15 Most Famous Spanish Painters

Photo of Salvador Dalí in 1939 Photo sourced from Wikimedia

15 Most Famous Spanish Painters 

As far as the history of art is concerned Spanish artists have played a very key role with many of the most celebrated and famous names in the art world coming from Spain. Spanish painters have been formative figures in many traditional painting styles as well as the avant-garde movements.

Some of these big names got their influence from different countries because of their ability to travel far and wide in search of different styles of painting. The world at large owes it to the Spanish painters for some of the top styles of art used today. Let’s take a look at some of the most famous Spanish painters who have contributed greatly to the art world; 

1. El Greco

Domḗnikos Theotokópoulos born on 1 October 1541 and died on 7 April 1614 most widely known as El Greco (“The Greek”), was a Greek painter, sculptor, and architect of the Spanish Renaissance. He is regarded as a precursor of both Expressionism and Cubism

El Greco is best known for his tortuously elongated figures painted in phantasmagorical pigmentation, which almost resembled chalk with its blunt vividness. He left a mark when we look at the history of art.

2. Salvador Dali 

Photo of Salvador Dalí in 1939 Photo sourced from Wikimedia

Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí famously known as just Salvador Dali was born on 11 May 1904 and died on 23 January 1989 was a Spanish surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, and striking and bizarre images in his work.

One of our top names when it comes to Spanish painters, Salvador was trained and received formal education in fine arts in Madrid. He was Influenced by Impressionism and the Renaissance masters from a young age he became increasingly attracted to Cubism and avant-garde movements.

Read more about him in All about Salvador Dali’s Life in Paris

3. Pablo Picasso 

Photo of Pablo Picasso Photo sourced from Wikimedia

Another top Spanish artist on our list today is Pablo Picasso. Born Pablo Ruiz Picasso on 25th October 1881 and died on 8 April 1973, he was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, and theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France.

He is one of the most influential artists of the 20th century, who is famously known for co-founding the Cubist movement. He employed different artistic styles in his career and was among the Spanish artist to come up with their styles.

4. Francisco de Zurbarán

Francisco de Zurbarán born on 7th November 1598 in Fuente de Cantos, Spain was a Spanish painter mostly known for his paintings that depict religious subjects such as martyrs, nuns, and monks. He is among the most-known Spanish painters for his unique technique.

Due to his masterful application of the chiaroscuro technique, he was known as the “Caravaggio of Spain”. Dalí’s artistic repertoire included painting, graphic arts, film, sculpture, design, and photography, at times in collaboration with other artists. 

5. Diego Velazquez

Diego Velázquez Photo sourced from Wikimedia

Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez born on June 6, 1599, and died on August 6, 1660, was a Spanish painter, who is known for his time as the leading artist in the court of King Philip IV of Spain and Portugal, and of the Spanish Golden Age.

He was an individualistic artist of the Baroque period (c. 1600–1750) and began to paint in a precise Tenebrist style. He could later develop a freer manner characterized by bold brushwork. He painted several paintings more so portraits of the Spanish royal family and commoners.

Read more about him here

6. Bartolomé Esteban Murillo

Bartolomé Esteban Murillo in December 1617 and died April 3, 1682, was a Spanish Baroque painter who is best known for his religious works. Being a devout member of the Catholic church, Murillo gained much work and fame through commissioned works from the church.

Throughout his career, he continued to create works of art that were religious in theme and content. Although he is best known for his religious works, Murillo also produced a considerable number of paintings of contemporary women and children. 

7. Joan Miró

Portrait of Joan Miro in 1935 Photo sourced from Wikimedia

Joan Miró, I Ferrà born on 20 April 1893 and died on 25 December 1983 was a Catalan painter, sculptor, and ceramicist born in Barcelona. He earned international acclaim for his work which has been interpreted as Surrealism but with a personal style.

