A court

Noble court

The court of a monarch, or at some periods an important nobleman, is a term for the extended household and all those who regularly attended on the ruler or central figure...

 painter

Painting

Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...

was an artist who painted for the members of a royal

Monarchy

A monarchy is a form of government in which the office of head of state is usually held until death or abdication and is often hereditary and includes a royal house. In some cases, the monarch is elected...

 or noble

Nobility

Nobility is a social class which possesses more acknowledged privileges or eminence than members of most other classes in a society, membership therein typically being hereditary. The privileges associated with nobility may constitute substantial advantages over or relative to non-nobles, or may be...

 family, sometimes on a fixed salary and on an exclusive basis where the artist was not supposed to undertake other work. Especially in the late Middle Ages

Middle Ages

The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

, they were often given the office of valet de chambre

Valet de chambre

Valet de chambre , or varlet de chambre, was a court appointment introduced in the late Middle Ages, common from the 14th century onwards. Royal Households had many persons appointed at any time...

. Usually they were given a salary and formal title, and often a pension for life, though arrangements were very variable. For the artist, a court appointment had the advantage of freeing them from the restriction of local painters' guilds, although in the Middle Ages and Renaissance they also often had to spend large amounts of time doing decorative work about the palace, and creating temporary works for court entertainments and displays. In England the role of Serjeant Painter

Serjeant Painter

The Serjeant Painter was an honorable and lucrative position with the British monarchy. It carried with it the prerogative of painting and gilding all of the King's residences, coaches, banners, etc. and it grossed over £ 1,000 in a good year by the 18th century...

 was set up for this, leaving the "King's painter" (and the queen's) free to paint mostly portraits. See category of Italian art collectors for lists that included non-aristocratic patrons. Some artists, like Jan van Eyck

Jan van Eyck

Jan van Eyck was a Flemish painter active in Bruges and considered one of the best Northern European painters of the 15th century....

 or Diego Velázquez

Diego Velázquez

Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez was a Spanish painter who was the leading artist in the court of King Philip IV. He was an individualistic artist of the contemporary Baroque period, important as a portrait artist...

, were used in other capacities at court, as diplomats functionaries, or administrators.

In Islamic cultures

Islamic art

Islamic art encompasses the visual arts produced from the 7th century onwards by people who lived within the territory that was inhabited by or ruled by culturally Islamic populations...

, especially between the 14th and 17th centuries, similar arrangements operated for miniaturists and artists in other media. In the Persian miniature

Persian miniature

A Persian miniature is a small painting on paper, whether a book illustration or a separate work of art intended to be kept in an album of such works called a muraqqa. The techniques are broadly comparable to the Western and Byzantine traditions of miniatures in illuminated manuscripts...

, the shah and other rulers typically maintained a "court workshop" or "atelier", of calligraphers, miniaturists, binders and other crafts, usually managed by the royal librarian. More than in the West, the courts were the essential patrons of large-scale commissions, and political changes, or changes in personal tastes, could have a significant effect on the development of a style. The name by which Riza Abbasi is usually known includes the honorific title "Abbasi", which he and others were given by Shah Abbas I of Persia

Abbas I of Persia

Shāh ‘Abbās the Great was Shah of Iran, and generally considered the greatest ruler of the Safavid dynasty. He was the third son of Shah Mohammad....

 to associate them with their patron. Abd as-Samad, a Persian painter who moved to the Mughal Empire

Mughal Empire

The Mughal Empire ,‎ or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...

, was given a number of significant administrative jobs, as indeed was his artist son. The court remained the focus of patronage of painting in the "sub-Mughal" princely courts of India, whether Muslim or Hindu

Hindu

Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...

.

At many periods rulers owned or controlled royal workshops or factories making high-quality tapestries, porcelain

Porcelain

Porcelain is a ceramic material made by heating raw materials, generally including clay in the form of kaolin, in a kiln to temperatures between and...

 or pottery, silks and other types of object. This was especially the case in China and in the Byzantine Empire

Byzantine Empire

The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...

