Renaissance Painters

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 1 
Leonardo da Vinci
(Italian Polymath & Artist Known for His Paintings: ‘Mona Lisa’, ‘The Last Supper’ and ‘Virgin of the Rocks’)
Leonardo da Vinci
33
Birthdate: April 15, 1452
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Anchiano, Italy
Died: May 2, 1519

Widely regarded as one of the greatest painters ever, Leonardo da Vinci was an extremely talented polymath. While his work The Mona Lisa became the most famous portrait, his drawing The Vitruvian Man became a cultural icon. A man well ahead of his time, Leonardo is also known for his notes on science and invention.

 2 
Michelangelo
(Regarded as the Most Accomplished Artist of His Era (High Renaissance))
Michelangelo
19
Birthdate: March 6, 1475
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Caprese Michelangelo, Italy
Died: February 18, 1564

Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet Michelangelo was a prominent figure of the High Renaissance. He is credited to have influenced the Western art in unprecedented ways. He is widely regarded as the greatest artist of his age and one of the greatest artists of all time. He was equally revered and respected as an architect.

 3 
Sandro Botticelli
(One of the Greatest Painters of the Florentine Renaissance)
Sandro Botticelli
14
Birthdate: 1445 AD
Birthplace: Florence, Italy
Died: May 17, 1510
Italian painter Sandro Botticelli was one of the most influential figures of the Early Renaissance. His works later influenced the Pre-Raphaelites. He is best known for his iconic works Primavera and The Birth of Venus and his versions of the Madonna and Child. He also painted the Sistine Chapel.
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 4 
Albrecht Durer
(German High Renaissance Painter Best Known for His Work ‘Meisterstiche’)
Albrecht Durer
10
Birthdate: May 21, 1471
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Nuremberg, Germany
Died: April 6, 1528

Albrecht Durer was a German painter, theorist, and printmaker of the German Renaissance. During his 20s, Durer established his reputation as a popular printmaker across Europe, thanks to his high-quality woodcut prints. His popularity enabled him to work with major Italian artists like Leonardo da Vinci, Giovanni Bellini, and Raphael. Albrecht Durer also influenced generations of artists, especially in printmaking.

 5 
Titian
(One of the Greatest Venetian Artists of the 16th-Century)
Titian
14
Birthdate: 1488 AD
Birthplace: Pieve di Cadore, Italy
Died: August 27, 1576
Trained by Giovanni Bellini as a boy, Titian also joined hands with Giorgione to work on a number of frescoes. The Renaissance artist is regarded as one of the key figures of the Venetian school and is remembered for his masterpieces such as the three miracles of Anthony of Padua.
 6 
El Greco
(Greek Painter, Sculptor and Architect of the Spanish Renaissance)
El Greco
12
Birthdate: October 1, 1541
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Heraklion, Greece
Died: April 7, 1614
Artist Doménikos Theotokópoulos never let anyone forget his Greek heritage and almost always signed his art in Greek letters. Popularly known as El Greco, he was a significant figure of the Spanish Renaissance. His best-known works remain The Burial of the Count of Orgaz and The Assumption of the Virgin.
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Pieter Bruegel the Elder
10
Birthdate: 1525 AD
Birthplace: Breda or nearby, Duchy of Brabant, Habsburg Netherlands (modern-day Netherlands)
Died: September 9, 1569
Sixteenth-century Flemish painter Pieter Bruegel the Elder is remembered for his depiction of peasants through his paintings. His origins remain elusive, though most of his paintings carried his signature, which made it easy for researchers to trace the evolution of his art. Both his sons, too, became painters.
 8 
Jan van Eyck
(Painter)
Jan van Eyck
10
Birthdate: 1390 AD
Birthplace: Maaseik, Belgium
Died: July 9, 1441

Jan van Eyck was a painter best remembered for his Early Northern Renaissance art. He was one of the early innovators of Early Netherlandish painting and one of the most significant painters of his generation. A highly influential painter, Jan van Eyck's style and techniques were adopted by the Early Netherlandish painters.

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 9 
Giorgio Vasari
(Artist and Author Best Known for His Biographies of Italian Artists)
Giorgio Vasari
10
Birthdate: July 30, 1511
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Arezzo, Italy
Died: June 27, 1574

Giorgio Vasari was an Italian architect, painter, writer, engineer, and historian. He is best remembered for his work The Lives, a series of artist biographies, which is regarded as the art-historical writing's ideological foundation. Vasari is also credited with the formulation of the term Renaissance as it was first suggested by Jules Michelet based on Giorgio Vasari's text.

