The stencil artist considered the “father of stencil graffiti” and an influence on Banksy is Blek le Rat.
Blek le Rat is the pseudonym of French artist Xavier Prou, one of the early pioneers of Parisian street art. He began working with stencils in the early 1980s, first placing small rat figures on city walls. He explained that rats represented the only truly free animals in the city and suited his interest in social commentary.
His approach helped establish stenciling as a fast, repeatable form of urban art. Rather than painting every image freehand, an artist can cut a template and apply a recognizable figure quickly, an advantage when working in public spaces. Blek later created human silhouettes, historical references and images addressing homelessness and inequality.
Banksy is often linked to Blek because of the similarity in their stencil-based methods and politically pointed imagery. Banksy has acknowledged discovering that Blek had made similar images decades earlier. The comparison does not mean Blek created all stencil graffiti; stencil traditions existed earlier, but he is widely credited with helping shape modern stencil street art.