The Victorian era brings to mind fashion, luxury, elegant settings, wealth, romanticism, magnificence, high moralities, and values as well as lush décor. These, however, were just the trappings of that society. The Victorian era is a product of a lot more than just these above mentioned tangible things.

Victorian-era painting characteristics

Classicism, Neo-Classicism, Impressionism, Post-impressionism and Romanticism, were the major isms that made up the Victorian age that has been talked about so much and what makes it so remarkable.

Classicism can be defined as anything done with accuracy and objectivity. The painters mastering in Classicism would paint with such precision and intricate detail. The paintings of this genre were a window into the everyday world which could be observed with a little patience and understanding.

In contrast to Classicism, Romanticism was a very freewheeling and individualistic expression of the artist’s impression and view of the world, person, object and even feelings. It mainly centered on spontaneity, emotions and high drama. Romantic painters often used a palette of bright and vibrant colors.

The impressionist school of art emerged during the latter half of the nineteenth century, England. Impressionism was basically the play of light on various objects and how it the color and perception changed with different angles of light thrown on it.

The post-impressionist school of thought sought to fill up the gaps that impression left a void. This included photography, design, and architecture. The post-impressionist artists embraced new technologies and applied it to art.

Raphael was an eminent artist of the Renaissance period. The Pre-Raphaelite movement was a throwback to the styles of art and painting prevalent before Raphaels time. Dante Rossetti and William Hunt were the forerunners of this movement.

They aspired to get back to the style of art before that of Raphaels became known. They worked to avoid the influences and methods of the industrial revolution as also to get away from the conventional and the now rigid rules of art and painting. They created art from nature and natural phenomenon. These paintings looked like a photograph to a very large degree because of their detailed and intricate work.

They tried to infuse a little bit of William Shakespeare and other authors of that age. Another one of the pre-Raphaelite artists was John William Waterhouse. Another famous painter to note is John Collier.

Eugene Delacroix, another painter of the Romantic school of thought, painted the famous Liberty Leading the People which was done in flashy colours.

The impressionist painters were: Monet, who was and is still world renowned, Pierre Auguste Renoir and Camille Pisarro. The post-impressionists were Paul Cezanne, Paul Gaughin and Vinvent Van Gogh.

Paintings of the Romantic school often depicted dramatic events in brilliant color, as epitomized in Eugene Delacroix’s renowned Liberty Leading the People. Impressionism, a school of painting that developed in the late 19th century, was characterized by transitory visual expressions that focused on the changing effects of light and color.

Impressionist painters include Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Camille Pisarro. Reacting to the limitations of Impressionism, painters such as Paul Cezanne, Vincent Van Gogh, and Paul Gauguin developed a style which was later categorized as Post-Impressionism.

Also, see Henry John Boddington Biography

John Wood Dodge – artist biography

Jacob Blondel Biography – American Victorian-era painter

John Woodhouse Audubon (1812-1862) was a famous painter for wildlife, portraits, and migrants of westward from over route land.

Sir William Charles Ross Biography – an English portrait and portrait miniature painter

George Henry Boughton was remembered as a genre and landscape painter, illustrator and writer

James Edward Freeman was an acclaimed American painter and diplomat

Edward Linley Sambourne was an English artist. He was a famed cartoonist and illustrator

John Cother Webb had an unparalleled skill in producing color mezzotint prints

John Haslem A fine enamel painter of Victorian era

Henry Peach Robinson was a pioneer of pictorialist photography

• Famous Victorian Portrait Painters: Celebrating artists who captured the essence of Victorian society through their portraits.

The Victorian Era, which spanned from 1837 to 1901, was a time of great artistic achievement throughout Europe. Here’s a country-wise breakdown of some of the most famous painters from that era:

United Kingdom:

1. Sir John Everett Millais (Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood)
2. Dante Gabriel Rossetti (Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood)
3. William Holman Hunt (Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood)
4. James Whistler
5. Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema
6. Ford Madox Brown
7. John William Waterhouse
8. Edward Burne-Jones
9. William Morris (also known for design and crafts)
10. J.M.W. Turner (earlier in the era)

Kate Greenaway was a successful illustrator of books for children

Samuel Thomas was a painter

George Freeman was a painter of miniature portraits on porcelain and ivory

William Simpson was a Scottish artist

France:

