The French certainly had some inspiring artists and here are some of the greatest. My personal favourite is not on the list, Basquiat.
Top 10 French Artists

Jaz de Bouffan – 1876
A list of the greatest French artists and painters:
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Claude Monet (1840 – 1926) – Impressionist painter. The term impressionism stemmed from Monet’s influential work ‘Impression, Sunrise’ (Impression, soleil levant). Monet’s paintings frequently depicted nature in impressionist style. |
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Paul Cezanne (1839-1906) – Post impressionist painter. Began his career in the impressionist mould but developed new innovative styles, providing a bridge between Nineteenth Century art and the cubist / modern art of Twentieth Century. |
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Paul Gauguin (1848-1903) Post impressionist painter, who contributed to the growth of avant-garde painting. Gauguin had a temperamental relationship with Van Gogh |
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August Renoir (1841–1919) Impressionist painter. Renoir played a key role in the development of impressionist painter. He was attracted to depicting human beauty and scenes of human society. |
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Camille Pissarro (1830–1903) Impressionist and post-impressionist painter. A very influential figure for both impressionists and the new generation of post impressionist painters. |
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Edgar Degas (1834–1917) Considered a forerunner of impressionism. He preferred the term ‘realist’ Degas was interested in depicting movement in art. |
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Édouard Manet (1832–1883) Manet contributed to the schools of ‘Realism’ and ‘Impressionism’ – playing a key role in the transformation to impressionism and modern art. |
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Charles-François Daubigny (1817–1878) Traditional landscape painter who was also seen as an important pre-cursor to impressionism. |
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Eugène Delacroix (1798–1863) Romantic painter, inspired by the Venetian Renaissance painters and Rubens. |
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Marcel Duchamp (1887–1968) Painter and sculptor associated with Dadaism. |
Lived in France
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Vincent Van Gogh (1853–1890) – Post impressionist painter noted for boldness and vivid paintings. Born in Netherlands, he lived many years in France. |
Source: Biography Online
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