14 Famous French Paintings That You Should Know

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French painters have created several masterpieces throughout their country’s rich creative legacy. France has long been known as an artist’s refuge, and French artists have created some of the most iconic paintings in history.

One of the most prominent painting styles, Neoclassicism, rose to prominence in 18th century France.  This style later gave way to 19th century Romanticism.

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Meanwhile, another French art movement, Impressionism, is responsible for the formation of the modern art movement.

France continued to be one of the most popular art centers for much of the past century. The Louvre in Paris is often recognized as the world’s most important and famous art museum.

14 Famous French Paintings

Get to know a bit of French art with 14 of the most famous French paintings throughout history.

1. Impression Sunrise – Claude Monet

French Title: Impression, soleil levant
Year: 1872

Claude Monet is regarded as possibly the most famous French artist of all time. His 1872 painting “Impression, Sunrise” is his most notable work.

“Impression, Sunrise features a seascape view from Le Havre in France where Monet is said to have spent a substantial amount of time during his life.

The artwork is recognized for its delicate, yet fascinating colours that represent a peaceful sunrise over the bustling port city.

READ MORE: Interesting Facts About Claude Monet

2. The Death Of Marat – Jacques-Louis David

French Title: La Mort de Marat
Year: 1793

Jean-Paul Marat, a radical journalist and politician, is the focus of “The Death of Marat.” His paper L’Ami du peuple was revolutionary, but also spurred violent and rebellious conduct.

A young aristocrat, Charlotte Corday blamed Marat for the September Massacre during the Terror. Pretending to be an informant, she obtained access to his chamber.

In 1793, Charlotte stabbed Marat to death while he was in the bathtub. Later, she was put on trial and executed.

“The Death Of Marat” depicts the radical journalist lying dead in his bath. As the leading French artist of his time, Jacques-Louis David is best recognised for this painting, which is his most well-known.

3. The Bath – Édouard Manet

French Title: Le Dejeuner Sur L’Herbe
Year: 1863

Édouard Manet’s Le Dejeuner Sur L’Herbe features two well-dressed men relaxing on the grass in front of a nearby bath. 

A naked woman sits nearby, staring at the viewer, while another naked woman can be seen in the background. Many critics found this piece repulsive because it was deemed explicit.

In 1863, Manet’s painting was rejected from the Salon, but he went on to exhibit it at the Salon des Refusés. The painting has long been regarded as an image of French culture and one of the greatest paintings ever produced by a French artist.

4. Liberty Leading the People – Eugène Delacroix

French Title: La Liberté guidant le peuple
Year: 1830

Liberty is known as a goddess in various cultures and during the French Revolution, several metaphorical personifications of ‘Liberty’ developed in France.

Eugène Delacroix’ “Liberty Leading the People” was intended to honour the July Revolution of 1830. The painting portrays striking scenes of French rebels, surrounding Lady Liberty.

The lady is pictured carrying a gun in one hand and a French flag in another. “Liberty Leading the People” is recognized as one of the most moving Romanticism paintings and the most famous ever done by Delacroix.

5. The Raft Of The Medusa – Théodore Géricault

French Title: Le Radeau de La Méduse
Year: 1819

During the Napoleonic Wars, the French cruiser Méduse served in the Mediterranean. In July 1816, it collapsed in a sandbank on its way to Senegal. There were 400 individuals on board, and 151 of them were evacuated via raft. The raft’s occupants endured a horrendous ordeal.

At the end of 13 days at sea, only 15 guys remained on the raft.

Before painting this masterwork, Théodore Géricault spent a great deal of time researching the occurrence. An iconic piece of French Romanticism, “The Raft of the Medusa” has immortalized the incident depicted in it.

6. Dance at Le Moulin de la Galette – Pierre Auguste Renoir

French Title: Bal du moulin de la Galette
Year: 1876

The painting “Dance at Le Moulin de la Galette” by Pierre Auguste Renoir has long been regarded as a masterpiece in the Impressionist art movement.

An idyllic Sunday afternoon in the Montmartre neighbourhood of Paris, circa 1890, is captured in this artwork.

The Moulin de la Galette was a popular outdoor dance venue and café close to Renoir’s residence.

To create this work of art, Renoir combined elements of genre painting, still life, and landscape into one cohesive masterpiece.

