If the human form, clothed or otherwise, is the focal point of a painting, it is considered a figure painting. Since prehistoric cave drawings, the human form has been one of art's most enduring topics, reimagined in many ways throughout countless artistic movements. Caravaggio, Peter Paul Rubens, Diego Velázquez, Francisco Goya, Édouard Manet, and Edgar Degas are just a few of the classic figure artists.

The most renowned and prolific people artists include Edvard Munch (Norwegian, 1863 -1944), Pierre Auguste Renoir (French, 1841 -1919), Edgar Degas (French, 1834 -1917), Édouard Vuillard (French, 1868 -1940), Veronese (Italian, 1528 -1588), Edward Atkinson Hornel (Scottish, 1864 -1933), Winslow Homer (American, 1836 -1910), John Singer Sargent (American, 1856 -1925), Henri Lebasque (French, 1865 -1937), Maurice Prendergast (Canadian, 1858 -1924), among others.