The following is a chronological list of French artists working in visual or plastic media (plus, for some artists of the 20th century, performance art). For alphabetical lists, see the various subcategories of Category:French artists. See other articles for information on French literature, French music, French cinema and French culture.
Seventeenth century
See also French Baroque and Classicism, Louis XIII of France, Cardinal Richelieu, Baroque, Louis XIV of France, Palace of Versailles, Classicism
- Philippe Millereau (1570-1610), painter
- Daniel Dumonstier (1574–1646), draftsman
- Pierre Dumonstier II (1585–1656), draftsman
- Claude Deruet (1588–1660) (in Lorraine), painter
- Simon Vouet (1590–1649), painter
- Jacques Callot (1592–1635) (in Lorraine), engraver
- Georges de La Tour (1593–1652), painter
- Claude Vignon (1593-1670), painter, printmaker, illustrator
- Nicolas Poussin (1594–1665), painter
- Antoine Le Nain (before 1600–?), painter
- Louis Le Nain (after 1600–?), painter
- Nicolas Lagneau (fl c. 1600–c. 1650), draftsman
- Abraham Bosse (1602–1676), engraver
- Claude Gelée, called Claude Lorrain (1600–1682), painter
- Philippe de Champaigne (1602–1674)
- Pierre-Antoine Lemoine (1605–1665), still-life painter
- Laurent de La Hyre (1606–1565), painter
- Mathieu Le Nain (1607–c.1677), painter
- Louise Moillon (1610–1696), painter
- Pierre Mignard (1612–1695), painter
- Gaspard Dughet (1613–1675), painter
- André Le Nôtre (1613–1700), landscape architect
- Eustache Le Sueur (1616–1655), painter
- Sébastien Bourdon (1616–1671), painter
- Charles Le Brun (1619–1690), painter, other media
- Pierre Paul Puget (1620–1694), sculptor
- Guillaume Courtois (1628–1679), painter and etcher
- François Girardon (1628–1715), sculptor
- Catherine Duchemin (1630–1698), painter
- Claude Lefèbvre (1633–1675), painter and engraver
- Claudine Bouzonnet-Stella (1636–1697), engraver
- Charles de la Fosse (1636–1716), painter
- Antoine Coysevox (1640–1720), sculptor
- Antoinette Bouzonnet-Stella (1641–1676), engraver
- Étienne Allegrain (1644–1736), topographical painter
- Jean Jouvenet (1644–1717), painter
- François de Troy (1645–1730), painter
- Madeleine Boullogne (1646–1710), still life painter
- Marie Blancour (fl. 1650–1699), painter
- Marie Courtois (c.1655–1703), miniature painter
- Nicolas de Largillière (1656–1746), painter
- Nicolas Coustou (1658–1733), sculptor
- Hyacinthe Rigaud (1659–1743), painter
- Antoine Coypel (1661–1722), sculptor
- François Desportes (1661–1743), painter
Eighteenth century
See also Palace of Versailles, Louis XV of France, Madame de Pompadour, Rococo, Louis XVI of France, Neoclassicism, Enlightenment, Gobelins. For art criticism, see Denis Diderot
- Alexis Simon Belle (1674–1734)
- Jean-François de Troy (1679–1752) (son of François), painter
- Marie-Anne Horthemels (1682–1727), engraver
- Antoine Watteau (1684–1721), painter
- Jean-Baptiste van Loo (1684–1745), painter
- Jean-Marc Nattier (1685–1766), painter
- Jean-Baptiste Oudry (1686–1755), painter
- Louise-Magdeleine Horthemels (1686–1767), engraver
- François Lemoyne (1688–1737), painter
- Nicolas Lancret (1690–1743), painter
- Charles-Antoine Coypel (1694–1752), painter, art commentator, and playwright
- Jean-Baptiste Pater (1695–1736), painter
- Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin (1699–1779), painter
- Charles Joseph Natoire (1700–1777), painter
- Louis-François Roubiliac (1702–1762), sculptor
- Jean-Étienne Liotard (1702–1789), painter
- François Boucher (1703–1770), painter, engraver
