since the time of Homo erectus man has been expressing himself through art whether on the walls of a cave the tombs of great kings a canvas or the walls of a building the human desire to put ink to paper has left the world with some of the most beautiful masterpieces welcome to watchmojo.com and today we're counting down our picks for the top ten painters of all time for this list we're only focusing on artists whose painting contributions have made them stand out in history number 10 PF Auguste Renoir one of the most famous modern French
painters PA Auguste Renoir was one of the earliest members of the impressionist movement which was all about capturing Modern Life by depicting everyday events his talents for portraiture soon secured him a range of wealthy patrons and he was free to take his art in other directions by the late 1890s the noir style had become more classical and more reminiscent of the great masters his most famous works include Bao Zhu Moulin de la galette luncheon of the boating party and nude to name a few number 9 Francisco Goya Francisco Goya was a painter at the Spanish
Court in the late 18th and early 19th centuries an oil painter fresco painter sketcher and engraver goriias work chronicles and criticizes the era he lived in his portraits particularly stand out because they didn't necessarily flatter the subjects but seemed rather to bring out their worst or at least their most realistic qualities there is one portrait of King Ferdinand the seventh for example which shows the king looking more like a statue or mannequin than regal more impressive than his paintings though is the fact that he got away with it number eight postseason categorized as a post-impressionists
paul suzanne developed a style all his own which opened the door for so many avant-garde art movements of the 20th century his early work depicts romantic and classical scenes full of dark contrasting colors and expressive brush draw he painted portraits still-life scenes and landscapes the cardplayers has been described as his best figure composition and remains one of his best-known paintings number seven Salvador Dali with a crazy mustache an imagination to match and creativity that far surpassed the norm Salvador Dali is one of the most famous surrealist artists even though he was expelled from the surrealist
movement his painting the persistence of memory which features melting clocks is still one of the most recognized surrealist works to date he takes the viewer into a world that is dark bizarre McCobb seriously cool and persistently memorable number six Claude Monet the most uncompromising of all the Impressionists but Monet was obsessed with painting outdoors he even had a makeshift boats to do that he used to paint on the river for as long as possible the founder of French impressionist painting also loved to study the play of sunlight on things and his paintings are full of
intensive brushstrokes his series of water lily paintings is one of the most popular and most reproduced works of all time number five i'mglad von Klein this Dutch painter was a portraitist extraordinaire his use of light and dark and his ability to get to the very soul of his subjects have made Rembrandt stand out as one of the best portrait painters of his time and possibly of all time after his rich wife died his career took a turn for the worse and by the 1650s he had to sell his house and his collection in addition to
his portraits and self-portraits Rembrandt holds a place in art history and biblically inspired illustrations number four Pablo Picasso co-creator of cubism Pablo Picasso is one of the best-known names in art today turning traditional painting upside down literally Picasso created a completely new style that was unlike anything seen before but Picasso wasn't a one-trick pony he could paint sculpt draw write and etch he produced close to fifty thousand works in his lifetime and in 2010 his nude green leaves and bust paintings sold for a history-making 106 point 5 million dollars number 3 Vincent van Gogh we
all know Vincent van Gogh as the fruit loop who lived his later years in France and hacked off his own ear but before he went totally crazy and presumably shot himself van Gogh produced some truly spectacular works despite the neglect he suffered while alive selling only one painting he became enormous ly successful after death his painting the starry night is one of the most popular images in modern culture and some of his other works have fetched over 100 million dollars at auction number 2 Michelangelo definitely one of the greatest artists to ever live Michelangelo was
a true Triple Threat painter sculptor and architect his mastery of all three fields set him apart and put him in a league all his own his completion of his work on the Sistine Chapel ceiling between 1534 and 1541 is an awe-inspiring feat and the sheer beauty of the fresco has kept tourists and art lovers flocking to Rome for centuries before we unveil our top pick here are a few honorable mentions number one Leonardo da Vinci good ol leo was the true renaissance man painter scientist theorist and draftsman Leonardo mastered oil painting like no other specifically
the technique of spoo motto which involves blurring outlines or hiding them in shadows on permanent display at the Louvre in Paris his Mona Lisa attracts six million visitors each year and is arguably the most famous painting ever his ultra-modern views and pure genius make him our choice for the top painter of all time do you agree with our list who are your favorite painters for more inspiring top 10s published every day be sure to subscribe to watchmojo.com you