. Often court artists worked on the designs for these products; for example the finest carpet

Oriental rug

An authentic oriental rug is a handmade carpet that is either knotted with pile or woven without pile.By definition - Oriental rugs are rugs that come from the orient...

s of Persia, Ottoman Turkey and Mughal India reflect very closely developments in style found in other media such as Ottoman illumination

Ottoman illumination

Turkish or Ottoman illumination covers non-figurative painted or drawn decorative art in books or on sheets in muraqqa or albums, as opposed to the figurative images of the Ottoman miniature. In Turkish it is called “tezhip”, an Arabic word which means “ornamenting with gold”...

, and it is usually assumed that designs were sent to the weavers from the court. The same process can be better documented in 17th century France, where the court painter Charles Le Brun

Charles Le Brun

Charles Le Brun , a French painter and art theorist, became the all-powerful, peerless master of 17th-century French art.-Biography:-Early life and training:...

 was director of the royal Gobelins Manufactory

Gobelins manufactory

The Manufacture des Gobelins is a tapestry factory located in Paris, France, at 42 avenue des Gobelins, near the Les Gobelins métro station in the XIIIe arrondissement...

, then producing far more than just tapestries, and also designed the royal commissions from the private Savonnerie manufactory of carpets. Le Brun dominated, and largely created, the style found throughout Louis XIV's palaces, which was then hugely influential in France and throughout Europe.

Incomplete list of court painters (A-Z)

