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Artist Names: The ultimate comprehensive list, from Ayala to Zoffany

Artist Names: The ultimate comprehensive list, from Ayala to Zoffany

By K. M Sheard, Nook of Names

I’ve been musing for a while now on the rich mine of names that are the surnames of artists.

Many of them have a great ring in themselves, as well as carrying strong artistic connotations.

With the most famous, it is as though their names “mean” their paintings.

Say Monet, for instance, and lovely, soft, impressionistc images float into the mind.

Here, then, is my pick of the artists:

  • Alma — Sir Laurence Alma-Tadema, Anglo-Dutch (1836-1912)

  • AnquetinLouis Anquetin, French (1861-1932)

  • AyalaJosefa de Ayala  Figueira, Spanish (1630-84)

  • BealeMary Beale, English (1633-99)

  • BeauxCecilia Beaux, American (1855-1942)

  • BellocqGabrielle Bellocq, French (1920-99)

  • BlairEdmund Blair Leighton, English (1852-1922)

  • BrangwynFrank William Brangwyn, Welsh (1867-1956)

  • BraqueGeorges Braque, French (1882-1963)

  • BretonJules Breton, French (1827-1906)

  • CarrieraRosalba Carriera, Italian (1675-1757)

  • CassattMary Cassatt, American (1844-1926)

  • CézannePaul Cézanne, French (1839-1906)

  • ChaseWilliam Merritt Chase, American (1849-1916)

  • ChéretJules Chéret, French (1836-1932)

  • ConstableJohn Constable, English (1776-1837)

  • CopleyJohn Singleton Copley, American (1737-1815)

  • CorotJeanBaptisteCamille Corot, French (1796-1875)

  • CoswayRichard Cosway, English (1742-1821), and his wife Maria Cosway, Italian (1760-1838)

  • DaliSalvador Domènec Felipe Jacinto Dalí I Domènech, Marquis de Púbol, Spanish (1904-89)

  • DelacroixEugene Delacroix, French (1798-1863)

  • DelarochePaul Delaroche, French (1797-1856)

  • DonatelloDonatello di Nicolo Bardi, Italian (1386-1466)

  • DoréGustave Doré, French  (1832-83)

  • DraperHerbert James Draper, English (1863-1920)

  • DurerAlbrecht Dürer, German (1471-1528)

  • EminTracey Emin, British (b.1963)

  • EscherMauritz Cornelis Escher, Dutch (1898-1972)

  • EttyWilliam Etty, English (1787-1489)

  • FantinHenri Fantin-Latour, French (1836-1904)

  • GaliziaFede Galizia, Italian (1578-1630)

  • GainsboroughThomas Gainsborough, English (1727-88)

  • GaudiAntoni Gaudí I Cornet, Spanish (1852-1926)

  • GodwardJohn William Godward, English (1861-1922)

  • GoghVincent van Gogh, Dutch (1853-90)

  • GowerGeorge Gower, English (c.1540-96)

  • GoyaFrancisco de Goya, Spanish (1746-1828)

  • HolmanWilliam Holman Hunt, English (1827-1910)

  • Hunt – see Holman

  • KlimtGustave Klimt, Austrian (1862-1918)

  • Kneller – Sir Godfrey Kneller, Anglo-Dutch (1646-1723)

  • Lavery – Sir John Lavery, Irish (1856-1941)

  • LeightonFrederick, Lord Leighton, English (1830-96), also see  Blair

  • Lely – Sir Peter Lely, Anglo-Dutch (1618-80)

  • LeysterJudith Leyster, Dutch (1609-60)

  • MagritteRené Magritte, French (1898-1967)

  • Manet – Édouard Manet, French (1832-83)

  • MatisseHenri Matisse, French (1869-1954)

  • MerianMaria Sibylla Merian, German (1647-1717)

  • Merritt – see Chase

  • Millais  — Sir John Everett Millais, English (1829-96)

  • MilletJeanFrançois Millet, French (1814-75)

  • MiróJoan Miró i Ferrà, Catalan (1893-1983)

  • MonamyPeter Monamy, English (1681-1749)

  • MonetClaude Monet, French (1840-1926)

  • MoreauGustave Moreau, French (1826-98)

  • MorisotBerthe Morisot, French (1841-95)

  • NashPaul Nash, English (1889-1946)

  • O’KeeffeGeorgia O’Keeffe, American (1887-1986)

  • OpieJohn Opie, Cornish (1761-1807) — his wife Amelia was a novelist; Julian Opie, British (b. 1958)

  • Orpen – Sir William Newenham Montague Orpen, Irish (1878-1931)

  • Ozenda — Ozenda, Francçois (1923-76)

  • PajouJacquesAugustin Pajou, French (1730-1809)

  • PaxtonWilliam McGregor Paxton, American (1869-1941)

  • PicassoPablo Picasso, Spanish (1881-1973)

  • PoynterEdward John Poynter, English (1836-1919)

  • QuillerWilliam Quiller Orchardson, Scottish (1832-1910)

  • RamsayAllan Ramsay, Scottish (1713-84)

  • RaffetDenis Auguste Marie Raffet, French (1804-60)

  • RaphaelRaffaello Sanzio de Urbino, Italian (1483-1520)

  • Redon – Odilon Redon, French (1840-1916)

  • RembrandtRembrandt van Rijn, Dutch (1606-69)

  • RenoirPierre Auguste Renoir, French (1841-1919)

  • RethelAlfred Rethel, German (1816-59)

  • RodinAuguste Rodin, French (1840-1917)

  • RockwellNorman Rockwell, American (1894-1978)

  • RomneyGeorge Romney, English (1734-1802)

  • RousseauHenry Julien Félix Rousseau, French (1844-1910)

  • RossettiDante Gabriel Rossetti, English (1828-82)

  • RubensPeter Paul Rubens, Flemish (1577-1640)

  • Sargent – Sir John Singer Sargent, American (1856-1925)

  • SeuratGeorges Pierre Seurat, French (1859-91)

  • Singer – see Sargent

  • SiraniElisabetta Sirani, Italian (1638-65), and her father Giovanni Andrea Sirani (1610-70

  • SisleyAlfred Sisley, Anglo-French (1839-99)

  • StaëlNicolas de Staël, Russo-French (1914-55)

  • SteeleTheodore Clement, American (1847-1926)

  • Tadema – see Alma

  • TanguyRaymond Georges Yves Tanguy, French (1900-55)

  • TitianTiziano Vecellio, Italian (c.1488-1576)

  • TurnerJoseph Mallord William Turner, English (1775-1851)

  • YeatsJohnJackButler Yeats, Irish (1871-1957)

  • ValadonSuzanne Valadon, French (1865-1938)

  • VermeerJan Vermeer, Dutch (1632-75)

  • VeronesePaolo Veronese, Italian (1528-88)

  • VigéeElisabeth Vigée-Le Brun, French (1755-1842)

  • VillonJacques Villon, French (1875-1963)

  • WattsGeorge Frederick Watts, English (1817-1904)

  • WhistlerJames Abbott McNeill Whistler, American (1834-1903)

  • ZoffanyJohann Zoffany, German (1733-1810)

  • This blog appeared previously in Nook of Names.

    About the Author

    Nook of Names

    Nook of Names

    A graduate of the University of Cambridge, the late K. M. Sheard was the author of the encyclopedic reference Llewellyn’s Complete Book of Names, and wrote Nook of Names, a blog on all things onomastic.