Limestone

Sedimentary rock
Limestone in Waitomo District, New Zealand
Composition
Calcium carbonate: inorganic crystalline calcite and/or organic calcareous material

Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate (CaCO₃). Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera.

Limestone makes up about 10% of the total volume of all sedimentary rocks. The solubility of limestone in water and weak acid solutions leads to karst landscapes, in which water erodes the limestone over thousands to millions of years. Most cave systems are through limestone bedrock.

Limestone has numerous uses: as a building material, as aggregate for the base of roads, as white pigment or filler in products such as toothpaste or paints and as a chemical feedstock.

Description[link]

Limestone quarry at Cedar Creek, Virginia, USA

La Zaplaz formations in the Piatra Craiului Mountains, Romania.

Like most other sedimentary rocks, limestone is composed of grains. Most grains in limestone are skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera. Other carbonate grains comprising limestones are ooids, peloids, intraclasts, and extraclasts. These organisms secrete shells made of aragonite or calcite, and leave these shells behind after the organisms die.

Limestone often contains variable amounts of silica in the form of chert (chalcedony, flint, jasper, etc.) or siliceous skeletal fragment (sponge spicules, diatoms, radiolarians), and varying amounts of clay, silt and sand (terrestrial detritus) carried in by rivers.

Some limestones do not consist of grains at all, and are formed completely by the chemical precipitation of calcite or aragonite, i.e. travertine. Secondary calcite may be deposited by supersaturated meteoric waters (groundwater that precipitates the material in caves). This produces speleothems, such as stalagmites and stalactites. Another form taken by calcite is oolitic limestone, which can be recognized by its granular (oolite) appearance.

The primary source of the calcite in limestone is most commonly marine organisms. Some of these organisms can construct mounds of rock known as reefs, building upon past generations. Below about 3,000 meters, water pressure and temperature conditions cause the dissolution of calcite to increase nonlinearly, so limestone typically does not form in deeper waters (see lysocline). Limestones may also form in both lacustrine and evaporite depositional environments.^[1][2]

Calcite can be either dissolved or precipitated by groundwater, depending on several factors, including the water temperature, pH, and dissolved ion concentrations. Calcite exhibits an unusual characteristic called retrograde solubility, in which it becomes less soluble in water as the temperature increases.

Because of impurities, such as clay, sand, organic remains, iron oxide and other materials, many limestones exhibit different colors, especially on weathered surfaces.

Limestone may be crystalline, clastic, granular, or massive, depending on the method of formation. Crystals of calcite, quartz, dolomite or barite may line small cavities in the rock. When conditions are right for precipitation, calcite forms mineral coatings that cement the existing rock grains together, or it can fill fractures.

Travertine is a banded, compact variety of limestone formed along streams, particularly where there are waterfalls, and around hot or cold springs. Calcium carbonate is deposited where evaporation of the water leaves a solution supersaturated with the chemical constituents of calcite. Tufa, a porous or cellular variety of travertine, is found near waterfalls. Coquina is a poorly consolidated limestone composed of pieces of coral or shells.

During regional metamorphism that occurs during the mountain building process (orogeny), limestone recrystallizes into marble.

Limestone is a parent material of Mollisol soil group.

Classification[link]

Two major classification schemes, the Folk and the Dunham, are used for identifying limestone and carbonate rocks.

Folk classification[link]

Robert L. Folk developed a classification system that places primary emphasis on the detailed composition of grains and interstitial material in carbonate rocks. Based on composition, there are three main components: allochems (grains), matrix (mostly micrite), and cement (sparite). The Folk system uses two-part names; the first refers to the grains and the second is the root. It is helpful to have a petrographic microscope when using the Folk scheme, because it is easier to determine the components present in each sample.^[3]

Dunham classification[link]

The Dunham scheme focuses on depositional textures. Each name is based upon the texture of the grains that make up the limestone. Robert J. Dunham published his system for limestone in 1962; it focuses on the depositional fabric of carbonate rocks. Dunham divides the rocks into four main groups based on relative proportions of coarser clastic particles. Dunham names are essentially for rock families. His efforts deal with the question of whether or not the grains were originally in mutual contact, and therefore self-supporting, or whether the rock is characterized by the presence of frame builders and algal mats. Unlike the Folk scheme, Dunham deals with the original porosity of the rock. The Dunham scheme is more useful for hand samples because it is based on texture, not the grains in the sample.^[4]

Limestone landscape[link]

The Cudgel of Hercules, a tall limestone rock (Pieskowa Skała Castle in the background)

Limestone makes up about 10% of the total volume of all sedimentary rocks.^[5][6]

Limestone is partially soluble, especially in acid, and therefore forms many erosional landforms. These include limestone pavements, pot holes, cenotes, caves and gorges. Such erosion landscapes are known as karsts. Limestone is less resistant than most igneous rocks, but more resistant than most other sedimentary rocks. It is therefore usually associated with hills and downland, and occurs in regions with other sedimentary rocks, typically clays.