Painter	Nationality	Court
Jacopo Amigoni Jacopo Amigoni Jacopo Amigoni , also named Giacomo Amiconi, was an Italian painter of the late-Baroque or Rococo period, who began his career in Venice, but traveled and was prolific throughout Europe, where his sumptuous portraits were much in demand....	Italian	Ferdinand VI of Spain Ferdinand VI of Spain Ferdinand VI , called the Learnt, was King of Spain from 9 July 1746 until his death. He was the fourth son of the previous monarch Philip V and his first wife Maria Luisa of Savoy...
Friedrich von Amerling Friedrich von Amerling Friedrich von Amerling was an Austro-Hungarian portrait painter in the court of Franz Josef. He was born in Vienna and was court painter between 1835 and 1880...	Austrian	Franz Joseph I of Austria Franz Joseph I of Austria Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I was Emperor of Austria, King of Bohemia, King of Croatia, Apostolic King of Hungary, King of Galicia and Lodomeria and Grand Duke of Cracow from 1848 until his death in 1916.In the December of 1848, Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria abdicated the throne as part of...
Ferdinand Bauer Ferdinand Bauer Ferdinand Lucas Bauer was an Austrian botanical illustrator who travelled on Matthew Flinders' expedition to Australia.-Biography:...	Austrian	Prince of Liechtenstein
Wu Bin Wu Bin (painter) Wu Bin was a Chinese landscape painter during the reign of the Ming Dynasty Wanli Emperor . His specific dates of birth and death are not known....	Chinese	Ming Dynasty Ming Dynasty The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
Bishandas Bishandas Bishandas was a 17th-century portrait painter at the court of the Mughal emperor Jahangir. Jahangir praised him as "unrivalled in the art of portraiture". Though little is known of Bishandas’ life, his name can indicate that he was a Hindu. In 1613 he was sent on a diplomatic mission to Persia, to...	Indian	Jahangir Jahangir Jahangir was the ruler of the Mughal Empire from 1605 until his death. The name Jahangir is from Persian جهانگیر,meaning "Conqueror of the World"...
Francis Bourgeois Francis Bourgeois Sir Peter Francis Bourgeois was an English-Swiss landscape painter and court painter to George III. He lived with his French partner Noel Desenfans and Desenfans's Welsh wife Margaret Morris. The three lived together in a house in Charlotte Street, London...	English	George III of the United Kingdom George III of the United Kingdom George III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death...
Agnolo di Cosimo Agnolo di Cosimo Agnolo di Cosimo , usually known as Il Bronzino, or Agnolo Bronzino , was an Italian Mannerist painter from Florence...	Italian	Medici Medici The House of Medici or Famiglia de' Medici was a political dynasty, banking family and later royal house that first began to gather prominence under Cosimo de' Medici in the Republic of Florence during the late 14th century. The family originated in the Mugello region of the Tuscan countryside,...
Giovanni Maria delle Piane	Italian	Elizabeth Farnese
Claude Deruet Claude Deruet Claude Deruet was a famous French Baroque painter of the 17th century, from the city of Nancy.-Biography:Deruet was an apprentice to Jacques Bellange, the official court painter to Charles III, Duke of Lorraine. He was in Rome between ca. 1612 and 1619, where - according to André Félibien - he...	French	Charles V, Duke of Lorraine Charles V, Duke of Lorraine Charles V , Karl V. Leopold, , son of Nicolas François, Duke of Lorraine, and Claude Françoise de Lorraine. Karl Leopold was born in Vienna and became the brother in law of Emperor Leopold and son in law of emperor Ferdinand III...
Dosso Dossi Dosso Dossi Dosso Dossi , real name Giovanni di Niccolò de Luteri, was an Italian Renaissance painter who belonged to the Ferrara School of Painting.-Biography:Dossi was born in San Giovanni del Dosso a village in the province of Mantua...	Italian	Alphonso I of Ferrara Ercole II d'Este Ercole II d'Este Ercole II d'Este was Duke of Ferrara, Modena and Reggio from 1534 to 1559. He was a member of the house of Este and the eldest son of Alfonso I d'Este and Lucrezia Borgia....
Hans Dürer Hans Dürer Hans Dürer , was a German Renaissance painter, illustrator, and engraver.He was the younger brother of Albrecht Dürer, and after him, the most talented of 17 siblings. He was certain to have been trained in the workshop of his already famous brother. He became the court painter for Sigismund I of...	German	Sigismund I of Poland Sigismund I the Old Sigismund I of Poland , of the Jagiellon dynasty, reigned as King of Poland and also as the Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1506 until 1548...
Anthony van Dyck Anthony van Dyck Sir Anthony van Dyck was a Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England. He is most famous for his portraits of Charles I of England and his family and court, painted with a relaxed elegance that was to be the dominant influence on English portrait-painting for the next...	Flemish	Charles I of England Charles I of England Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
David Klöcker Ehrenstrahl David Klöcker Ehrenstrahl David Klöcker Ehrenstrahl was a Swedish nobleman and portrait painter.Ehrenstrahl was born in Hamburg. In 1652, at twenty-four years of age, at the request of Carl Gustaf Wrangel, he moved to Skokloster Castle, from his art studies in the Netherlands...	Swedish	Charles XI of Sweden Charles XI of Sweden Charles XI also Carl, was King of Sweden from 1660 until his death, in a period in Swedish history known as the Swedish empire ....
Jan van Eyck Jan van Eyck Jan van Eyck was a Flemish painter active in Bruges and considered one of the best Northern European painters of the 15th century....	Flemish	Philip of Charolais
