Events from the year 1661 in art.

• April 19 - Philip IV of Spain appoints Juan Bautista Martínez del Mazo to succeed his late father-in-law Diego Velázquez as court painter (Pintor de cámara) in Madrid.
• October - The newly-restored King Charles II of England appoints Peter Lely as court painter.^[1]

• Filippo Abbiati - Coriolanus Persuaded By His Family To Raise the Siege of Rome
• Gerrit Dou - Old Lady with a Candle
• Gabriël Metsu
  • Lovers at Breakfast
  • The Visit to the Nursery, after the birth of Sara Hinlopen (1660)
• Reinier Nooms - Ships on the IJ at Amsterdam
• Rembrandt
  • Saint Matthew and the Angel
  • Saint James The Elder
• Jan van Kessel, senior - Allegory of Air
• Jan Vermeer - View of Delft
• John Michael Wright - Charles II in Coronation Robes

• February 24 - Alexandre-François Desportes, French painter and decorative designer who specialised in animal works (died 1743)
• March - Lucas de Valdés, Spanish painter and engraver (died 1724)
• April 6 - Stefano Maria Legnani, Italian painter, active mainly in Milan (died 1713)
• April 11 - Antoine Coypel, French painter (died 1722)
• June 1 - Gaspard Rigaud, French painter and portraitist (died 1705)
• June 29 - Peter Van Dievoet, Belgian sculptor and designer of ornamental architectural features (died 1729)
• date unknown
  • Scipione Angelini, Italian painter best known for still lifes (died 1729)
  • Benoît Audran the Elder, French engraver (died 1721)
  • Nunzio Ferraiuoli, Italian painter (died 1735)
  • Giacinto Garofalini, Italian painter (died 1723)
  • Claude Charles, French historical and decorative painter (died 1747)
  • Simon Gribelin, French line engraver (died 1733)
  • Jacob Leyssens, Flemish painter and decorator from the Baroque (died 1710)
  • Domenico Maria Muratori, Bolognese (Italian) painter (died 1744)
  • Thomas Quellinus, Flemish sculptor (died 1709)
  • Ezaias Terwesten, Dutch painter (died 1724)
  • Ignaz Waibl, Austrian woodcarver (died 1733)
• probable - Alida Withoos, Dutch botanical artist and painter (died 1730)

• January 29 - Bartolomeo Gennari, Italian Renaissance painter (born 1594)
• March 23 - Pieter de Molijn, Dutch Golden Age painter and engraver born in England (born 1595)
• March 25 - Jan van Aken, Dutch Golden Age painter and engraver (born 1614)
• May 14 - Ilario Casolano, Italian painter (born 1588)
• June 21 - Andrea Sacchi, Italian painter of High Baroque Classicism (born 1599)
• August - Gerard Houckgeest, Dutch Delft School painter (born 1600)
• August 5 (bur.) - Cornelis Janssens van Ceulen, Dutch portrait painter (born 1593)
• September 11 - Jan Fyt, Flemish animal painter and etcher (born 1611)
• September 16 (bur.) – Cornelis Vroom, Dutch painter (born 1591), known for landscapes and seascapes, son of reverse-named Hendrick Cornelisz Vroom (1566–1640)
• October 25 - Lucas de Wael, Flemish painter active mainly in Genoa (born 1591)
• October 28 - Ottavio Amigoni, Italian painter, active in Brescia (born 1606)
• November 2 - Daniel Seghers, Flemish Jesuit brother and painter who specialized in flower still lifes (born 1590)
• November 11 - David Ryckaert III, Flemish painter, member of the Ryckaert family of artists (born 1612)
• date unknown
  • Willem Outgertsz Akersloot, Dutch Golden Age engraver (born 1600)
  • Cecco Bravo, Florentine painter of the Baroque period (born 1601)
  • Francesco Curradi, Italian painter of the style described as Counter-Maniera or Counter-Mannerism (born 1570)
  • Simon Luttichuys, Dutch painter (born 1610)
  • Flaminio Torre, Italian Baroque painter of churches in Bologna (born 1620)
  • Jan Gerritsz van Bronckhorst, Dutch painter and engraver (born 1603)
• probable
  • Frederik Bouttats, Flemish engraver (born 1620)
  • Jacob Peter Gowy, Flemish painter of The Flight of Icarus (born 1615)
  • Anton Francesco Lucini, Italian engraver and printmaker (born 1610)
  • Anthonie Jansz. van der Croos, Dutch painter (born 1606)