10 Great Italian Painters And Their Most Famous Works

Italy has seen some of the greatest painters of all time in its rich artistic history, especially when it was center of European art during the Renaissance. Italian painter and architect from Florence, Giotto di Bondone, is considered the first of the numerous great artists who contributed to the Renaissance. The High Renaissance, which marked the apex of the visual arts in the Renaissance, was led by Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and Raphael. Know about 10 of the most renowned Italian painters from Giotto to Caravaggio and have a look at their masterpieces.

#10 Tintoretto

Tintoretto
Tintoretto
Lifespan:1518 – May 31, 1594

Tintoretto, or Jacopo Comin, was one of the three Venetian giants from the Renaissance, along with Titian and Veronese. During the Renaissance Italian artists developed perspective to create an illusion of three-dimensional space. Tintoretto stretched this technique to its limit by using long and vast perspectives. Tintoretto’s style was innovative and dramatic and he had fervor for colossal works. His art is known for its flamboyance, radicalness and modernity.

Masterpiece: The Last Supper (1594)

The Last Supper (1594) by Jacopo Tintoretto
The Last Supper (1594)

Other Famous Works:-

  • St Mark’s Body Brought to Venice (1562-66)
  • Miracle of the Slave (1548)
  • Crucifixion (1565)

#9 Giorgione

Giorgione - Self Portrait
Giorgione
Lifespan:1477–78 – September 17, 1510

Giorgione was Titian’s master and together with his pupil he founded the distinctive Venetian school of Italian Renaissance painting. His brilliant career was cut short due to his death in his early thirties. Giorgione is famous for the elusive poetic quality of his artwork. His untimely death, artistic brilliance, unknown life and uncertainty of the meaning behind his paintings make Giorgione one of the most mysterious and talked about figures in the history of European art.

Masterpiece: The Tempest (1508)

The Tempest (1508) - Giorgione
The Tempest (1508)

Other Famous Works:-

  • The Adoration of the Shepherds (1505)
  • Castelfranco Madonna (1505)
  • Sleeping Venus (1510)

#8 Tommaso Masaccio

Masaccio - Self Portrait
Masaccio
Lifespan:December 21, 1401 – 1428

Considered as the founder of Renaissance art, Masaccio changed the direction of Italian painting. He was the first to fully master depth and perspective in his painting, employing techniques such as vanishing point in art for the first time. He was responsible in moving Italian art away from the International Gothic style to a more realistic, profound and natural style. Though Masaccio died at the age of twenty six, the body of his work left a strong influence on the artists to follow.

Masterpiece: Holy Trinity (1428)

Holy Trinity (1428) - Masaccio
Holy Trinity (1428)

Other Famous Works:-

  • The Tribute Money (1425)
  • Expulsion from the Garden of Eden (1425)
  • Madonna and Child with Angels (1426)

#7 Titian

Titian
Titian
Lifespan:1488/1490 – August 27, 1576

Titian’s works define the main features of 16th century Venetian Art. He was a versatile painter, adept with portraits, landscape backgrounds, and mythological and religious subjects. His painting methods, particularly his emphasis on the touches of the brush and even sometimes of fingertips, exercised profound influence on the future generations of Western art. He is also known for transforming the history of art and of patronage, enabling kings and princes of the Church to commission sexual seductions as readily as crucifixions. Titian was hailed by his contemporaries as “The Sun Amidst Small Stars”. He is today regarded by art critics as one of the greatest painters of all time.

Masterpiece: Venus of Urbino (1538)

Venus of Urbino (1538) - Titian
Venus of Urbino (1538) – Titian

Other Famous Works:-

  • Bacchus and Ariadne (1523)
  • Diana and Actaeon (1559)
  • Assumption of the Virgin (1518)

#6 Michelangelo Buonarroti

Michelangelo
Michelangelo
Lifespan:March 6, 1475 – February 18, 1564

Michelangelo is perhaps the most influential figure in the history of western art whose works in painting, sculpture and architecture have exerted an unparalleled influence on the development of art in the west. However, he defined himself as a ‘sculptor’ and had low view of painting. Still he created two of the most influential works in fresco in the history of Western art: the scenes from Genesis on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican and The Last Judgement on its altar wall. Hence despite his low opinion of painting, these masterpieces guarantee him a place among the best painters of all time.