Karst topography and caves develop in limestone rocks due to their solubility in dilute acidic groundwater. The solubility of limestone in water and weak acid solutions leads to karst landscapes. Regions overlying limestone bedrock tend to have fewer visible above-ground sources (ponds and streams), as surface water easily drains downward through joints in the limestone. While draining, water and organic acid from the soil slowly (over thousands or millions of years) enlarges these cracks, dissolving the calcium carbonate and carrying it away in solution. Most cave systems are through limestone bedrock. Cooling groundwater or mixing of different groundwaters will also create conditions suitable for cave formation.

Coastal limestones are often eroded by organisms which bore into the rock by various means. This process is known as bioerosion. It is most common in the tropics, and it is known throughout the fossil record (see Taylor and Wilson, 2003).

Bands of limestone emerge from the Earth's surface in often spectacular rocky outcrops and islands. Examples include the Burren in Co. Clare, Ireland; the Verdon Gorge in France; Malham Cove in North Yorkshire and the Isle of Wight,^[7] England; on Fårö near the Swedish island of Gotland, the Niagara Escarpment in Canada/United States, Notch Peak in Utah, the Ha Long Bay National Park in Vietnam and the hills around the Lijiang River and Guilin city in China.

The Florida Keys, islands off the south coast of Florida, are composed mainly of oolitic limestone (the Lower Keys) and the carbonate skeletons of coral reefs (the Upper Keys), which thrived in the area during interglacial periods when sea level was higher than at present.

Unique habitats are found on alvars, extremely level expanses of limestone with thin soil mantles. The largest such expanse in Europe is the Stora Alvaret on the island of Öland, Sweden. Another area with large quantities of limestone is the island of Gotland, Sweden. Huge quarries in northwestern Europe, such as those of Mount Saint Peter (Belgium/Netherlands), extend for more than a hundred kilometers.

The world's largest limestone quarry is at Michigan Limestone and Chemical Company in Rogers City, Michigan.^[8]

Uses[link]

Limestone is very common in architecture, especially in Europe and North America. Many landmarks across the world, including the Great Pyramid and its associated complex in Giza, Egypt, are made of limestone. So many buildings in Kingston, Canada were constructed from it that it is nicknamed the 'Limestone City'.^[9] On the island of Malta, a variety of limestone called Globigerina limestone was, for a long time, the only building material available, and is still very frequently used on all types of buildings and sculptures. Limestone is readily available and relatively easy to cut into blocks or more elaborate carving. It is also long-lasting and stands up well to exposure. However, it is a very heavy material, making it impractical for tall buildings, and relatively expensive as a building material.

The Great Pyramid of Giza, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World; its outside cover is made entirely from limestone.

Courthouse built of limestone in Manhattan, Kansas

A limestone plate with a negative map of Moosburg in Bavaria is prepared for a lithography print.

Limestone was most popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Train stations, banks and other structures from that era are normally made of limestone. It is used as a facade on some skyscrapers, but only in thin plates for covering, rather than solid blocks. In the United States, Indiana, most notably the Bloomington area, has long been a source of high quality quarried limestone, called Indiana limestone. Many famous buildings in London are built from Portland limestone.

Limestone was also a very popular building block in the Middle Ages in the areas where it occurred, since it is hard, durable, and commonly occurs in easily accessible surface exposures. Many medieval churches and castles in Europe are made of limestone. Beer stone was a popular kind of limestone for medieval buildings in southern England.

Limestone and (to a lesser extent) marble are reactive to acid solutions, making acid rain a significant problem to the preservation of artifacts made from this stone. Many limestone statues and building surfaces have suffered severe damage due to acid rain. Acid-based cleaning chemicals can also etch limestone, which should only be cleaned with a neutral or mild alkaline-based cleaner.

Other uses include:

• It is the raw material for the manufacture of quicklime (calcium oxide), slaked lime (calcium hydroxide), cement and mortar.
• Pulverized limestone is used as a soil conditioner to neutralize acidic soils.
• It is crushed for use as aggregate—the solid base for many roads.
• Geological formations of limestone are among the best petroleum reservoirs;
• As a reagent in flue-gas desulfurization, it reacts with sulfur dioxide for air pollution control.
• Glass making, in some circumstances, uses limestone.
• It is added to toothpaste, paper, plastics, paint, tiles, and other materials as both white pigment and a cheap filler.
• It can suppress methane explosions in underground coal mines.
• Purified, it is added to bread and cereals as a source of calcium.
• Calcium levels in livestock feed are supplemented with it, such as for poultry (when ground up).^[10]
• It can be used for remineralizing and increasing the alkalinity of purified water to prevent pipe corrosion and to restore essential nutrient levels.^[11]
• Used in blast furnaces, limestone extracts iron from its ore.
• It is often found in medicines and cosmetics.
• It is used in sculptures because of its suitability for carving.