Domenico Fetti Domenico Fetti Domenico Fetti was an Italian Baroque painter active mainly in Rome, Mantua and Venice.-Biography:...	Italian	Gonzaga
Jean Fouquet Jean Fouquet Jean Fouquet was a preeminent French painter of the 15th century, a master of both panel painting and manuscript illumination, and the apparent inventor of the portrait miniature. He was the first French artist to travel to Italy and experience at first hand the Italian Early...	French	Louis XI of France Louis XI of France Louis XI , called the Prudent , was the King of France from 1461 to 1483. He was the son of Charles VII of France and Mary of Anjou, a member of the House of Valois....
Francisco Goya Francisco Goya Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes was a Spanish romantic painter and printmaker regarded both as the last of the Old Masters and the first of the moderns. Goya was a court painter to the Spanish Crown, and through his works was both a commentator on and chronicler of his era...	Spanish	Charles III of Spain Charles III of Spain Charles III was the King of Spain and the Spanish Indies from 1759 to 1788. He was the eldest son of Philip V of Spain and his second wife, the Princess Elisabeth Farnese... Charles IV of Spain Charles IV of Spain Charles IV was King of Spain from 14 December 1788 until his abdication on 19 March 1808.-Early life:... Ferdinand VII of Spain
Carl Haag Carl Haag Carl Haag was a German-born painter who became a naturalized British citizen, and court painter to the duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha....	Anglo-German	Queen Victoria Victoria of the United Kingdom Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India.... Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
George Hayter George Hayter Sir George Hayter was a notable English painter, specialising in portraits and large works involving in some cases several hundred individual portraits...	English	Queen Victoria Victoria of the United Kingdom Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
Hans Holbein the Younger Hans Holbein the Younger Hans Holbein the Younger was a German artist and printmaker who worked in a Northern Renaissance style. He is best known as one of the greatest portraitists of the 16th century. He also produced religious art, satire and Reformation propaganda, and made a significant contribution to the history...	German	Henry VIII of England
Hyewon Hyewon Shin Yun-bok, better known by his pen name Hyewon, was a Korean painter of the Joseon Dynasty. Like his contemporaries Danwon and Geungjae, he is known for his realistic depictions of daily life in his time. His genre paintings are distinctly more erotic than Danwon's, a fact which contributed to...	Korean	Joseon Dynasty Joseon Dynasty Joseon , was a Korean state founded by Taejo Yi Seong-gye that lasted for approximately five centuries. It was founded in the aftermath of the overthrow of the Goryeo at what is today the city of Kaesong. Early on, Korea was retitled and the capital was relocated to modern-day Seoul...
Jens Juel Jens Juel (painter) Jens Juel was a Danish painter, primarily known for his many portraits, of which the largest collection is on display at Frederiksborg Castle.-Early life and career:...	Danish	Christian VII of Denmark Christian VII of Denmark Christian VII was King of Denmark and Norway and Duke of Schleswig and Holstein from 1766 until his death. He was the son of Danish King Frederick V and his first consort Louisa, daughter of King George II of Great Britain....
Abdulcelil Levni Abdulcelil Levni Abdulcelil Levni or Abdulcelil Çelebi was an Ottoman court painter and miniaturist.-Biography:He was born in Edirne, some time in the late 17th century. He became the most prominent painter in the Ottoman Empire, and was appointed court painter under Sultans Mustafa II and Ahmed III. He was a...	Turkish	Mustafa II Mustafa II Mustafa II Ghazi was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1695 to 1703.-Life:... Ahmed III Ahmed III Ahmed III was Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and a son of Sultan Mehmed IV . His mother was Mâh-Pâre Ummatullah Râbi'a Gül-Nûş Valide Sultan, originally named Evmania Voria, who was an ethnic Greek. He was born at Hajioglupazari, in Dobruja...
Louis-Michel van Loo Louis-Michel van Loo Louis-Michel van Loo was a French painter.He studied under his father, the painter Jean-Baptiste van Loo, at Turin and Rome, and he won a prize at the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture in Paris in 1725...	French	Philip V of Spain Philip V of Spain Philip V was King of Spain from 15 November 1700 to 15 January 1724, when he abdicated in favor of his son Louis, and from 6 September 1724, when he assumed the throne again upon his son's death, to his death.Before his reign, Philip occupied an exalted place in the royal family of France as a...
Andrea Mantegna Andrea Mantegna Andrea Mantegna was an Italian painter, a student of Roman archeology, and son in law of Jacopo Bellini. Like other artists of the time, Mantegna experimented with perspective, e.g., by lowering the horizon in order to create a sense of greater monumentality...	Italian	Mantua Mantua Mantua is a city and comune in Lombardy, Italy and capital of the province of the same name. Mantua's historic power and influence under the Gonzaga family, made it one of the main artistic, cultural and notably musical hubs of Northern Italy and the country as a whole...
Tosa Mitsuoki Tosa Mitsuoki was a Japanese painter.-Tosa Mitsuoki:Tosa Mitsuoki was the successor of the Tosa school after his father, Tosa Mitsunori . Mitsuoki brought the Tosa school to Kyoto after around 50 years in Sakai. When the school was settled in Sakai, Mitsunori painted for townsmen...	Japanese	Edo Edo , also romanized as Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of the Japanese capital Tokyo, and was the seat of power for the Tokugawa shogunate which ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868...