7. The Absinthe Drinker – Édouard Manet

French Title: Le Buveur d’absinthe
Year: 1859

One of the most distinctively French paintings created during the Impressionist era is “The Absinthe Drinker,” one of Manet’s earliest efforts.

“The Absinthe Drinker” features Collardet, a Frenchman who was a regular in the social circles of Manet while he was in Paris.

The artist’s depiction of an alcoholic was panned by others in his professional network for its melancholy tone.

“The Absinthe Drinker” was among the few paintings by Manet that remained from this period because the artist destroyed many of them.

READ MORE: Interesting Facts About Henri Matisse 

8. Dance – Henri Matisse

French Title: La Danse
Year: 1910

Henri Matisse is regarded as one of the key figures in modern art. In addition to its artistic character, “Dance” by Matisse is noted for its controversial nature.

Commissioned for a wealthy Russian collector, this 1910 painting depicts naked figures dancing in a circle with their hands clasped together against a dark blue and green background.

“Dance” was first rejected by the French art establishment because of the use of only three hues, which was typical of the Fauvist movement.

However, it was also admired by art lovers because of its remarkable depth of colour.

9. Olympia – Édouard Manet

Year: 1863

Manet’s Olympia is one of the most well-known 19th-century nudist paintings. Several elements in the painting identify her as a prostitute, so when it was initially shown in 1865 at the Paris Salon, there was a great deal of discussion about it.

Among these elements are the orchid in her hair, pearl earrings, the oriental shawl and the black cat, which traditionally represents prostitution.

The painting’s most recognized feature is Olympia’s confrontational glare, said to be a symbol of resistance against patriarchy.

10. Man with a Guitar – Georges Braque

French Title: Figure, L’homme à la guitare
Year: 1911-1912

Georges Braque’s “Man with a Guitar” is one of the most significant works of the Analytic Cubism movement. It is widely regarded as one of the most famous French artworks of the modern art era.

The subject of a man with a guitar is practically unrecognizable at first glance, but a closer look reveals a depth that is composed of several different levels of the same objects viewed from various angles.

Braque’s choice of muted hues creates an unusual impression as the shapes appear to change and distort in front of the viewer’s eyes.

11. The Boulevard Montmartre at Night – Camille Pissarro

French Title: Le Boulevard de Montmartre, Matinée de Printemps
Year: 1897

Camille Pissarro is best known for his painting “The Boulevard Montmartre at Night.” This picture was completed in 1897 and depicts the French quarter in an astonishing colour palette emphasized by the flickering street lights.

This piece was created from the perspective of a room at the Hôtel de Russie in Paris. Later in his life, Pissarro’s concentration would shift to the country’s cityscapes, where he spent much of his time.

12. A Sunday Afternoon on the island of La Grande-Jatte – Georges Seurat

French Title: Un dimanche apres-midi s l’lle de la Grande Jatte
Year: 1884 – 1886

“A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande-Jatte,” by Georges Seurat, depicts a classic scenario in which French people are lazily enjoying a sunny day on the island along the water’s edge.

Georges Seurat was a visionary painter who pioneered the techniques of chromoluminarism and pointillism.

This artwork is one of the best examples of pointillism, a technique in which small, distinct dots of pure colour are painted in patterns to make an image.

13. The Card Players – Paul Cezanne

French Title: Les Joueurs de cartes
Year: 1890s

Paul Cezanne was a well-known Impressionist painter whose works are known to be distinctively French. “The Card Players” depicts two guys, one on each side of the canvas, engaged in a furious card game.

The Card Players series, a masterwork of Post-Impressionist painting, was created in the final phase of Paul Cezanne’s oeuvre, which is regarded as his best era.

READ MORE: Interesting Facts About Paul Cézanne

14. Water Lilies – Claude Monet

French Title: Nympheas
Year: 1896 – 1926

Monet’s “Nympheas” series consists of around 250 oil paintings done by him during the last 30 years of his life. The dazzling variety of colour and light in the panels draws the viewer’s attention to the immense diversity of nature.

The interesting thing about these works is that Monet’s eyesight was declining due to cataract while he was painting the majority of these masterpieces.

Claude Monet’s water-lily paintings are among the most renowned and celebrated works of the twentieth century and had a tremendous influence on subsequent generations of painters.