Visionaries and pioneers - German, French and Italian painters shaped European contemporary events with their works. In this article we show you the most important epochs and the most famous painters in art history from the middle ages to modern times.

From the middle ages through modern times to modernity, painters and sculptors have left their mark on European art history. Each art epoch had its own style, which influenced painters of its time. In the Middle Ages, until about the 16th century, European painting was mainly influenced by the Catholic Church. Wall paintings and paintings were intended to bring art closer to the largely illiterate person in the church. The painters concentrated less on the depiction than on the message of the picture.

Most famous painter of the Renaissance: Leonardo da Vinci

This changed with the beginning of modern times. Now people no longer believed in God unreservedly - they also believed in the study of nature and the knowledge gained through it. This epoch, the Renaissance, was also reflected in painting: artists depicted people and objects true to nature and revived ancient art. Leonardo da Vinci is considered one of the most important representatives of the Renaissance.

With his numerous designs, drawings and illustrations of buildings, machines and human anatomy, da Vinci contributed to the exploration of perspectives and nature. Leonardo da Vinci also played an important role in the theory of colour: He was one of the first painters to describe complementary colours. If two colours are complementary to each other, this means that they are particularly different in their hue. An example of this is yellow and blue: for the human eye, the extreme contrast between the two complementary colors makes them shine.

The "Mona Lisa" is the most famous painting of da Vinci, next to "The Last Supper", which he painted on a wall in the Dominican monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan. The "Mona Lisa" was created between 1503 and 1506, is now hanging in the Louvre in Paris and is a myth because of the mysterious smile of the woman portrayed. Other famous Renaissance painters are the Italians Michelangelo and Raphael, the Germans Albrecht Dürer, Hans Holbein the Younger, Lucas Cranach the Elder and the Dutch Pieter Bruegel the Elder.

Baroque

At the end of the 16th century a new epoch of art came from Rome to Europe: the Baroque. The Italian painter Caravaggio is regarded as the pioneer of this art style. The main themes of the Baroque were transience, change and illusion - the painters captured the moment with their motifs. Dramatic theatre scenes and overloaded landscapes dominated. Rembrandt van Rijn and the Flemish painter Peter Paul Rubens are among the most famous representatives of the Northern Baroque.