Gallery[link]

• 

  A stratigraphic section of Ordovician limestone exposed in central Tennessee, U.S. The less-resistant and thinner beds are composed of shale. The vertical lines are drill holes for explosives used during road construction.

• 

  Thin-section view of a Middle Jurassic limestone in southern Utah. The round grains are ooids; the largest is 1.2 mm in diameter. This limestone is an oosparite.

• 

  Photo and etched section of a sample of fossiliferous limestone from the Kope Formation (Upper Ordovician) near Cincinnati, Ohio.

• 

  Biosparite limestone of the Brassfield Formation (Lower Silurian) near Fairborn, Ohio, showing grains mainly composed of crinoid fragments.

See also[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Limestones

• Calcium carbonate
• Chalk
• Coral sand
• Kurkar
• In Praise of Limestone
• List of types of limestone by location

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Taylor, P.D. and Wilson, M.A., 2003. Palaeoecology and evolution of marine hard substrate communities. Earth-Science Reviews 62: 1–103.[1]
• Folk RL, (1974) Petrology of Sedimentary Rocks, Hemphill Publishing, Austin, Texas
• Dunham, R.J., 1962, Classification of carbonate rocks according to depositional textures, in Ham W.E. (ed.), Classification of carbonate rocks: Am. Assoc. Petroleum Geologists Mem. 1,p. 108-121
• Robert S. Boynton-Chemistry and technology of lime and limestone- Wiley (1980) - 578 pages - ISBN 0471027715

The following is a chronological list of French artists working in visual or plastic media (plus, for some artists of the 20th century, performance art). For alphabetical lists, see the various subcategories of Category:French artists. See other articles for information on French literature, French music, French cinema and French culture.

Middle Ages[link]

See also Middle Ages, Gothic architecture, Illuminated manuscript

• Villard de Honnecourt (13th century) other media
• Jean Pucelle (active 1325–28) other media
• Claus Sluter (Dutch, worked in Burgundy from 1395–1406) sculptor
• the Limbourg brothers (Pol and Hermann) (Flemish artists working in Burgundy around 1403–1416) other media

Renaissance[link]

See also Renaissance, Francis I of France, Henry II of France, Catherine de' Medici, Henry III of France, Henry IV of France, Louvre, Fontainebleau, Châteaux of the Loire Valley

• Jacques Morel (artist) (c.1395–1459) sculptor
• Simon Marmion (c.1420–1489) Illuminations
• Jean Fouquet (1420–1481) painter, Illuminations
• Nicolas Froment (c.1450–c.1490) painter
• Pierre Antoine Le Moiturier (active in the 1460s) sculptor
• Jean Clouet (c.1485–1541) (Flemish born) painter, Miniatures
• Jean Duvet (c.1485–c.1570) engraver
• Jehan Cousin the elder (1500–1593) painter, engraver, sculptor
• Ligier Richier (1500–1567) sculptor
• Philibert Delorme (or de L'Orme) (1505/1510–1570) sculptor, Architectural plans
• Pierre Bontemps (1505/1510–after 1562) sculptor
• Jean Goujon (c.1510–1565?) sculptor
• Bernard Palissy (1510–1590) Master potter
• Jacques Androuet du Cerceau (c1510–1585) Architectural plans
• Jean Juste (active 1515–1530) sculptor
• François Clouet (c.1515–1572) (son of Jean Clouet) painter
• Pierre Lescot (c.1515–1578) sculptor, Architect
• Antoine Caron (c.1521–1599) painter
• Jehan Cousin the younger (c. 1522–1593) painter
• Germain Pilon (c.1535–1590) sculptor
• Ambroise Dubois (c.1542–1614) (Flemish born) painter
• Barthélemy Prieur (c.1536–1616) sculptor
• Toussaint Dubreuil (c.1561–1602) painter
• Martin Fréminet (1567–1619) painter
• Frans Pourbus the younger (1569–1622) (Flemish born) painter
• Jacques Bellange (1575–1616) (in Lorraine) engraver
• Jean Decourt (active 1570s) painter
• François Quesnel (active 1580s) painter
• Pierre Quesnel (c.1502–1580) painter
• Jacques Patin (active 1580s) engraver
• Jean de Beaugrand (1584–1640) lineographer
• Claude Deruet (1588–1660) (in Lorraine) painter

Seventeenth century[link]

See also French Baroque and Classicism, Louis XIII of France, Cardinal Richelieu, Baroque, Louis XIV of France, Palace of Versailles, Classicism