- Maurice Quentin de La Tour (1704–1788), painter
- Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne (1704–1778), painter, sculptor
- Charles-André van Loo (Carle Van Loo) (1705–1765) (brother of Jean-Baptiste van Loo), painter
- Louis-Michel van Loo (1707–1771) (son of Jean-Baptiste van Loo), painter
- Jean-Baptiste Pigalle (1714–1785), sculptor
- Claude Joseph Vernet (1714–1789), painter
- Jean-Baptiste Perronneau (1715–1783), painter
- Etienne-Maurice Falconet (1716–1791), sculptor
- Charles-Louis Clérisseau (1721–1820), draughtsman, watercolorist, painter in gouache
- Joseph-Marie Vien (1716–1809), painter
- Charles-Amédée-Philippe van Loo (1719–1795) (son of Jean-Baptiste van Loo), painter
- Charles Germain de Saint Aubin (1721–1786), engraver, embroidery designer
- Jean-Baptiste Greuze (1725–1805), painter
- François-Hubert Drouais (Drouais le fils) (1727–1775), painter
- Jean-Baptiste Defernex (1729–1783), sculptor
- Jean-Honoré Fragonard (1732–1806), painter
- Jean-Jacques Durameau (1733–1796), painter
- Hubert Robert (1733–1808), painter, engraver
- Marie-Suzanne Giroust (1734–1772), painter
- Joseph Ducreux (1735–1802), painter
- Étienne de La Vallée Poussin (1735–1802), French history painter and creator of interior decorative schemes
- Louis Albert Guislain Bacler d'Albe (1761–1824), painter
- Nicolas Bernard Lépicié (1735–1784), painter
- Nicolas Benjamin Delapierre (1739–c.1800), painter
- Jean Antoine Houdon (1741–1828), sculptor
- Jean-Michel Moreau (Moreau the younger) (1741–1814), engraver
- Anne Vallayer-Coster (1744–1818), painter
- Jacques-Louis David (1748–1825), painter
- Claude-Jean-Baptiste Hoin (1750–1817), portrait artist
- Jacques-Antoine-Marie Lemoine (1751–1824), portrait and landscape artist
- Michel Garnier (1753–1819), painter
- Rosalie Filleul (1752–1794), painter
- Antoine Berjon (1754–1843), painter and designer
- Jean-Baptiste Regnault (1754–1829)
- Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun (1755–1842), painter
- Alexandre-Hyacinthe Dunouy (1757–1841), painter known for his landscapes
- Pierre Prudhon (1758–1823), painter
Nineteenth century (Romanticism to Impressionism)
See also French Revolution, Napoleon I, Romanticism, Barbizon school, Naturalism, Symbolism, Impressionism, Academic art, Napoleon III of France, Photography, Modernism
- Louis-Léopold Boilly (1761–1845), painter
- Joseph Nicéphore Niépce (1765–1833), photographer
- Adélaïde Dufrénoy (1765–1825), poet and painter from Brittany
- Anne-Louis Girodet de Roussy-Trioson (1767–1824), painter
- Jean-Baptiste Isabey (1767–1855), painter
- Antoine Jean Gros (1771–1835), painter
- Pierre Narcisse Guérin (1771–1833), painter
- Adélaïde Victoire Hall (1772–1844), painter
- Blanche Hennebutte-Feillet (1815–1886), lithographer
- Eustache-Hyacinthe Langlois (1777–1837), painter, draftsman
- Jean-Baptiste Goyet (1779—1854), painter
- Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres (1780–1867), painter
- Étienne Bouhot (1780–1862), painter and art teacher
- Alexandre-François Caminade (1783–1862), portraitist and religious painter
- François Rude (1784–1855), sculptor
- Eugénie Charen (1786–1824), painter
- Louis-Jacques Daguerre (1787–1851), photographer
- Charles de Steuben (1788–1856), painter active during the Napoleonic Era
- Horace Vernet (1789–1863), painter
- Jules Robert Auguste (c.1789–1850), painter
- Elisa de Lamartine (1790–1863), painter and sculptor
- Théodore Géricault (1791–1824), painter
- Nicolas Toussaint Charlet (1792–1845), painter
