bonington (1802-28)
English plein-air landscape painter, second only to Turner and Constable..
Alfred Stevens (1817-75)
Leading Victorian painter and sculptor.
George Frederick Watts (1817-1904)
Influential English portraitist and sculptor.
William Powell Frith (1819-1909)
Popular English genre painter, noted for works like Derby Day.
Lord Frederic Leighton (1830-1896)
Neoclassical, Late Victorian painter, portraitist, illustrator and sculptor.
William Morris (1834-96)
Decorative artist, designer; leader of Arts & Crafts Movement.
Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1836-1912)
Victorian subject-painter, virtuoso classical realist.

• For our main index, see: Visual Arts Encyclopedia.

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