• Simon Vouet (1590–1649) painter
• Jacques Callot (1592–1635) (in Lorraine) engraver
• Georges de La Tour (1593–1652) painter
• Nicolas Poussin (1594–1665) painter
• Antoine Le Nain (before 1600–?) painter
• Louis Le Nain (after 1600–?) painter
• Nicolas Lagneau (fl c. 1600–c. 1650), draftsman
• Abraham Bosse (1602–1676) engraver
• Claude Gelée, called Claude Lorrain (1600–1682) painter
• Philippe de Champaigne (1602–1674)
• Pierre-Antoine Lemoine (1605–1665) still-life painter
• Laurent de La Hyre (1606–1565) painter
• Mathieu Le Nain (1607–c.1677) painter
• Pierre Mignard (1612–1695) painter
• Gaspard Dughet (1613–1675) painter
• André Le Nôtre (1613–1700) Landscape architect
• Eustache Le Sueur (1616–1655) painter
• Sébastien Bourdon (1616–1671) painter
• Charles Le Brun (1619–1690) painter, other media
• Pierre Paul Puget (1620–1694) sculptor
• Guillaume Courtois (1628–1679) painter and etcher
• François Girardon (1628–1715) sculptor
• Claude Lefèbvre (1633–1675) painter and engraver
• Charles de la Fosse (1636–1716) painter
• Antoine Coysevox (1640–1720) sculptor
• Charles de La Fosse (1640–1716) painter
• Étienne Allegrain (1644–1736) topographical painter
• Jean Jouvenet (1644–1717) painter
• François de Troy (1645–1730) painter
• Nicolas de Largillière (1656–1746) painter
• Nicolas Coustou (1658–1733), sculptor
• Hyacinthe Rigaud (1659–1743) painter
• Antoine Coypel (1661–1722) sculptor
• François Desportes (1661–1743) painter

Eighteenth century[link]

See also Palace of Versailles, Louis XV of France, Madame de Pompadour, Rococo, Louis XVI of France, Neoclassicism, Enlightenment, Gobelins. For art criticism, see Denis Diderot

• Alexis Simon Belle (1674–1734)
• Jean-François de Troy (1679–1752) (son of François) painter
• Antoine Watteau (1684–1721) painter
• Jean-Baptiste van Loo (1684–1745) painter
• Jean-Marc Nattier (1685–1766) painter
• Jean-Baptiste Oudry (1686–1755) painter
• Louise-Magdeleine Horthemels (1686–1767) engraver
• François Lemoyne (1688–1737) painter
• Nicolas Lancret (1690–1743) painter
• Charles-Antoine Coypel (1694–1752) painter, art commentator, and playwright
• Jean-Baptiste Pater (1695–1736) painter
• Jean-Baptiste Siméon Chardin (1699–1779) painter
• Charles Joseph Natoire (1700–1777) painter
• Louis-François Roubiliac (1702–1762) sculptor
• Jean Etienne Liotard (1702–1789) painter
• François Boucher (1703–1770) painter, engraver
• Maurice Quentin de La Tour (1704–1788) painter
• Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne (1704–1778) painter, sculptor
• Charles-André van Loo (Carle Van Loo) (1705–1765) (brother of Jean-Baptiste van Loo) painter
• Louis-Michel van Loo (1707–1771) (son of Jean-Baptiste van Loo) painter
• Jean-Baptiste Pigalle (1714–1785) sculptor
• Claude Joseph Vernet (1714–1789) painter
• Jean-Baptiste Perronneau (1715–1783) painter
• Etienne-Maurice Falconet (1716–1791) sculptor
• Joseph-Marie Vien (1716–1809) painter
• Charles-Amédée-Philippe van Loo (1719–1795) (son of Jean-Baptiste van Loo) painter
• Charles Germain de Saint Aubin (1721–1786) engraver, embroidery designer
• Jean-Baptiste Greuze (1725–1805) painter
• François-Hubert Drouais (Drouais le fils) (1727–1775) painter
• Jean-Baptiste Defernex (1729–1783) sculptor
• Jean-Honoré Fragonard (1732–1806) painter
• Jean-Jacques Durameau (1733–1796) painter
• Hubert Robert (1733–1808) painter, engraver
• Marie-Suzanne Giroust (1734–1772), painter
• Joseph Ducreux (1735–1802) painter
• Étienne de La Vallée Poussin (1735–1802) French history painter and creator of interior decorative schemes
• Louis Albert Guislain Bacler d'Albe (1761–1824), painter
• Nicolas Bernard Lépicié (1735–1784) painter
• Nicolas Benjamin Delapierre (1739–c1800) painter
• Jean Antoine Houdon (1741–1828) sculptor
• Jean Michel Moreau (Moreau the younger) (1741–1814) engraver
• Anne Vallayer-Coster (1744–1818) painter
• Jacques Louis David (1748–1825) painter
• Claude-Jean-Baptiste Hoin (1750–1817) portrait artist
• Jacques-Antoine-Marie Lemoine (1751–1824) portrait and landscape artist
• Antoine Berjon (1754–1843) painter and designer
• Jean-Baptiste Regnault (1754–1829)
• Elisabeth Vigee-Lebrun (1755–1842) painter
• Alexandre-Hyacinthe Dunouy (1757–1841) painter known for his landscapes
• Pierre Prudhon (1758–1823) painter