- Antoine-Louis Barye (1795–1875), sculptor
- Ary Scheffer (1795–1858), painter
- Raymond Bonheur (1796–1849), painter
- Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot (1796–1875), painter
- Fanny Alaux (1797–1880), painter
- Paul Delaroche (1797–1856), painter
- Julie Hugo (1797–1865), painter
- Eugène Goyet (1798—1857), painter
- Eugène Delacroix (1798–1863), painter
- Xavier Leprince (1799–1826), painter
- Alfred Johannot (1800–1837), painter and engraver
- Hippolyte Bellangé (1800–1866), painter
- Camille Chantereine (1810–1847), painter
- Achille Devéria (1800–1857), painter, engraver
- Charles Philipon (1800–1861), caricaturist
- Paul Huet (1803–1869), painter
- François-Émile de Lansac (1803–1890), painter
- Grandville (Jean Ignace Isidore Gérard, called) (1803–1847), engraver
- Eugène Isabey (1803–1886), painter
- Denis Auguste Marie Raffet (1804–1860), painter
- Édouard Viénot (born 1804), painter
- Zoé Goyet (died 1869), pastel portrait artist
- Eugène Lepoittevin (1806–1870), painter
- Hippolyte Bayard (1807–1887), photographer
- Honoré Daumier (1808–1879), painter, lithographer, sculptor
- Louis Boulanger (1808–1867), painter
- Narcisse Virgile Diaz de la Peña (1808–1878) (born in Spain), painter
- Auguste Préault (1809–1879), sculptor
- Ignace François Bonhomme (1809–1881), painter
- Constant Troyon (1810–1865), painter
- Eugène André Oudiné (1810–1875), sculptor, engraver
- Jules Dupré (1811–1889), painter
- Théodore Rousseau (1812–1867), painter
- Boissard de Boisdenier (1813–1866), painter
- Charles Jacque (1813–1894), painter
- Jean-François Millet (1814–1875), painter
- Thomas Couture (1815–1879), painter
- Jean-Louis-Ernest Meissonier (1815–1891), painter
- Jacques-Eugene Feyen (1815–1908), painter
- Charles Marville (1816–1879), painter, engraver, photographer
- Antoine Chintreuil (1816–1873), painter
- Jean Pierre Alexandre Antigna (1817–1878), painter
- François Bonvin (1817–1887), painter
- Charles-François Daubigny (1817–1878), painter
- Johan Barthold Jongkind (1819–1891) (Dutch, worked in France), painter
- Théodore Chassériau (1819–1856), painter
- Gustave Courbet (1819–1877), painter
- Eugène Fromentin (1820–1876), painter
- Nadar (Gaspard Félix Tournachon, called "Nadar") (1820–1910), photographer
- Charles Méryon (1821–1868), printmaker (etching)
- Rosa Bonheur (1822–1899), painter
- Marie Adrien Persac (1823–?), painter, cartographer, architect, civil engineer, photographer
- Alexandre Cabanel (1823–1889), painter
- Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse (1824–1887), sculptor and painter
- Gustave Boulanger (1824–1888), painter
- Jean-Léon Gérôme (1824–1904), painter
- Adolphe Joseph Thomas Monticelli (1824–1886), painter
- Théodule Ribot (1824–1891), painter
- Eugène Boudin (1824–1898), painter
- Pierre Puvis de Chavannes (1824–1898), painter
- William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825–1905), painter
- Gustave Moreau (1826–1898), painter
- Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux (1827–1875), sculptor
- Elie Delaunay (1828–1891), painter
- Camille Alfred Pabst (1828–1898), painter
- Achille Emperaire (1829–1898), painter and a friend of Paul Cézanne
- Lucien Joulin (1842–1878), painter
- Gaston de Laperriere (1848–1920), painter
- Gabriel Guay (1848–1923), painter
- Aimé Morot (1850–1915), painter and son in law of Jean-Léon Gérôme
- Gabriel-Charles Deneux [fr] (b. 1856), encaustic painter
- Jules-Cyrille Cavé (4 January 1859 – 12 May 1949), painter
