10 Master Painters Who Changed Art History Forever

Throughout history, the world has seen many artists emerge and make their mark in the art world. However, some painters have not only made a strong impact but have also changed the face of art itself. Here are 10 master painters who changed art history forever:

Vincent van Gogh

Vincent van Gogh is a renowned Dutch painter who is one of the most celebrated artists in the world. He significantly impacted the modern art world with his bold brushstrokes and vivid use of color.

Pablo Picasso

Everyone knows the name of the Spanish artist Pablo Picasso, and rightfully so. Picasso played a significant role in shaping the face of modern painting through his development of Cubism.

Leonardo da Vinci

Italian genius Leonardo da Vinci achieved his influential status through his contributions to a broad range of fields, art being one of them. The quintessential Renaissance man’s proficiency with a paintbrush resulted in some of the most famous paintings the world has ever seen, such as the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper.

Claude Monet

Claude Monet was a famous impressionist painter of the 19th century, who was particularly famous for his landscape paintings. Monet utilized optical sensations to capture the perception of atmosphere in his paintings.

Gustav Klimt

Austria’s renowned painter Gustav Klimt was known for his elaborate, decorative art, mostly featuring female figures depicted in brilliantly coloured, surreal landscapes. He taught generations of painters how to incorporate Art Nouveau art into their work.

Dante Gabriel Rossetti

Dante Gabriel Rossetti, a founding member of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, was an accomplished artist in more ways than one. His work formed a bridge between the Romantic painting of the late 18th and early 19th centuries and the Arts and Crafts movement that followed.

Jackson Pollock

American artist Jackson Pollock’s drip-and-splash style made him a global name in modern art. His experimental use of poured and spattered paint rendered traditional, representational art-making obsolete and heralded the emergence of the Abstract Expressionist style.

Caravaggio

The great Italian painter Caravaggio is credited with creating modernism’s art form in the early 17th century. Through his incorporation of intensely pure belief with theatrical manipulation of light and shadow, Caravaggio revolutionized painting and dominated his era and beyond.

Kazimir Malevich

Kazimir Malevich, a Russian painter, pioneered the movement known as Suprematism, which rejected representation in favour of utterly abstract forms. With his collections named as ‘Black Square’ and the ‘White on White’ artwork, Malevich led the way towards non-representational, non-figurative compositions.

Mary Cassatt

A towering figure in the history of art, Mary Cassatt was an expert portraitist best known for her intimate and soulful depictions of mothers and children. The impressionist used strokes of light pastel hues bathed in soft light to create classically elegant masterpieces.

These are just a few of some of the most iconic and revolutionary painters in art history who have made great changes and influenced the course of painting forever.