 10 
Hans Holbein the Younger
(One of the Greatest Portraitists of the 16th Century)
Hans Holbein the Younger
12
Birthdate: 1497 AD
Birthplace: Augsburg, Germany
Died: 1543 AD

Hans Holbein the Younger was a German printmaker and painter. Regarded as one of the 16th century's greatest portraitists, Holbein was also renowned for producing Reformation propaganda, satire, and religious art. Many of his portraits are now considered cultural icons. Holbein is also credited with contributing immensely to the evolution of book design.

 11 
Masaccio
(One of the Best Painters of His Generation)
Masaccio
9
Birthdate: December 21, 1401
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: San Giovanni Valdarno, Italy
Died: 1428 AD

Masaccio was a Florentine artist best remembered for his skills at recreating lifelike figures and imitating nature. Widely regarded as the best painter of his generation, Masaccio employed foreshortenings and nudes in his paintings, which were rarely seen at that time. He is also considered the first great Italian artist of the Quattrocento period.

 12 
Leon Battista Alberti
(Architect and Principal Initiator of Renaissance Art Theory)
Leon Battista Alberti
12
Birthdate: February 14, 1404
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Genoa, Italy
Died: April 25, 1472
Born into an affluent banker family of Florence, Leon Battista Alberti was rumored to be an illegitimate son of his father and a Bolognese widow. The ideal Renaissance man, he later applied mathematical precision to his paintings and architectural work. His written work on art remains invaluable.
 13 
Fra Angelico
(Italian Painter Who is Known for a Series of Frescoes He Made for His Own Friary in Florence)
Fra Angelico
16
Birthdate: 1395 AD
Birthplace: Vicchio, Italy
Died: February 18, 1455

Fra Angelico was an Italian painter best remembered for a series of frescoes which he made for his own friary in Florence. Described by Giorgio Vasari as having a rare and perfect talent, Fra Angelico was proclaimed blessed by Pope John Paul II in 1982 in recognition of the saintliness of his life. 

 14 
Lucas Cranach the Elder
(German Renaissance Painter and Printmaker)
Lucas Cranach the Elder
12
Birthdate: 1472 AD
Birthplace: Kronach, Germany
Died: October 16, 1553

German painter Lucas Cranach the Elder enriched the German Renaissance with his paintings and wood engravings. A court painter of the Electors of Saxony, he specialized in painting both nudes and ladies in fine clothing, and mostly depicted biblical and mythological themes. He also inspired the Danube school of Austria.

 15 
Giovanni Bellini
(Italian Renaissance Painter)
Giovanni Bellini
11
Birthdate: 1430 AD
Birthplace: Venice, Italy
Died: 1516 AD

Giovanni Bellini was an Italian painter who hailed from the famous Bellini family of painters. Giovanni is credited with revolutionizing Venetian painting, shifting it towards a more coloristic and sensuous style. Best remembered for creating paintings with detailed shadings and rich tints, Giovanni's work had a strong influence on the Venetian painting school.

 16 
Andrea del Verrocchio
(Italian Painter, Sculptor and Goldsmith Known for His Equestrian Statue of Bartolomeo Colleoni)
Andrea del Verrocchio
9
Birthdate: 1435 AD
Birthplace: Florence, Italy
Died: October 10, 1488

Andrea del Verrocchio was an Italian sculptor, painter, and goldsmith. He was a master of an important workshop in Florence and his pupils included famous men like Leonardo da Vinci, Lorenzo di Credi, and Pietro Perugino. As a sculptor, he is best known for his masterpiece, the Equestrian statue of Bartolomeo Colleoni in Venice. 

 17 
Andrea Mantegna
(Italian Renaissance Painter Known for His Works: 'St. Sebastian', 'Camera degli Sposi' and 'The Agony in the Garden')
Andrea Mantegna
7
Birthdate: 1431 AD
Birthplace: Isola Mantegna, Italy
Died: September 13, 1506

Italian Renaissance painter Andrea Mantegna is remembered for his iconic frescoes and paintings such as St. Sebastian, Painted Room, and The Agony in the Garden. Known as the first fully Renaissance artist from Northern Italy, he began his artistic journey as an apprentice of Francesco Squarcione.

