







The Most Famous
Painters from China
Top 10 Painters
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Chinese Painters of all time. This list of famous Chinese Painters is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Chinese Painters.
- #1

Shitao
1642 - 1707
HPI 69.3240 langsShitao was most famous for his paintings of landscapes.
- #2

Gu Kaizhi
345 - 406
HPI 66.6027 langsChinese painter and politician (c. 344–406)
- #3

Mi Fu
1051 - 1107
HPI 66.5732 langsChinese artist (1051-1107)
- #4

Guo Xi
1020 - 1090
HPI 66.2826 langsSong Dynasty painter (1020–1090)
- #5

Qi Baishi
1864 - 1957
HPI 65.8331 langsChinese painter
- #6

Han Gan
706 - 783
HPI 63.8725 langsChinese painter
- #7

Dong Qichang
1555 - 1636
HPI 63.8423 langsChinese painter, scholar, calligrapher, and art theorist (1555-1636)
- #8

Tang Yin
1470 - 1524
HPI 63.3323 langsMing dynasty painter (1470-1524)
- #9

Liang Kai
1200 - 1300
HPI 63.3122 langsChinese artist
- #10

Bada Shanren
1626 - 1705
HPI 63.1723 langsChinese artist (1626-1705)
People by Birth Decade
Browse notable Chinese Painters grouped by birth decade. Each decade shows the top 10 by HPI; expand to see everyone.
1920s(1)
1860s(1)
1640s(1)
1630s(1)
1620s(1)
1590s(2)
1550s(2)
1520s(1)
1490s(1)
1470s(2)
1420s(1)
1380s(1)
1280s(1)
1260s(1)
1230s(1)
1210s(1)
1200s(1)
1190s(1)
1160s(1)
1080s(1)
1040s(1)
1020s(1)
930s(1)
910s(1)
730s(1)
710s(1)
700s(1)
680s(1)
340s(1)
Overlapping Lives
Which Painters were alive at the same time? This visualization shows the lifespans of the 5 most globally memorable Painters since 1700.





