Uemura Shōen Uemura Shoen was the pseudonym of an important woman artist in Meiji, Taishō and early Shōwa period Japanese painting. Her real name was Uemura Tsune. Shōen was known primarily for her bijinga paintings of beautiful women in the nihonga style, although she also produced numerous works on historical themes and...	Japanese	Emperor Shōwa
Bernard van Orley Bernard van Orley Bernard van Orley , also called Barend or Barent van Orley, Bernaert van Orley or Barend van Brussel, was a Flemish Northern Renaissance painter and draughtsman, and also a leading designer of tapestries and stained glass...	Flemish	Margaret of Austria Maria of Austria
Francesco Raibolini Francesco Raibolini Francesco Raibolini , called Francia, was an Italian painter, goldsmith, and medallist from Bologna, who was also director of the city mint....	Italian	Mantua Mantua Mantua is a city and comune in Lombardy, Italy and capital of the province of the same name. Mantua's historic power and influence under the Gonzaga family, made it one of the main artistic, cultural and notably musical hubs of Northern Italy and the country as a whole...
Peter Paul Rubens	Flemish	Vincenzo I of Gonzaga Philip IV of Spain Philip IV of Spain Philip IV was King of Spain between 1621 and 1665, sovereign of the Spanish Netherlands, and King of Portugal until 1640...
Rachel Ruysch Rachel Ruysch Rachel Ruysch was a Dutch artist who specialized in still-life paintings of flowers, one of only three significant women artists in Dutch Golden Age painting, of whom Maria van Oosterwijk was also a flower painter, and Judith Leyster mainly not .She was born in The...	Dutch	Johann Wilhelm, Elector Palatine Johann Wilhelm, Elector Palatine Johann Wilhelm II, Elector Palatine was Elector Palatine , Duke Palatine of Neuburg/Danube , Duke of Jülich and Berg , and Duke of Upper Palatinate and Cham...
Louis de Silvestre Louis de Silvestre Louis de Silvestre was a French portrait and history painter. He was court painter to King Augustus II of Poland, and director of the Royal Academy of Arts in Dresden.-Life and work:...	French	King Augustus II of Poland Augustus II the Strong Frederick Augustus I or Augustus II the Strong was Elector of Saxony and King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania .... Augustus III of Poland Augustus III of Poland Augustus III, known as the Saxon ; ; also Prince-elector Friedrich August II was the Elector of Saxony in 1733-1763, as Frederick Augustus II , King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania in 1734-1763.-Biography:Augustus was the only legitimate son of Augustus II the Strong, Imperial Prince-Elector...
Pieter Snayers Pieter Snayers Pieter Snayers was a Flemish Baroque painter known for representations of historical battle scenes.Born in Antwerp, he studied under Sebastiaen Vrancx before joining Antwerp's Guild of St. Luke in 1612...	Flemish	Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand was Governor of the Spanish Netherlands, Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church, Infante of Spain, Archduke of Austria, Archbishop of Toledo , and military... Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria was an Austrian military commander, Governor of the Spanish Netherlands from 1647 to 1656, and a patron of the arts.-Biography:...
Titian Titian Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio (c. 1488/1490 – 27 August 1576 better known as Titian was an Italian painter, the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, near...	Italian	Charles V of Spain Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As... Philip II of Spain Philip II of Spain Philip II was King of Spain, Portugal, Naples, Sicily, and, while married to Mary I, King of England and Ireland. He was lord of the Seventeen Provinces from 1556 until 1581, holding various titles for the individual territories such as duke or count....
Diego Velázquez Diego Velázquez Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez was a Spanish painter who was the leading artist in the court of King Philip IV. He was an individualistic artist of the contemporary Baroque period, important as a portrait artist...	Spanish	Philip IV of Spain Philip IV of Spain Philip IV was King of Spain between 1621 and 1665, sovereign of the Spanish Netherlands, and King of Portugal until 1640...
Jan Cornelisz Vermeyen Jan Cornelisz Vermeyen Jan Cornelisz Vermeyen, or Jan Mayo, or Barbalonga was a Dutch Northern Renaissance painter.-Biography:...	Dutch	Margaret of Austria
Zhang Zeduan Zhang Zeduan Zhang Zeduan , alias Zheng Dao, also sometimes translated as Zhang Zerui, was a famous Chinese painter during the twelfth century, during the transitional period from the Northern Song to the Southern Song Dynasty, and was instrumental in the early history of the Chinese art style known as shan...	Chinese	Northern Song Dynasty Song Dynasty The Song Dynasty was a ruling dynasty in China between 960 and 1279; it succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, and was followed by the Yuan Dynasty. It was the first government in world history to issue banknotes or paper money, and the first Chinese government to establish a...
Sofonisba Anguissola Sofonisba Anguissola Sofonisba Anguissola was an Italian painter of the Renaissance.-The Anguissola family:...	Italian	Philip II of Spain Philip II of Spain Philip II was King of Spain, Portugal, Naples, Sicily, and, while married to Mary I, King of England and Ireland. He was lord of the Seventeen Provinces from 1556 until 1581, holding various titles for the individual territories such as duke or count....