 18 
Paolo Veronese
(Italian Painter Who Became Famous for His Extremely Large Paintings of Mythology and Religion)
Paolo Veronese
9
Birthdate: 1528 AD
Birthplace: Verona, Italy
Died: April 19, 1588

Paolo Veronese was an Italian painter best remembered for his extremely large history paintings of mythology and religion, such as The Feast in the House of Levi and The Wedding at Cana. The leading Venetian painter of ceilings during his time, Paolo Veronese has always been appreciated for the splendor of his brushwork and the chromatic brilliance of his palette.

 19 
Sofonisba Anguissola
(Renaissance painter)
Sofonisba Anguissola
7
Birthdate: 1532 AD
Birthplace: Cremona, Italy
Died: November 16, 1625
 20 
Domenico Ghirlandaio
(Painter)
Domenico Ghirlandaio
5
Birthdate: June 2, 1448
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Florence, Italy
Died: January 11, 1494
 21 
Paolo Uccello
(Florentine Painter and Mathematician Known for His Pioneering Work on Visual Perspective in Art)
Paolo Uccello
7
Birthdate: 1397 AD
Birthplace: Pratovecchio, Italy
Died: December 10, 1475

Paolo Uccello was a 15th-century Florentine painter and mathematician. He worked in the Late Gothic tradition and had a style best described as idiosyncratic. As a young man, he was apprenticed to the famous sculptor Lorenzo Ghiberti, with whom he collaborated on his later works. His paintings representing the battle of San Romano are considered his best. 

 22 
Pontormo
(Italian Mannerist Painter and Portraitist)
Pontormo
5
Birthdate: May 24, 1494
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Empoli, Italy
Died: January 2, 1557

Pontormo was an Italian Mannerist painter and portraitist from the Florentine School. His style was remarkably different from what characterized the art of the Florentine Renaissance. Orphaned young, he struggled for several years before he was able to establish his painting career. He painted many altarpiece canvases and frescoes, of which only a few survive today. 

 23 
Matthias Grünewald
(German Renaissance Painter)
Matthias Grünewald
7
Birthdate: 1470 AD
Birthplace: Würzburg, Germany
Died: August 31, 1528

German Renaissance painter Matthias Grünewald, also known as Master Mathis, was the court painter of the elector of Mainz. His drawings were mostly made in black chalk. Of his religious works, the Isenheim Altarpiece still survives, though most of his works were destroyed in the Thirty Years' War.

 24 
Francesco Melzi
(Painter)
Francesco Melzi
7
Birthdate: 1491 AD
Birthplace: Italy
Died: 1570 AD
 25 
Jean Fouquet
(French Painter, Miniaturist, Master of Panel Painting and Manuscript Illumination)
Jean Fouquet
9
Birthdate: 1420 AD
Birthplace: Tours, France
Died: 1481 AD

Jean Fouquet was a 15th-century French painter and miniaturist. He was highly skilled in panel painting and manuscript illumination and is considered one of the most important painters of his era. The first French artist to travel to Italy, he had a first-hand experience of the early Italian Renaissance. French king Charles VII was among his many patrons.

 26 
Vittore Carpaccio
(Former painter best known for a cycle of nine paintings, The Legend of Saint Ursula)
Vittore Carpaccio
7
Birthdate: 1465 AD
Birthplace: Venice, Italy
Died: 1525 AD
 27 
Giorgione
(Painter)
Giorgione
7
Birthdate: 1477 AD
Birthplace: Castelfranco Veneto, Italy
Died: October 25, 1510
 28 
Luca Signorelli
(Italian Renaissance painter who was noted in particular for his ability as a draftsman and his use of foreshortening)
Luca Signorelli
7
Birthdate: 1441 AD
Birthplace: Cortona, Italy
Died: October 16, 1523
 29 
Sebastiano del Piombo
(Painter)
Sebastiano del Piombo
7
Birthdate: 1485 AD
Birthplace: Venice, Italy
Died: June 21, 1547
 30 
Gentile Bellini
(Italian Painter and One of the Founders of the Orientalist Tradition in Western Painting)
Gentile Bellini
9
Birthdate: 1429 AD
Birthplace: Venice, Italy
Died: February 23, 1507

Gentile Bellini was an Italian painter affiliated with the school of Venice. He hailed from Venice's leading family of painters and was the official portrait artist for the Doges of Venice. He worked for the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II in Constantinople for several months. He was a co-founder of the Orientalist tradition in Western painting.  

