# Who is the best painter in history?

> Dive into an artistic battlefield where timeless masters clash with groundbreaking innovators, and iconic names compete against hidden gems. Discover who will emerge victorious in this vibrant showdown of creativity and vision—who will capture your vote?

*By YouPickBest · Published December 12, 2025 · https://youpick.best/ranking/who-is-the-best-painter-in-history*

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## Current results (169 votes)

1. **Edvard Munch**
   Expressionist known for The Scream and emotional themes
2. **Kazimir Malevich**
   Founder of Suprematism, known for Black Square
3. **El Greco**
   Mannerist painter known for elongated figures and dramatic colors
4. **Peter Paul Rubens**
   Baroque painter known for dynamic compositions and sensuality
5. **Titian**
   Renaissance painter known for rich color and portraiture
6. **Sandro Botticelli**
   Renaissance artist known for The Birth of Venus
7. **Hieronymus Bosch**
   Flemish painter known for fantastical and surreal imagery
8. **Jan van Eyck**
   Early Netherlandish painter known for detailed oil paintings
9. **Pieter Bruegel the Elder**
   Flemish painter known for landscapes and peasant scenes
10. **Hans Holbein the Younger**
   Portrait painter known for his works in Tudor England
11. **J.M.W. Turner**
   Romantic painter known for his expressive landscapes and seascapes
12. **Édouard Manet**
   Key figure in the transition to Impressionism, known for Olympia
13. **Pierre-Auguste Renoir**
   Impressionist painter known for vibrant light and color
14. **Edgar Degas**
   Impressionist known for his depictions of ballet dancers
15. **Camille Pissarro**
   Impressionist and Neo-Impressionist known for rural and urban scenes
16. **Alfred Sisley**
   Impressionist landscape painter known for his depictions of nature
17. **Paul Gauguin**
   Post-Impressionist known for his bold colors and Tahitian themes
18. **Claude Monet**
   Founder of Impressionism, famous for Water Lilies series
19. **Raphael**
   Renowned for his Madonnas and the School of Athens
20. **Francisco Goya**
   Romantic painter known for dark themes and The Third of May
21. **Rembrandt**
   Dutch painter known for his portraits and use of light
22. **Albrecht Dürer**
   Renaissance artist known for detailed engravings and paintings
23. **Vincent van Gogh**
   Post-Impressionist known for Starry Night and expressive color
24. **Paul Cézanne**
   Post-Impressionist known for his still lifes and landscapes
25. **Gustav Klimt**
   Symbolist painter known for The Kiss and decorative style
26. **Max Ernst**
   Surrealist known for innovative techniques and dreamlike imagery
27. **Francis Bacon**
   Known for raw, emotional paintings and existential themes
28. **Lucian Freud**
   Renowned for his intense, psychological portraits
29. **Barnett Newman**
   Abstract artist known for his color field paintings
30. **Jean-Michel Basquiat**
   Neo-expressionist known for his graffiti-influenced artworks
31. **Clyfford Still**
   Pioneer of Abstract Expressionism known for large canvases
32. **Banksy**
   Anonymous street artist known for provocative and satirical works
33. **Franz Kline**
   Known for bold black and white abstract works
34. **Keith Haring**
   Known for his graffiti-inspired art and social activism
35. **Robert Rauschenberg**
   Known for combining painting and sculpture in innovative ways
36. **Frida Kahlo**
   Mexican painter known for her self-portraits and identity themes
37. **Jasper Johns**
   Known for his use of flags and numbers in art
38. **Andy Warhol**
   Leading figure in Pop Art, known for Campbell's Soup Cans
39. **Roy Lichtenstein**
   Pop artist known for comic strip-style paintings
40. **David Hockney**
   Contemporary artist known for his vibrant landscapes and portraits
41. **Gerhard Richter**
   Known for his abstract works and photorealistic paintings
42. **Anselm Kiefer**
   Contemporary artist known for his textured, historical themes
43. **Egon Schiele**
   Austrian painter known for his raw, expressive figures
44. **Piet Mondrian**
   Abstract artist known for geometric compositions and primary colors
45. **Henri Matisse**
   Fauvist known for vibrant colors and cut-out artworks
46. **Georges Braque**
   Co-founder of Cubism, known for his still lifes
47. **Joan Miró**
   Surrealist known for colorful, abstract forms and playful motifs
48. **Marc Chagall**
   Known for dreamlike scenes and vibrant colors in his works
49. **Amedeo Modigliani**
   Known for portraits with elongated forms and emotional depth
50. **Willem de Kooning**
   Abstract Expressionist known for his dynamic, gestural style
51. **Salvador Dalí**
   Surrealist known for dreamlike imagery and The Persistence of Memory
52. **Giorgio de Chirico**
   Pioneer of metaphysical painting, known for eerie landscapes
53. **Leonardo da Vinci**
   Renaissance master known for the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper
54. **Michelangelo**
   Sculptor and painter, famous for the Sistine Chapel ceiling
55. **Pablo Picasso**
   Co-founder of Cubism, known for Guernica and Les Demoiselles d'Avignon
56. **Caravaggio**
   Baroque artist known for dramatic lighting and realism
57. **Diego Velázquez**
   Spanish painter known for Las Meninas and royal portraits
58. **Wassily Kandinsky**
   Pioneer of abstract art known for colorful compositions
59. **Mark Rothko**
   Known for large color field paintings and emotional depth
60. **Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec**
   Known for his depictions of Parisian nightlife and cabarets
61. **Johannes Vermeer**
   Dutch painter known for Girl with a Pearl Earring.
62. **John Constable**
   English painter known for his landscape paintings of rural life.
63. **René Magritte**
   Surrealist known for thought-provoking and whimsical imagery
64. **Jackson Pollock**
   Abstract Expressionist known for his drip painting technique

Tags: art