Nineteenth century (Romanticism to Impressionism)[link]

See also French Revolution, Napoleon I, Romanticism, Barbizon school, Naturalism, Symbolism (arts), Impressionism, Academic art, Napoleon III of France, Photography, Modernism

• Joseph Nicéphore Niépce (1765–1833) photographer
• Adélaïde Dufrénoy (1765–1825), poet and painter from Brittany
• Anne-Louis Girodet de Roussy-Trioson (1767–1824) painter
• Jean-Baptiste Isabey (1767–1855) painter
• Antoine Jean Gros (1771–1835) painter
• Pierre Narcisse Guérin (1771–1833) painter
• Adélaïde Victoire Hall (1772–1844) painter
• Eustache-Hyacinthe Langlois (1777–1837) painter, draftsman
• Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres (1780–1867) painter
• Étienne Bouhot (1780–1862) painter and art teacher
• Alexandre-François Caminade (1783–1862) portraitist and religious painter
• François Rude (1784–1855) sculptor
• Eugénie Charen (1786–1824) painter
• Louis-Jacques Daguerre (1787–1851) photographer
• Charles de Steuben (1788–1856) painter active during the Napoleonic Era
• Horace Vernet (1789–1863) painter
• Jules Robert Auguste (c.1789–1850) painter
• Théodore Géricault (1791–1824) painter
• Nicolas Toussaint Charlet (1792–1845) painter
• Antoine-Louis Barye (1795–1875) sculptor
• Ary Scheffer (1795–1858) painter
• Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot (1796–1875) painter
• Eugène Delacroix (1798–1863) painter
• Alfred Johannot (1800–1837) painter & engraver
• Hippolyte Bellangé (1800–1866) painter
• Achille Devéria (1800–1857) painter, engraver
• Paul Huet (1803–1869) painter
• François-Émile de Lansac (1803–1890) painter
• Grandville (Jean Ignace Isidore Gérard, called) (1803–1847) engraver
• Eugène Isabey (1803–1886) painter
• Denis Auguste Marie Raffet (1804–1860) painter
• Edouard Vienot (born 1804) painter
• Hippolyte Bayard (1807–1887) photographer
• Honoré Daumier (1808–1879) painter, lithographer, sculptor
• Louis Boulanger (1808–1867) painter
• Narcisse Virgile Diaz de la Peña (1808–1878) (Born in Spain) painter
• Auguste Préault (1809–1879) sculptor
• Ignace François Bonhomme (1809–1881) painter
• Constant Troyon (1810–1865) painter
• Eugène André Oudiné (1810–1875) sculptor, engraver
• Jules Dupré (1811–1889) painter
• Théodore Rousseau (1812–1867) painter
• Boissard de Boisdenier (1813–1866) painter
• Charles Jacque (1813–1894) painter
• Jean-François Millet (1814–1875) painter
• Thomas Couture (1815–1879) painter
• Jean-Louis-Ernest Meissonier (1815–1891) painter
• Jacques-Eugene Feyen (1815–1908) painter
• Charles Marville (1816–1879) painter, engraver, photographer
• Antoine Chintreuil (1816–1873) painter
• Jean Pierre Alexandre Antigna (1817–1878) painter
• François Bonvin (1817–1887) painter
• Charles-François Daubigny (1817–1878) painter
• Johan Barthold Jongkind (1819–1891) (Dutch, worked in France) painter
• Théodore Chassériau (1819–1856) painter
• Gustave Courbet (1819–1877) painter
• Eugène Fromentin (1820–1876) painter
• Nadar (Gaspard Félix Tournachon, called "Nadar") (1820–1910) photographer
• Charles Méryon (1821–1868) engraver
• Rosa Bonheur (1822–1899) painter
• Marie Adrien Persac (1823) painter, cartographer, architect, civil engineer, photographer
• Alexandre Cabanel (1823–1889) painter
• Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse (1824–1887), sculptor and painter
• Jean-Léon Gérôme (1824–1904) painter
• Théodule Ribot (1824–1891) painter
• Eugène Boudin (1824–1898) painter
• Pierre Puvis de Chavannes (1824–1898) painter
• William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825–1905) painter
• Gustave Moreau (1826–1898) painter
• Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux (1827–1875) sculptor
• Elie Delaunay (1828–1891) painter
• Achille Emperaire (1829–1898) painter and a friend of Paul Cézanne

Nineteenth century (Impressionism to Fauvism)[link]

See also Modern art, Modernism, Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, Les Nabis, Fauvism, Symbolism (arts), Symbolist painters, Art Nouveau, Primitivism (art)