 31 
Andrea del Sarto
(Painter)
Andrea del Sarto
7
Birthdate: July 16, 1486
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Florence, Italy
Died: September 29, 1530
 32 
Carlo Crivelli
(Painter)
Carlo Crivelli
9
Birthdate: 1430 AD
Birthplace: Venice, Italy
Died: 1495 AD
 33 
Giulio Romano
(Architect)
Giulio Romano
9
Birthdate: 1499 AD
Birthplace: Rome, Italy
Died: November 1, 1546
 34 
Filippino Lippi
(Former painter working in Florence, Italy during the later years of the Early Renaissance and first few years of the High Renaissance)
Filippino Lippi
9
Birthdate: April 15, 1457
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Prato, Italy
Died: April 18, 1504
 35 
Antonello da Messina
(Painter)
Antonello da Messina
9
Birthdate: 1430 AD
Birthplace: Messina, Italy
Died: February 19, 1479
 36 
Hans Baldung
(Artist)
Hans Baldung
9
Birthdate: 1480 AD
Birthplace: Schwäbisch Gmünd, Germany
Died: August 31, 1545
 37 
François Clouet
(Painter)
François Clouet
9
Birthdate: 1515 AD
Birthplace: Tours, France
Died: September 22, 1572
 38 
Piero di Cosimo
(Painter)
Piero di Cosimo
7
Birthdate: January 2, 1462
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Florence, Italy
Died: April 12, 1522
 39 
Bernardino Luini
(Italian painter)
Bernardino Luini
9
Birthdate: 1482 AD
Birthplace: Lake Maggiore
Died: May 31, 1532
 40 
Benozzo Gozzoli
(Painter)
Benozzo Gozzoli
9
Birthdate: 1420 AD
Birthplace: Scandicci, Italy
Died: October 4, 1497
 41 
Lorenzo Lotto
(Painter)
Lorenzo Lotto
11
Birthdate: 1480 AD
Birthplace: Venice, Italy
Died: 1557 AD
 42 
Pisanello
(Painter)
Pisanello
11
Birthdate: 1395 AD
Birthplace: Pisa, Italy
Died: 1455 AD
 43 
Albrecht Altdorfer
(German Painter, Engraver, Architect and One of the Founders of Landscape Painting)
Albrecht Altdorfer
11
Birthdate: 1480 AD
Birthplace: Regensburg, Germany
Died: February 12, 1538

Albrecht Altdorfer was a German painter, engraver, and architect active during the Renaissance. He predominantly worked in Regensburg, Bavaria. He is considered one of the main representatives of the Danube School of painters. He was one of the first artists to focus on landscape as an independent subject. As an architect, he oversaw the construction of several commercial structures. 

 44 
Lucas Cranach the Younger
(Painter)
Lucas Cranach the Younger
9
Birthdate: October 4, 1515
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Wittenberg, Germany
Died: January 25, 1586
 45 
Antonis Mor
(Netherlandish painter)
Antonis Mor
9
Birthdate: 1517 AD
Birthplace: Utrecht, Netherlands
Died: 1577 AD
 46 
Dieric Bouts
(Early Netherlandish painter who was among the first northern painters to demonstrate the use of a single vanishing point)
Dieric Bouts
8
Birthdate: 1415 AD
Birthplace: Haarlem, Netherlands
Died: 1475 AD
 47 
Giovanni Battista Moroni
(Italian painter)
Giovanni Battista Moroni
8
Birthdate: 1520 AD
Birthplace: Albino, Italy
Died: February 5, 1579
 48 
Dosso Dossi
(Artist)
Dosso Dossi
8
Birthdate: 1489 AD
Birthplace: San Giovanni del Dosso, Italy
Died: 1542 AD
 49 
Francesco del Cossa
(Painter)
Francesco del Cossa
11
Birthdate: 1430 AD
Birthplace: Ferrara, Italy
Died: 1477 AD
 50 
Federico Barocci
(Painter)
Federico Barocci
8
Birthdate: 1535 AD
Birthplace: Urbino, Italy
Died: September 30, 1612