List of the most popular artists from Switzerland, listed alphabetically with photos when available. For centuries artists have been among the world's most important people, helping chronicle history and keep us entertained with one of the earliest forms of entertainment. You might also be interested in famous Austrian artists and famous artists from Norway. Whether they're known for painting, sculpting, etching or drawing, the famous Swiss artists on this list have kept that tradition alive by creating renowned pieces of art that have been praised around the world. You can find useful information below about these notable Swiss artists, such as when they were born and where their place of birth was.
Examples include Alberto Giacometti and Jean Tinguely.
This list answers the questions, "Which famous artists are from Switzerland?" and "Who are the most well-known Swiss artists?"
For further information on these historic Swiss artists, click on their names. If you're a fine art lover use this list of celebrated Swiss artists to discover some new paintings that you will enjoy.
Alberto Giacometti was a Swiss sculptor, painter, draughtsman and printmaker. He was born in the canton Graubünden's southerly alpine valley Val Bregaglia, as the eldest of four children to Giovanni Giacometti, a well-known post-Impressionist painter. Coming from an artistic background, he was interested in art from an early age. ...more
Birthplace: Borgonovo, Switzerland
Associated periods or movements: Cubism, Surrealism, Expressionism
Nationality: Switzerland
Art Forms: Sculpture, Painting, Drawing
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Urs Graf was a Swiss Renaissance goldsmith, painter and printmaker, as well as a mercenary soldier. He only produced two etchings, one of which dates from 1513 – the earliest known etching for which a date has been established. However, his woodcuts are considered of greater significance, particularly as he is attributed with the invention of the white-line woodcut technique, where white lines create the image on a black background. He also produced a few engravings, including copies of works by Martin Schongauer and Albrecht Dürer. He produced innovative drawings intended as finished works of art rather than just studies. ...more
Birthplace: Solothurn, Switzerland
Associated periods or movements: Renaissance
Nationality: Switzerland
Art Forms: Painting
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Hermann Hesse was a German-born Swiss poet, novelist, and painter. His best-known works include Steppenwolf, Siddhartha, and The Glass Bead Game, each of which explores an individual's search for authenticity, self-knowledge and spirituality. In 1946, he received the Nobel Prize in Literature. ...more
Birthplace: Calw, Germany
Nationality: Switzerland, Germany
Art Forms: Painting
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Alice Bailly was a radical Swiss painter, known for her interpretations on cubism, fauvism, her wool paintings, and her participation in the Dada movement. In 1906, Bailly had settled in Paris where she befriended Juan Gris, Francis Picabia, and Marie Laurencin, avant-garde modernist painters who influenced her works and her later life. ...more
Birthplace: Geneva, Switzerland
Associated periods or movements: Fauvism, Dada, Cubism
Nationality: Switzerland
Art Forms: Painting
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