• Camille Pissarro (1830–1903) painter
• Étienne-Jules Marey (1830–1904) photographer
• Édouard Manet (1832–1883) painter
• Gustave Doré (1832–1883) engraver
• Edgar Degas (1834–1917) painter, sculptor
• Henri Fantin-Latour (1836–1904) painter
• Jules Chéret (1836–1932) painter, other media
• Paul Cézanne (1839–1906) painter
• François Salle (1839–1899)
• Odilon Redon (1840–1916) painter, draftsman, lithographer
• Auguste Rodin (1840–1917) sculptor
• Claude Monet (1840–1926) painter (was a founder of French impressionist painting)
• Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841–1919) painter
• Frédéric Bazille (1841–1870) painter
• Berthe Morisot (1841–1895) painter
• Marie Bracquemond (1841–1916) painter
• Fernand Pelez (1843–1913) painter
• Alexander Louis Leloir (1843–1884) painter
• Henri Rousseau ("Le Douanier Rousseau") (1844–1910) painter
• Jean Antonin Mercié (1845–1916) sculptor
• Jean-Joseph Benjamin-Constant (1845–1902) painter
• Gustave Caillebotte (1848–1894) painter
• Henri Biva (1848–1929) painter
• Jules Bastien-Lepage (1848–1884) painter
• Paul Gauguin (1848–1903) painter, sculptor
• Henry Lerolle (1848–1929) painter
• Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890) (Dutch, worked in France) painter
• Henry Moret (1856–1913) painter
• Eugène Atget (Jean-Eugène Auguste Atget) (1857–1927) photographer
• Mathurin Janssaud (1857–1940) painter
• Georges-Pierre Seurat (1859–1891) painter
• Antoine Bourdelle (1861–1929) sculptor
• Aristide Maillol (1861–1944) sculptor
• Louis Vivin (1861–1936) painter
• Antonio de la Gandara (1861–1917) painter
• Gaston Bussière (painter) (1862–1929) Symbolism movement painter and illustrator
• Ernest de Chamaillard (1862–1931), painter
• Henri Delavallée (1862–1943), painter
• Paul Signac (1863–1935) painter
• René Georges Hermann-Paul (1864–1940) graphic artist, illustrator, painter
• William Didier-Pouget (1864–1959) painter
• Henri Marie de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864–1901) painter
• Paul Sérusier (1864–1927) painter
• Paul Ranson (1864–1909) painter
• Seraphine Louis (1864–1942) painter
• Henri Jourdain (1864–1931) painter, prints or lithographs of landscapes usually by the water
• Albert Aurier (1865–1892), poet, art critic and painter devoted to Symbolism
• Suzanne Valadon (1865–1938) painter
• Félix Vallotton (1865–1925) (Swiss, worked in France) painter, engraver
• Pierre Bonnard (1867–1947) painter
• Ker-Xavier Roussel (1867–1944) painter
• Hector Guimard (1867–1942) Architect and Decorator
• Edouard Jean Vuillard (1868–1940) painter
• Georges Lacombe (1868–1916) sculptor
• Emile Bernard (1868–1941) painter
• Henri Matisse (1869–1954) painter, other media
• Adolf de Meyer (1869–1949) photographer

Twentieth century (Pre World War II)[link]

See also Post-Impressionism, Modern art, Modernism, Cubism, Puteaux Group, Dada, Surrealism

• Georges Rouault (1871–1958) painter
• Frantisek Kupka (1871–1957) (Czech, worked in France) painter
• Henri-Charles Manguin (1874–1943) painter
• Albert Marquet (1875–1947) painter
• Jacques Villon (1875–1963) painter
• Constantin Brâncuşi (1876–1957) (French, born in Romania) sculptor
• Maurice de Vlaminck (1876–1958) (Flemish, worked in France) painter
• Raymond Duchamp-Villon (1876–1918) sculptor
• Raoul Dufy (1877–1953) painter
• Jean Crotti (1878–1958) (Swiss) painter
• Louis Marcoussis (Louis Markus)(1878–1941) or (1883–1941) (Polish, worked in France) painter
• Francis Picabia (1879–1953) painter
• André Derain (1880–1954) painter
• Joseph Hémard (1880–1961) illustrator
• Albert Gleizes (1881–1952) painter, writer, theorist
• Henri Le Fauconnier (1881–1946) painter
• Fernand Léger (1881–1955) painter
• Georges Braque (1882–1963) painter
• Auguste Herbin (1882–1960) painter
• Jean Metzinger (1883–1956) painter, engraver, poet, writer, theorist
• Marie Laurencin (1883–1956) painter
• Maurice Utrillo (1883–1955) painter
• Georges Ribemont-Dessaignes (1884–1974) painter
• Jacques Maroger (1884–1962) painter
• Robert Delaunay (1885–1941) painter
• André Dunoyer de Segonzac (1884–1974) painter
• Raymond Wintz (1884–1956) painter
• Pierre Brissaud (1885–1964) painter
• Roger de la Fresnaye (1885–1925) painter
• Robert Antoine Pinchon (1886–1943) French Post-Impressionist painter of the Rouen School, (l'École de Rouen)
• Amédée Ozenfant (1886–1956) painter
• Jean (Hans) Arp (1886–1966) painter, sculptor
• Marc Chagall (1887–1985) (Born in Belarus) painter
• Marcel Duchamp (1887–1968) painter, sculptor, other media
• Suzanne Duchamp-Crotti (1889–1963) painter
• Ossip Zadkine (1890–1967) (Russian born) sculptor
• Jacques Lipchitz (1891–1973) (Born in Poland) sculptor
• Max Ernst (1891–1976) (German born) painter, sculptor
• Bram van Velde (1892–1981) (Dutch, worked in France) painter
• Chaïm Soutine (1894–1943) (Born in Lithuania) painter
• Jacques Henri Lartigue (1894–1986) photographer
• Prosper Rotgé (1895–1969) painter, engraver
• Jean Maurice Rothschild (1902–1998) furniture artist, interior designer, muralist
• Gen Paul (1895–1975) painter, engraver
• Albert Gilles (1895–1979) metal embosser, working with copper
• André Masson (1896–1987) painter
• René Iché (1897–1954) sculptor, painter
• Jean Fautrier (1898–1964) painter
• Georges Gimel (1898–1962) painter,engraver,sculptor
• Henri Michaux (1899–1984) (Belgian) painter
• Brassaï (Gyula Halasz) (1899–1984) (born in Hungary) photographer