He sometimes veers into Fauvism and Expressionism. He was notable for his interest in the unconscious or the subconscious mind, reflected in his re-creation of the childlike. His difficult-to-classify works also had a manifestation of Catalan pride.

8. Francisco Goya

Francisco José de Goya born on 30th March 1746 and died on 16 April 1828 was a Spanish romantic painter and printmaker who is considered the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

His paintings, drawings, and engravings reflected contemporary historical upheavals and influenced important 19th- and 20th-century painters. Goya is sometimes known as the last of the Old Masters and the first of the moderns.

Read more about him in Top 10 Facts about Francisco Goya

9. Antoni Tàpies

Antoni Tàpies Photo sourced from Wikimedia

Antoni Tàpies born on 13th December 1923 and died on 6th February 2012 was a Catalan-Spanish painter, sculpt, and art theorist, who became one of the most famous European artists of his generation and among the best in his generation.

He first came into contact with contemporary art as a teenager. he added clay and marble dust to his paint and used waste paper, string, and rags (Grey and Green Painting, Tate Gallery, London, 1957). 

10. Eduardo Arroyo

Eduardo Arroyo Rodríguez born on 26th  February 1937 and died on 14 October 2018 was a Spanish painter, sculptor, and graphic artist. He was also active as a writer and set designer. Arroyo is regarded as one of the most important exponents of politically committed realism

Eduardo Arroyo was a graphic artist and painter from Spain. Due to a growing disdain for Spanish politics, he moved to Paris in 1958. He created sets that were meant to be artistic statements of their dislike for contemporary French art.

11. Joaquin Sorolla

Joaquín Sorolla Photo sourced from Wikimedia

Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida born on 27 February 1863 and on 10 August 1923 was a Spanish Valencian painter who excelled in the painting of portraits, landscapes, and monumental works of social and historical themes.

 He made great works over the years most of which are characterized by a dexterous representation of the people and landscape under the bright sunlight of Spain and sunlit water. He remains one of the key figures when it comes to the history of Spanish art.

12. Claudia Coello

Claudio Coello born on 2 March 1642 and died on 20 April 1693 was a Spanish Baroque painter who is considered the last great Spanish painter of the 17th century. Throughout his time as a court painter, he expanded his religiously-focused portfolio to include portraits.

In most of his works, he focused on religious themes, which answers questions about why most of his commissions stemmed from cathedrals and churches in Madrid and the royal family. Charles II named him King’s Painter in 1683. 

13. Miquel Barceló

Spanish painter Miquel Barceló in feb. 2011 Photo sourced from Wikimedia

Miquel Barceló Artigues born in 1957 is a Spanish painter who is famously known for painting and decorating the ceiling of the Human Rights and Alliance of Civilizations Room, used by the United Nations Human Rights Council, in the Palace of Nations (Geneva).

Miquel Barcelo is regarded as one of the most renowned Spanish painters of the 21st century. Barcelo has explored genres ranging from figuration to abstract expressionism. One of his greatest inspirations is the ocean. His artwork Faena de Muleta fetched €4.4 million at the auction.

14. Jose Royo 

Jose Royo born in 1945 in Barcelona is a Catalan contemporary artist best known for his tapestries. He is frequently compared to Sorolla since his use of light is the central theme of his artwork. Though he has also painted notable Spanish people, his most known works feature the Mediterranean.

Royo has had several exhibitions across the globe and is presently one of the most sought-after artists. Both private and public art collectors have contested his works. The light and his vivid colors are guaranteed to energize and inspire the viewer.

15. Lita Cabellut

Lita Cabellut born in 1961 in Sariñena, Aragon is a Spanish multidisciplinary artist who studied at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam and works and lives in The Hague, Netherlands. She is one of the modern Spanish artists whose talent is there for all to see.

 Cabellut has developed over the years a contemporary variation of the classic fresco technique and a recognizable personal palette style, creating large-scale realistic oil paintings. Cabellut’s works have been exhibited in numerous museums around the world.