Masterpiece: The Creation of Adam (1512)

The Creation of Adam (1512) - Michelangelo
The Creation of Adam (1512)

Other Famous Works:-

  • The Last Judgment (1541)
  • The Crucifixion of St. Peter (1550)
  • Doni Tondo (1506)

#5 Giotto di Bondone

Giotto
Giotto
Lifespan:1267 – January 8, 1337

Giotto revolutionized Western art to the point that many critics consider him the first genius of European painting. He was the first artist to break away from Byzantine style and instead drew accurately from life. His paintings are known for being the first to masterfully capture the gestures, faces, sorrows and joys of human beings and for being faithful to nature. His fresco cycle on the Scrovegni Chapel is one of the most important masterpieces of Western art. Some critics believe that no one has ever painted better than Giotto, and only a handful have equaled him.

Masterpiece: The Kiss of Judas (1306)

The Kiss of Judas (1306) - Giotto
The Kiss of Judas (1306)

Other Famous Works:-

  • Ognissanti Madonna (1310)
  • Lamentation (The Mourning of Christ) (1306)
  • Adoration of the Magi (1306)

#4 Sandro Botticelli

Sandro Botticelli
Sandro Botticelli
Lifespan:1445 – May 17, 1510

Although Botticelli rose to become one of the most acclaimed painters in Italy, by the end of his life his reputation started to decline and he was eclipsed by younger artists. Posthumously his reputation continued to suffer till 1890s after which his work was seen to represent the linear grace of Early Renaissance painting. Now considered one of the greatest Italian painters, Botticelli’s work is renowned for fascinating use of color. He painted a wide range of mythological and religious subjects and also a few portraits. Botticelli aimed to capture beauty and virtue through his works. The goddess Venus, who represents these qualities, appears in many of his best known works.

Masterpiece: The Birth of Venus (1486)

The Birth of Venus (1486) - Botticelli
The Birth of Venus (1486) – Sandro Botticelli

Other Famous Works:-

  • Primavera (1482)
  • Adoration of the Magi (1476)
  • The Mystical Nativity (1501)

#3 Raphael

Raphael
Raphael
Lifespan:April 6, 1483 – April 6, 1520

The High Renaissance is a term used to denote the apex of the visual arts in the Italian Renaissance. Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, along with Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, forms the trinity of great masters of the High Renaissance. His art is admired across the world for its clarity of form, ease of composition and visual brilliance. He is famous for his paintings of the Madonna and Christ Child. Raphael was also a master in realistically depicting emotion in great detail. He died on his 37th birthday. His movement toward Mannerism influenced painting styles of future artists till the twentieth century.

Masterpiece: The School of Athens (1509)

The School of Athens (1509) - Raphael
The School of Athens (1509)

Other Famous Works:-

  • Sistine Madonna (1512)
  • Galatea (1514)
  • Madonna of the Goldfinch (1506)

#2 Caravaggio

Caravaggio
Caravaggio
Lifespan:September 29, 1571 – July 18, 1610

Caravaggio is known for his depiction of crucial moments and scenes; often featuring violent struggles, torture and death. His paintings, which combine a realistic observation of the human state, both physical and emotional, with a dramatic use of lighting, had a formative influence on the Baroque school of painting. He is in fact considered the father of Baroque painting. Caravaggio’s style can be seen directly or indirectly in the work of Rubens, Jusepe de Ribera, Bernini and Rembrandt. Moreover, such was his influence, that numerous artists in the succeeding generation who followed him came to be known as “Caravaggisti”.

Masterpiece: The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist (1608)

The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist (1608) - Caravaggio
The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist (1608)

Other Famous Works:-

  • The Calling of St Matthew (1600)
  • Death of the Virgin (1606)
  • David with the Head of Goliath (1610)

#1 Leonardo Da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci
Lifespan:April 15, 1452 – May 2, 1519

Da Vinci was a ‘universal genius’ but for four centuries his fame rested on his laurels as a painter. His detailed knowledge of anatomy, light, botany and geology helped him in creating the masterpieces he is known for. Da Vinci used sudden gradation of tone and is famous for capturing human emotions in expressions and gestures. In the Last Supper da Vinci beautifully captures the expression of each apostle after Jesus said that one of them would betray him; while in Mona Lisa he gives us a smile that is still a subject of conjecture, centuries after the painting was made. Da Vinci was perhaps the greatest in capturing subtle expressions due to which his paintings look more alive than others.

Masterpiece: Mona Lisa (1517)

Mona Lisa
Mona Lisa (1517)

Other Famous Works:-

  • The Last Supper (1498)
  • Virgin of the Rocks (1486)
  • Lady with an Ermine (1490)

3 thoughts on “10 Great Italian Painters And Their Most Famous Works”

  1. Hello Joseph

    I agree about all of Artists are good.

    I’m interested in grouping together

    creative Artists for Galleries & Events .

    Reply

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