1. Édouard Manet
2. Edgar Degas
3. Camille Pissarro: A leading figure in the Impressionist movement.
4. Pierre-Auguste Renoir
5. Paul Cézanne
6. Gustave Courbet
7. Jean-François Millet
8. Henri Fantin-Latour
9. James Tissot
10. Gustave Moreau
11. Etienne Maurice Falconet was one of the most celebrated sculptors of his age
12. Henri Fantin Latour was a French painter as well as a lithographer

Germany:

1. Caspar David Friedrich (early part of the era)
2. Adolph Menzel
3. Arnold Böcklin
4. Hans Thoma
5. Wilhelm Leibl
6. Franz von Lenbach
7. Ludwig Knaus
8. Wilhelm von Kaulbach
9. Carl Spitzweg
10. Anselm Feuerbach

Italy:

1. Giovanni Boldini
2. Antonio Canova (primarily a sculptor, but influential in the art world)
3. Francesco Hayez
4. Telemaco Signorini
5. Giovanni Segantini
6. Vittorio Corcos
7. Federico Zandomeneghi
8. Antonio Mancini
9. Domenico Morelli
10. Giuseppe Pellizza da Volpedo

Sweden:

1. 1. Anders Zorn
   2. Carl Larsson
   3. Bruno Liljefors
   4. Richard Bergh
   5. Prince Eugen, Duke of Närke
   6. Carl Fredrik Hill
   7. Georg Pauli
   8. Julia Beck
   9. Hanna Pauli
   10. Gustaf Cederström

Alphonse Mucha was a Czech Art Nouveau painter but also a decorative artist.

Thomas Worthington Whittredge was a landscapes and portraits painter from America