Twentieth century (Post World War II)[link]

See also Modern art

• René Pellos (1900–1998) cartoonist
• Yves Tanguy (1900–1955) (Naturalized American) painter
• Marcelle Bergerol (1900–1989) painter
• Alberto Giacometti (1901–1966) (Swiss, worked in Paris) sculptor, painter
• Alfred-Georges Regner (1901–1987) painter, engraver
• Jean Dubuffet (1901–1985) painter
• Hans Bellmer (1902–1975) (French, Born in Germany) sculptor, photographer, engraver
• Victor Brauner (1903–1966) (Romanian) painter
• Hans Hartung (1904–1992) (Born in Germany) painter
• Jean Hélion (1904–1987) painter
• Pierre Tal-Coat (1905–1985) painter
• Henri Cadiou (1906–1989) painter
• Victor Vasarely (1908–1997) (Born in Hungary) painter
• Balthus (Balthasar Klossowski de Rola, called "Balthus") (1908–2001) (Polish born) painter
• Lucien Hervé (László Elkán) (1910–2007) photographer (Born in Hungary)
• Othello Radou (1910-2006) Painter
• Louise Bourgeois (1911–2010) (Lived and died in America) sculptor, other media
• Ervin Marton (1912–1968) photographer and artist
• Wols (1913–1951) (Born in Germany) painter
• Pierre Wemaëre (1913–2010) artist^[1]
• Etienne Martin (1913–1995) sculptor
• Nicolas de Staël (1914–1955) (French, Russian origin) painter
• Jean Vignes (1915–1958) monk/ artist
• Jean-Yves Couliou (1916–1995) painter
• François Lanzi (1916–1988) painter
• Constantine Andreou (1917–2007) (Greek, Brazilian born) painter, sculptor
• Marcel Mouly (1918–2008) painter, print maker
• Maurice Boitel (1919–2007) painter
• Pierre Soulages (1919–) painter
• Gabrielle Bellocq (1920–1999) painter
• César Baldaccini (called "César") (1921–1998) sculptor
• Claude Bonin-Pissarro (1921–) painter
• Georges Mathieu (1921–) painter
• Simon Hantaï (1922–) (Born in Hungary) painter
• Michel de Sereville (1922–2006) painter, illustrator
• François Ozenda (1923–1976) painter
• Jacques Toutain-Dorbec (1923–) (French, lives and work in Spain) painter
• Jean Tinguely (1925–1991) (Swiss) sculptor
• Robert Filliou (1926–1987) other media
• Raymond Hains (1926–2005) other media
• Paul Rebeyrolle (1926–2005) painter
• François Morellet (1926–) painter
• Jacques de la Villeglé (1926–) other media (ripped posters)
• Georges Badin (1927–) painter
• Bernard Buffet (1928–1999) painter
• Yves Klein (1928–1962) painter
• Arman (Armand Fernandez) (1928–2005) sculptor
• Gérard Gasiorowski (1930–1986) painter, other media
• Niki de Saint-Phalle (1930–2002) sculptor
• Alvaro Guillot (1931–2010) (Uruguay/French, died in Santa Fe New Mexico) abstract Realism
• Jules Michel (1931–) painter, sculptor
• Jean-Pierre Yvaral (1934–2002) (son of Victor Vasarely ) painter
• Jean-Michel Sanejouand (1934–) sculptor, painter
• Ben Vautier (called "Ben") (1935-) painter, other media
• Martial Raysse (1936–) painter
• Daniel Buren (1938–) sculptor, painter
• Pierre Gilou (1938-) Painter (Trompe-l'oeil – Réalité) (Son of painter Henri Cadiou), works in Paris
• Pierre Laffillé (1938–) painter
• Gérard Fromanger (1939–) painter, other media
• Andrey Lekarski (1940–) painter,sculptor, media artist (Bulgarian born)
• Bernar Venet (1941–) (Lives in America) sculptor
• Claude Rutault (1941–) conceptualist, painter
• Daniel Dezeuze (1942–) other media
• Anne Poirier (1942–) painter, other media
• Ksenia Milicevic (1942-) painter
• Patrick Poirier (1942–) painter, other media
• Jean Jacques Surian (1942–) (painter and ceramist, lives in Marseille)
• René-Louis Baron (1944–) conceptualist, algorithmic music composer
• Christian Boltanski (1944–) painter, photographer, other media, sculptor
• Jacques Pellegrin (painter) (1944–) painter
• Gérard Garouste (1946–) sculptor, painter, other media
• Denis Schneider (1946–)-painter
• Orlan (1947–) performance artist, body artist
• Bracha L. Ettinger (1948–) (Born in Tel Aviv) painter, photographer, new media, artist's books
• Dominique Sanson (1949–) (French, lives and works in Ibiza, Spain) painter
• Thibaut de Reimpré (1949-) abstract painter
• Claude-Max Lochu (1951–) painter
• Pierre Toutain-Dorbec (1951–) painter, sculptor, photographer, writer
• Jean-Marc Bustamante (1952–) painter, sculptor, photographer
• Vanilla Beer (1953) painter, daughter of Anthony Stafford Beer
• Thierry Bisch (1953–) painter
• Bernard Frize (1954–) painter
• Joel Ducorroy (1955– ) licence plate artist
• Patrick Moya (1955–) painter, sculptor, media artist (see fr:Patrick Moya )
• Patrick Mimran (1956–) multimedia artist
• Michel De Caso (1956–) painter, sculptor
• Corinne Tounsi (1956– ) (Lives and works in Vence) painter, visual artist
• Robert Combas (1957–) painter
• Maurice Benayoun (aka MoBen) (1957–) media artist
• Serge Arto (1959–) painter,sculptor, photographer,media artist
• Hervé Di Rosa (1959–) painter
• Zaven Paré (1961–) New media artist
• Victor Orly (1962– ) (Lives and works in Marseille) painter, ceramist
• Pierre Huyghe (1962–) media, film, video
• Damien Valero (1965-) mixed media artist
• Manu Farrarons (1967–) tattoo artist, graphic designer, illustrator, other media
• Ivan Fayard (1969–) painter
• Olivier Kosta-Théfaine (1972–) (Lives in Paris) other media
• Jean-François Batellier (1974-) caracaturist and cartoonist
• Amelie Chabannes (1974–) painter, sculptor
• Y Liver (1977-) (Lives and works in Paris) video-maker and performance artists
• Gilles Balmet (1979–) Video artist, painter, photographer and other media
• Natalie d'Arbeloff (dates?) cartoonist and painter