Nineteenth century (Impressionism to Fauvism)
See also Modern art, Modernism, Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, Les Nabis, Fauvism, Symbolism, Symbolist painters, Art Nouveau, Primitivism
- Camille Pissarro (1830–1903), painter
- Étienne-Jules Marey (1830–1904), photographer
- Édouard Manet (1832–1883), painter
- Gustave Doré (1832–1883), engraver
- Louis Émile Benassit (1833–1902) artist and raconteur
- Edgar Degas (1834–1917), painter, sculptor
- Pierre Mallet (1836-1898), painter of ceramics
- Henri Fantin-Latour (1836–1904), painter
- Jules Chéret (1836–1932), painter, other media
- Paul Cézanne (1839–1906), painter
- François Salle (1839–1899)
- Odilon Redon (1840–1916), painter, draftsman, lithographer
- Auguste Rodin (1840–1917), sculptor
- Claude Monet (1840–1926), painter; a founder of French impressionist painting
- Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841–1919), painter
- Frédéric Bazille (1841–1870), painter
- Berthe Morisot (1841–1895), painter
- Marie Bracquemond (1841–1916), painter
- Fernand Pelez (1843–1913), painter
- Alexander Louis Leloir (1843–1884), painter
- Henri Rousseau ("Le Douanier Rousseau") (1844–1910), painter
- Jean Antonin Mercié (1845–1916), sculptor
- Jean-Joseph Benjamin-Constant (1845–1902), painter
- Gustave Caillebotte (1848–1894), painter
- Henri Biva (1848–1929), painter
- Jules Bastien-Lepage (1848–1884), painter
- Paul Gauguin (1848–1903), painter, sculptor
- Henry Lerolle (1848–1929), painter
- Eugène Carrière (1849–1906), painter
- Pierre Carrier-Belleuse (1851–1932), painter
- Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890) (Dutch, worked in France), painter
- Charles Angrand (1854–1926), painter
- Emilie Jenny Weyl (1855–1934), sculptor
- Édouard Bisson (1856–1939), painter
- Henry-Edmond Cross (1856-1910), painter
- Henry Moret (1856–1913), painter
- Eugène Atget (Jean-Eugène Auguste Atget) (1857–1927), photographer
- Mathurin Janssaud (1857–1940), painter
- Marie Bashkirtseff (1858-1884), painter and sculptor
- Georges-Pierre Seurat (1859–1891), painter
- Antoine Bourdelle (1861–1929), sculptor
- Aristide Maillol (1861–1944), sculptor
- Louis Vivin (1861–1936), painter
- Antonio de la Gandara (1861–1917), painter
- Gaston Bussière (1862–1929), Symbolism movement painter and illustrator
- Ernest de Chamaillard (1862–1931), painter
- Henri Delavallée (1862–1943), painter
- Paul Signac (1863–1935), painter
- Camille Bouvagne (1864–1936), painter
- René Georges Hermann-Paul (1864–1940), graphic artist, illustrator, painter
- William Didier-Pouget (1864–1959), painter
- Henri Marie de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864–1901), painter
- Paul Sérusier (1864–1927), painter
- Paul Ranson (1864–1909), painter
- Seraphine Louis (1864–1942), painter
- Henri Jourdain (1864–1931), painter, prints or lithographs of landscapes usually by the water
- Albert Aurier (1865–1892), poet, art critic and painter devoted to Symbolism
- Suzanne Valadon (1865–1938), painter
- Félix Vallotton (1865–1925) (Swiss, worked in France), painter, engraver
- Jacqueline Marval (1866-1932), the pseudonym for Marie Josephine Vallet, French painter
- Pierre Bonnard (1867–1947), painter
- Angèle Delasalle (1867–1941, painter, engraver
- Paule Gobillard (1867–1946), painter
- Jeanne Itasse-Broquet (1867–1941), sculptor
- Ker-Xavier Roussel (1867–1944), painter
- Hector Guimard (1867–1942), architect and decorator
- Édouard Vuillard (1868–1940), painter
- Georges Lacombe (1868–1916), sculptor
- Émile Bernard (1868–1941), painter