More Painters & Artists

• William Maw Egley: English painter known for his genre scenes.
• George Peter Alexander Healy: American portrait painter.
• Frank Bramley: English post-impressionist painter.
• William Ford: English landscape painter.
• Alexandre Cabanel: French academic painter.
• John Hayter: English portrait painter.
• John Evan Hodgson: English painter.
• George Patten: English portrait painter.
• John Martin: English romantic painter.
• George Cruikshank: English caricaturist and book illustrator.
• Solomon Alexander Hart: English painter and engraver.
• George William Whitaker: American landscape painter.
• Thomas Dobson: English landscape painter.
• Charles Cromwell Ingham: Irish-born American portrait painter.
• Edwin Landseer: English painter known for his animal depictions.
• David Octavius Hill: Scottish painter and photographer.
• John Frederick Lewis: English Orientalist painter.
• Abraham Solomon: English painter.
• Abraham Cooper: English animal and battle painter.
• William Sidney Mount: American painter best known for his genre paintings.
• Thomas Crawford: American sculptor.
• James McDougal Hart: American landscape and cattle painter.
• William Etty: English painter known for his paintings of nudes.
• Helen Allingham: English watercolorist and illustrator.
• William Dyce: Scottish painter and arts tutor.
• Henry Kirke Browne: English sculptor.
• John Bagnold Burgess: English artist known for his paintings.
• William Davis: Irish landscape painter.
• George Price Boyce: English watercolor painter.
• Henry Barraud: English artist.
• William Barraud: English animal painter and illustrator.
• Doctor John Adamson & Robert Adamson: Scottish pioneers in photography.
• James Cameron: Victorian politician and artist.
• James Cameron – Scottish landscape and portrait painter
• Francis Danby: Irish painter of the Romantic era.
• William Callow: English landscape painter.
• Henry Clarence Whaite: English genre and landscape painter.
• William Drummond Stewart: Scottish military officer and art patron.
• William Robinson: Irish gardener and journalist who influenced the history of gardening.
• William Macready: English actor.
• George Grossmith: English comedian, writer, composer, and actor.
• John Atkinson Grimshaw: Victorian-era artist renowned for his nocturnal scenes.
• John Frederick Herring: English painter celebrated for his horse paintings.
• William Powell Frith: Victorian painter known for his large-scale social subjects.
• Alphonse Mucha: Czech Art Nouveau painter renowned for his distinctive stylized forms.
• Thomas Hill: A painter known for his landscape artworks.
• Simeon Solomon: British Pre-Raphaelite painter known for his depictions of both Jewish life and same-sex desire.
• Heywood Hardy: English painter known for his animal and rural scenes.
• John Adamson: Scottish pioneer photographer and physicist.
• Frederick Leighton: An English painter and sculptor associated with the Pre-Raphaelite movement.
• Andreas Achenbach: German landscape painter known for his detailed and realistic scenes.
• Edwin Austin Abbey: American muralist, illustrator, and painter known for his Shakespearean and Victorian subjects.
• Washington Allston: American painter and poet, a pioneer of the American Romantic movement.
• Edward Angelo Goodall: English painter known for his watercolor landscapes and scenes.
• John Philips: English landscape painter and watercolorist.
• Anthony Vandyke Copley Fielding: Prominent English watercolorist known for his landscape paintings.
• Edward Armitage: English Victorian-era painter specializing in historical, classical, and biblical subjects.
• Edward Augustus Brackett: American sculptor and writer known for his marble sculptures.
• Charles Bobson: Lesser-known painter from the Victorian era.
• Henry John Boddington: English landscape artist, part of the Williams family of painters.
• J. Henry Brown: American miniature portraits
• John Prescott Knight: English portrait artist and was a Royal Academician.
• Thomas Birch: American marine and landscape painter.
• Edward William Cooke: English landscape and marine artist.
• Edward Angelo Goodall: British artist known for watercolor landscapes.
• David Cox: English landscape painter, one of the foremost members of the Birmingham School of artists.
• Frederic William Farrar: Although primarily known as a cleric and theologian, he also had artistic pursuits.
• William Hogarth: English painter and engraver, known for his satirical and social critique artworks.
• Oscar Claude Monet: Foundational figure of the Impressionist movement in art.
• Alphonse Mucha: Czech Art Nouveau painter known for his distinct style and illustrations.
• William Henry Fox Talbot: Pioneered early photography and invented the salted paper and calotype processes.
• John Vanderlyn: American neoclassical painter.
• John Henry Newman: Although primarily a theologian, he had artistic pursuits.
• William Makepeace Thackeray: Primarily known as a writer, Thackeray also sketched and was an amateur artist.
• John Fredrick Herring: English painter known for his horse scenes.
• William Bell Scott: Scottish artist known for both his poetry and painting.
• William Dyce: Scottish artist known for his biblical and historical subjects.
• John Clare: Besides being a poet, he also dabbled in sketching and art.
• William Sharp: Scottish poet who also wrote under the pseudonym Fiona Macleod, with a keen interest in visual arts.
• Emily Murphy: Primarily known for her work as a women’s rights activist, she also had artistic pursuits.
• Israel Zangwill: British author who also had an interest in visual arts.
• Louis John Jennings: English journalist and writer with an interest in visual arts.
• Alphonse de Lamartine: French writer, poet, and politician, known to have an interest in visual arts.
• Alexander Pushkin: Russian poet, playwright, and novelist, known to appreciate visual arts.
• Ralph Waldo Emerson: American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, and poet, with an appreciation for visual arts.
• Emile Zola: French novelist, playwright, journalist with an appreciation for visual arts.
• Alexandre Dumas: French writer, known for historical novels, had an appreciation for visual arts.
• Victorian Art Styles: A blend of oil, watercolor, and influences from French and Pre-Raphaelite art movements.
• Famous Victorian art: The era’s artistic versatility captured through engraving, etching, lithography, and mosaics.

• John Hayter: Celebrated English portrait painter.

  Thompson Launt: Noted painter of the Victorian era.

  Robert Ball Hughes: Celebrating the works of Hughes, a prominent sculptor known for his bronze statues.

  Lady Caroline Lamb: Exploring the tumultuous life of Lady Lamb, a novelist and Byron’s infamous lover.

  Biography of Harry Bates: A Victorian sculptor known for his allegorical works.

  Best Works of Aubrey Beardsley: Celebrating the unique and provocative illustrations of Beardsley during the Art Nouveau movement.

  • Henry Mark Anthony: Renowned for his landscape artworks.

  • George Augustus Baker, Jr.: Accomplished American portrait artist.

  • Henry Stacy Marks: English artist known for his bird paintings.

  • William Gale: Victorian painter known for his historical themes.

