







The Most Famous
Painters from Germany
This page contains a list of the greatest Germans Painters. The pantheon dataset contains 2,023 Painters, 160 of which were born in Germany. This makes Germany the birth place of the 4th most number of Painters behind France and United States.
Top 10 Painters
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Germans Painters of all time. This list of famous Germans 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 Germans Painters.
- #1

Albrecht Dürer
1471 - 1528
HPI 89.52158 langsAlbrecht Dürer is most famous for his woodcuts and engravings. He was a German painter, printmaker, and designer.
- #2

Peter Paul Rubens
1577 - 1640
HPI 88.29150 langsPeter Paul Rubens is most famous for his paintings, which are mostly of religious and mythological subjects.
- #3

Caspar David Friedrich
1774 - 1840
HPI 80.3776 langsCaspar David Friedrich is most famous for his paintings of German landscapes. He is also known for his paintings of mythological scenes.
- #4

Lucas Cranach the Elder
1472 - 1553
HPI 78.7957 langsLucas Cranach the Elder is most famous for his painting of Adam and Eve, which is also known as "The Garden of Eden".
- #5

Max Ernst
1891 - 1976
HPI 77.6263 langsMax Ernst was a German painter and graphic artist. He is most famous for his surrealistic paintings.
- #6

Hans Memling
1435 - 1494
HPI 76.2650 langsHans Memling is most famous for his religious paintings.
- #7

Matthias Grünewald
1480 - 1528
HPI 76.2148 langsMatthias Grünewald is most famous for his painting, The Crucifixion.
- #8

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner
1880 - 1938
HPI 75.3058 langsErnst Ludwig Kirchner is most famous for his paintings and drawings of the German town of Davos, Switzerland.
- #9

Franz Marc
1880 - 1916
HPI 75.0060 langsFranz Marc was a German painter and printmaker, one of the key figures of the German Expressionist movement. He was a founding member of Der...Read moreShow less
Franz Marc was a German painter and printmaker, one of the key figures of the German Expressionist movement. He was a founding member of Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider), a journal whose name later became synonymous with the circle of artists collaborating in it.
- #10

Albrecht Altdorfer
1480 - 1538
HPI 74.9050 langsAlbrecht Altdorfer is most famous for his painting, "The Battle of Alexander at Issus."
People by Birth Decade
Browse notable Germans Painters grouped by birth decade. Each decade shows the top 10 by HPI; expand to see everyone.
1960s(1)
1950s(1)
1930s(7)
1920s(1)
1890s(9)
1880s(18)
1800s(7)
1790s(9)
1780s(6)
1640s(2)
1630s(2)
1610s(2)
1590s(1)
1570s(2)
1560s(1)
1550s(2)
1500s(6)
1490s(1)
1460s(1)
1440s(1)
1430s(2)
1410s(1)
1400s(1)
1380s(1)
Unknown(1)
Overlapping Lives
Which Painters were alive at the same time? This visualization shows the lifespans of the 25 most globally memorable Painters since 1700.














































































































