French photographers[link]

• Joseph Nicéphore Niépce (1765–1833) — Inventor of Photography
• Louis-Jacques Daguerre (1787–1851)
• Hippolyte Bayard (1807–1887)
• Adolphe Braun (1812–1877)
• Charles Marville (1816–1879)
• Nadar (Gaspard Félix Tournachon, called "Nadar") (1820–1910)
• Étienne-Jules Marey (1830–1904)
• Eugène Atget (Jean-Eugène Auguste Atget) (1857–1927)
• Constant Puyo (1857–1933)
• Jacques Henri Lartigue (1894–1986)
• Brassaï (Gyula Halasz) (1899–1984) (born in Hungary)
• Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908–2004)
• Lucien Hervé (László Elkán) (1910–) photographer (Born in Hungary)
• Willy Ronis (1910–2009) photographer
• Robert Doisneau (1912–1994)
• Wols (Alfred Otto Wolfgang Schulze) (1913–1951) (German, worked in France) photographer
• Marc Riboud (1923–) photographer
• Pierre Boulat (1924–1998) photographer
• Georges Rousse (1947–) photographer
• Pierre et Gilles (Pierre: 1949, Gilles: 1953) photographers (active since 1976)
• Pierre Toutain-Dorbec (1951–)
• Pierre Dubreuil (1872–1944), photographer
• Bettina Rheims (1952–) photographer
• Ange Leccia (1952–) photographer, filmmaker
• Sophie Calle (1953–) other media, photographer
• Jean-François Lepage (1960-) photographer
• Alexandra Boulat (1962–2007) photographer
• Xavier Veilhan (1963–) photographer, other media
• Michel Poivert (1965–) photography historian, president Société française de photographie
• Jean-Christophe Destailleur (1966-) photographer

See also[link]

• Art history
• European art history
• History of painting
• List of Bulgarian artists
• List of French painters
• List of Spanish artists

References[link]