- Henri Matisse (1869–1954), painter, other media
- Adolf de Meyer (1869–1949), photographer
- Georges d'Espagnat (1870–1950), painter, illustrator, engraver
Twentieth century (pre-World War II)
See also Post-Impressionism, Modern art, Modernism, Cubism, Puteaux Group, Dada, Surrealism
- Georges Rouault (1871–1958), painter
- Léon Printemps (1871–1945), painter
- František Kupka (1871–1957) (Czech, worked in France), painter
- Henri-Charles Manguin (1874–1943), painter
- Louis Mathieu Verdilhan (1875–1928), painter
- Albert Marquet (1875–1947), painter
- Jacques Villon (1875–1963), painter
- Constantin Brâncuși (1876–1957) (French, born in Romania), sculptor
- Maurice de Vlaminck (1876–1958) (Flemish, worked in France), painter
- Raymond Duchamp-Villon (1876–1918), sculptor
- Raoul Dufy (1877–1953), painter
- Jeanne Baudot (1877–1957), painter
- René Charles Edmond His, (1877–1960), landscape painter
- Jean Crotti (1878–1958) (Swiss), painter
- Louis Marcoussis (Louis Markus) (1878–1941 or 1883–1941) (Polish, worked in France), painter
- Francis Picabia (1879–1953), painter
- Maurice Berty (1884-1946), illustrator
- André Derain (1880–1954), painter
- Joseph Hémard (1880–1961), illustrator
- Albert Gleizes (1881–1952), painter, writer, theorist
- Henri Le Fauconnier (1881–1946), painter
- Jacob Macznik (1905–1945), painter[1][2][3][4][5]
- Fernand Léger (1881–1955), painter
- Georges Braque (1882–1963), painter
- Auguste Chabaud (1882–1955), painter
- Auguste Herbin (1882–1960), painter
- Jean Metzinger (1883–1956), painter, engraver, poet, writer, theorist
- Marie Laurencin (1883–1956), painter
- Maurice Utrillo (1883–1955), painter
- Marie-Renée Ucciani (1883-1963), painter, sculptor
- Georges Ribemont-Dessaignes (1884–1974), painter
- Jacques Maroger (1884–1962), painter
- Robert Delaunay (1885–1941), painter
- André Dunoyer de Segonzac (1884–1974), painter
- Raymond Wintz (1884–1956), painter
- Pierre Brissaud (1885–1964), painter
- Roger de La Fresnaye (1885–1925), painter
- Robert Antoine Pinchon (1886–1943), French Post-Impressionist painter of the Rouen School (l'École de Rouen)
- Amédée Ozenfant (1886–1956), painter
- Jean (Hans) Arp (1886–1966), painter, sculptor
- Marc Chagall (1887–1985) (born in Belarus), painter
- Marcel Duchamp (1887–1968), painter, sculptor, other media
- Suzanne Duchamp-Crotti (1889–1963), painter
- Anna Quinquaud (1890–1984), explorer and sculptor
- Ossip Zadkine (1890–1967) (Russian born), sculptor
- Sabine Desvallières (1891–1935), French embroiderer and nun
- Jacques Lipchitz (1891–1973) (born in Lithuania), sculptor
- Max Ernst (1891–1976) (German born), painter, sculptor
- Thérèse Lemoine-Lagron (1891–1949), painter
- Louis Favre (1892–1956), painter, creator of lithographs
- Bram van Velde (1892–1981) (Dutch, worked in France), painter
- Chaïm Soutine (1894–1943) (born in Belarus), painter
- Jacques Henri Lartigue (1894–1986), photographer
- Jean Maurice Rothschild (1902–1998), furniture artist, interior designer, muralist
- Gen Paul (1895–1975), painter, engraver
- Albert Gilles (1895–1979), metal embosser, working with copper
- Lucie Bouniol (1896–1988), sculptor, painter
- André Masson (1896–1987), painter
- René Iché (1897–1954), sculptor, painter
- Jean Fautrier (1898–1964), painter
- Georges Gimel (1898–1962), painter, engraver, sculptor
- Henri Michaux (1899–1984) (Belgian), painter
- Brassaï (Gyula Halasz) (1899–1984) (born in Hungary), photographer
- Yves Tanguy (1900–1955) (naturalized American), painter