The Most Influential Painters of All Time

In the field of painting, some of the most influential painters of all time have been artists from different periods and countries. Below you will find a few of these iconic artists. 

Pablo Picasso

Picasso is considered one of the most influential painters of all time, and his work has had a huge impact on the art world. His early work emphasized geometric forms, which he reworked using various means. As a result, color, form, and texture became increasingly significant in his work.

Picasso also experimented with various forms, incorporating non-painted things, as well as a variety of superfluous materials. This phase of Picasso's work changed the course of art and influenced the way painters depicted their subjects.

Picasso's Early History

Picasso moved to Barcelona when he was fourteen years old, and began taking art classes at the local art academy.

At the time, the school typically accepted students several years older, but Picasso was given an exception for his age. However, he was dissatisfied with the school's strict formalities and often skipped classes to sketch the city. He remained in Barcelona until he was sixteen, then he moved to Madrid.

There, he met fellow artists, who encouraged him to break away from classical subjects and embrace new styles. In 1904, Picasso's palette began to brighten. Known as his "Rose Period," this era featured more colorful images and subjects.

Picasso began incorporating harlequins and circus performers into his paintings. He also began incorporating the use of pink and orange in his work. This period also saw Picasso's relationship with Fernande Olivier deepen. Picasso's relationship with Olivier, who became his major patron, also led to more exposure to French painting.

Auguste Renoir

The most famous paintings by Auguste Renoir are "Young Boy With a Cat" and "Les Baigneuses", which are both in the Musee d'Orsay. Renoir's style and technique was influenced by the art of earlier French masters.

He also learned from other French painters, including Antoine Watteau and Jean Honoré Fragonard. Born in Limoges, Renoir was apprenticed to a porcelain painter as a teenager. He learned how to copy the designs and paint them on porcelain plates, which he did as a way to support himself.

He was later influenced by the art of Monet and Sisley, whom he met in 1869. In the 1880s, he began painting in lighter colors and studied the works of Raphael, Velazquez, and Rubens.

The work of Renoir changed dramatically during the second half of his life. His early works were characterized by a loose, impressionistic quality, but later he began to draw in a more classical style, focusing more on details and outlines. His famous luncheon of the Boating Party (1883) demonstrates the transition between Impressionism and Classical painting.

Giotto di Bondone

Giotto di Bondone was one of the most important painters of the Early Renaissance in Italy. His work revived the classical naturalism of earlier art forms. The subject matter he chose to portray was drawn from life, and his figures were full of emotion. However, his naturalism was not realism as we know it today.

Giotto instead preferred to paint his subjects on more natural backgrounds, such as landscapes and architectural buildings. Giotto was also an architect and sculptor. In 1334, he was appointed chief architect of the workshop of the Florence cathedral.

He died in Florence, Italy, on January 8, 1337. His works are widely recognized and continue to influence artists today. His works are based on biblical events and themes.

Many of his works depict the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Christ. His compositions are often simple, but they convey the essence of the drama. The rounded forms of his figures give them an unmistakable weight. Although he is best known for his church fresco cycles, he also created secular works in Naples.

The paintings that survive are not as well preserved as the ones he painted for the church. However, his monumental works have been acclaimed as masterpieces of Renaissance art, and he can even be considered the first Renaissance artist.

Mary Cassatt

Mary Cassatt is one of America's most prominent ex-pat painters of the late nineteenth century. She has been the subject of major female artist studies, and her work has been critically analyzed by renowned feminist art historians. The artist's work has also been widely collected by American collectors, who often bought the paintings of their European counterparts and donated them to museums.

Mary Cassatt began studying art in Philadelphia when she was just fifteen. She continued her studies even during the American Civil War, and she studied under realist painter Thomas Eakins.

The academy's male students did not approve of her artistic talent, and she was frustrated by their restrictions. Cassatt's passion for painting eventually led her to pursue her studies abroad.

After graduating from the Academy, she traveled to Italy, Spain, and Holland, and became familiar with the work of Peter Paul Rubens. Cassatt moved to Paris in 1866. While there, she took private art lessons from Jean-Leon Gerome. She also studied paintings in museums such as the Louvre. Cassatt continued to paint - but only with limited success.

Rembrandt van Rijn

Rembrandt van Rijn was born in 1606 in Leiden, the Netherlands. He attended a local elementary school for seven years and later attended the Latin School, where he studied classics and biblical studies.

It's unclear if he ever completed his studies, but he did eventually enroll in a painting training school. The artist is known for capturing the emotion and personality of his subjects on canvas. His paintings have an evocative quality, making them feel like real people.

As he matured and became more comfortable with his techniques, Rembrandt expanded his repertoire of subject matter and used light and shadow to create dynamic scenes. One of Rembrandt's most famous paintings is The Night Watch, which depicts a militia company.

The work was painted in the 1640s and was originally believed to depict a night scene. However, during the mid-18th century, it was discovered that Rembrandt had painted the scene during the daytime. This discovery prompted the painting to be cleaned and transferred to the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. A painting by Rembrandt that depicts the wedding of a Jewish couple is another example of an iconic work.

This painting of a Jewish couple, known as the Jewish Bride, was painted during the artist's last years of life. This painting is famous for the fact that Rembrandt used his first wife, Saskia van Uylenburgh, as a model.

However, he later replaced Saskia's face with that of his mistress Geertje Dircx. In 1985, this painting suffered a serious acid attack at the Hermitage Museum, resulting in two cuts in the painting's surface. However, the painting was fully restored in 1997.

Wassily Kandinsky

Born in Russia, Wassily Kandinsky studied law at the University of Moscow. He married his cousin, Anya Shemyakina, in 1893 and continued to teach until he was appointed Professor of Derpt University, Tartu. In 1939, he left teaching to create paintings full-time.

Wassily Kandinsky began painting in earnest when he was thirty years old. His works were abstract and incorporated his artistic concepts. These works are still admired and appreciated by art lovers today.

His works were often controversial among his contemporaries, but he remained a leading figure in the early 20th-century abstract art movement. The confluence of spirituality and music is evident in his work. He enjoyed the music of his day, and his paintings often incorporate a musical motif. He also incorporated influences from his predecessors. His goal was to explore the concept of spirituality in art.

His resulting abstract paintings depict spiritual abstraction through the unity of sensations. Wassily Kandinsky's work has many symbolic meanings. His "Two Tall Ships at Sea" portrays a battle between two tall ships.

While its connection to World War I is unclear, the painting has a strong spiritual resonance. It contains contrasting colors, suggesting that there is a spiritual conflict in the cosmos.