  • William James Muller: English landscape and genre painter.

  • John Martin: Romantic painter known for his grandiose and dramatic scenes.

  • Rembrandt Peale: American artist famous for his portraits, especially of George Washington.

  • Lyda d Newman: Inventor and activist, but not primarily known for art.

  • Sir David Willkie: Renowned Scottish painter.

  • Leonard Wells Volk: American sculptor.

  • Joseph Bartholomew Kidd: Landscape painter of the 19th century.

  • Joseph Claude Bail: French painter known for his genre scenes.

  • Augustus Leopold Egg: Victorian artist known for his moralistic triptychs.

  • George Armfield Smith: Noted for his paintings of dogs and rustic scenes.

  • Arthur Hughes: English painter and illustrator associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.

  • Albert Joseph Moore: Artist known for his depictions of languorous female figures set against a classical backdrop.

  • Charles Lock Eastlake: English painter and gallery director.

  • Edmund Blair Leighton: Artist known for his medieval and regency era pieces.

  • James Archer: Scottish portrait painter.

  • Auguste Allongé: Renowned for his charcoal art

  • Thomas Buttersworth: English seaman, painter: A naval officer who masterfully captured maritime scenes.
  • John Bell Artworks: Sculptor of the 19th century, known for his classical and allegorical pieces.
  • John William Casilear: An American landscape artist, best known for his detailed engravings and serene landscapes.
  • Ambrose Andrews: An Australian artist celebrated for his panoramic views and landscapes.
  • Gustave Caillebotte French Painter: A key figure in Impressionism, known for his unique perspectives and urban scenes.
  • The Scapegoat painting: (1854- 1856): An exploration of William Holman Hunt’s symbolic masterpiece and its religious undertones.
  • La Promenade Monet (The Stroll): A closer look at Monet’s impressionist masterpiece, capturing a fleeting moment in nature.

• 19th Century Realism Art: An art movement grounded in portraying everyday life as it is.
• Henry Alken: English artist known for his illustrations.
• Thomas Crawford: Renowned American sculptor.
• James McDougal Hart: American landscape and cattle painter.
• George Cruikshank: Famous British illustrator and caricaturist
• Joseph Austen Benwell: An English painter known for his Orientalist works.
• Charles Edouard Boutibonne: A French painter known for his genre scenes.
• Charles Edward Williams: An English landscape painter.
• Arthur Fitzwilliam Tait: An English-American artist known for his wildlife paintings.
• Frank Dillon: An English painter known for his Orientalist works.
• Jacques Joseph Tissot: A French painter; famous work: “The Ball”.
• John Absolon: An English watercolorist known for his figure paintings.
• William Henry Hunt: An English watercolorist; known for his still lifes and rural scenes.
• Charles Sillem Lidderdale: An English painter known for his portraits of young women.
• Henry Augustus Loop: An American portrait painter.
• Hercules Brabazon Brabazon: An English artist known for his watercolors and travel sketches.
• Robert Brough: A Scottish painter known for his portraits and genre scenes.
• George Loring Brown: An American landscape artist known for his European scenes.
• William Beechey: An English portraitist; known for his paintings of royalty.
• Samuel Colman: An American painter known for his landscapes.
• Thomas Creswick: An English landscape painter and illustrator.
• James Wilson Carmichael: An English marine painter.
• Conrad Marten: An English painter known for his landscapes.
• George Cattermole: An English painter known for his watercolor landscapes and literary scenes.
• Ernest Crofts: An English painter known for his historical and military scenes.
• Edmund Coates: An American painter known for his genre scenes.
• John Burnet: A Scottish engraver and painter.
• Daniel Alexander Williamson: An English landscape artist.
• George Baxter: An English artist and printer known for his color printing.
• William Parrott: An English artist known for his cityscapes and landscapes.
• William Beattie Brown: A Scottish landscape painter.
• William Redgrave: An English artist known for his miniature portraits.
• Joseph Bouvier: British painter
• John James Chalone: Swiss Painter
• Arthur Gilbert Fredrick William: Landscape painter
• Nelson Cook: American portraitist
• Abbey McCullough: Modern painter from New Zealand
• Alexander Johnson: Scottish painter
• Thomas Daniel: English landscape painter