Allegory as a genre in painting. Amazing allegories of Titian painting: Who served as the prototype for the “strange painting” of the brilliant Italian

Sculpture and symphony, painting and story, film and palace, performance and dance - all these are works of various types of art.

Arts are classified according to different criteria. Fine Arts show external reality in artistic images, non-fine arts express the inner world. Non-fine arts: music, dance and literature, as well as architecture. There are also mixed (synthetic) types of arts: cinema, theater, ballet, circus, etc.
Within each art form there are divisions called genres in accordance with the themes and objects of the image. This is what we will talk to you about today.

Kinds of art

Fine arts

Painting

Perhaps this is one of the most widespread forms of art. The very first works of painting date back to ancient times; they were discovered on the walls of caves of ancient people.
Monumental painting, which developed in the form of mosaics And frescoes(painting on wet plaster).

St Nicholas. Fresco of Dionysius. Ferapontov Monastery
Easel painting– these are paintings of different genres, painted on canvas (cardboard, paper) most often with oil paints.

Genres of painting

In modern painting there are the following genres: portrait, historical, mythological, battle, everyday, landscape, still life, animalistic genre.
Portrait genre reflects the external and internal appearance of a person or group of people. This genre is widespread not only in painting, but also in sculpture, graphics, etc. The main task of the portrait genre is to convey external resemblance and reveal the inner world, the essence of a person’s character.

I. Kramskoy “Portrait of Sofia Ivanovna Kramskoy”
Historical genre(depiction of historical events and characters). Of course, genres in painting are often intertwined, because... when depicting, for example, some historical event, the artist has to turn to the portrait genre, etc.
Mythological genre– illustration of myths and legends of different peoples.

S. Botticelli “Birth of Venus”
Battle genre- an image of battles, military exploits, military operations, glorifying battles, the triumph of victory. The battle genre can also include elements of other genres - domestic, portrait, landscape, animalistic, still life.

V. Vasnetsov “After the massacre of Igor Svyatoslavich with the Polovtsians”
Everyday genre– depiction of scenes from a person’s everyday, personal life.

A. Venetsianov “On the arable land”
Scenery– depiction of nature, the environment, views of the countryside, cities, historical monuments, etc.

And Savrasov “The rooks have arrived”
Marina- seascape.
Still life(translated from French - “dead nature”) - an image of household items, labor, creativity, flowers, fruits, dead game, caught fish, placed in a real everyday environment.
Animalistic genre– image of animals.

Graphic arts

The name of this type of fine art comes from the Greek word grapho - I write, I draw.
Graphics primarily include drawing and engraving, in which the design is created mainly using a line on a sheet of paper or a cutter on a solid material, from which the image is imprinted onto a sheet of paper.

Types of graphics

Engraving- a design is applied to the flat surface of the material, which is then covered with paint and stamped on paper. The number of impressions varies depending on the engraving technique and material. The main materials for engraving are metal (copper, zinc, steel), wood (boxwood, palm, pear, cherry, etc.), linoleum, cardboard, plastic, plexiglass. The engraving board is processed by mechanical means, steel tools or acid etching.
Printmaking– a print from an engraving board (engraving, lithography, silk-screen printing, monotype), which is an easel work of artistic graphics. The print is printed from a board that the artist himself engraved; often he also makes the impressions. Such works are usually signed, author's copies and are considered originals. Prints are available in black and white and color.
Book graphics- design of the book, its decorative design, illustrations.
Industrial graphics – creation of product labels, brand names, publishing marks, packaging, advertising publications, forms and envelopes. It comes into contact with advertising and is included in the design system.
Bookplate- a sign indicating the owner of the book. The bookplate is attached to the inside of a book binding or cover. Book signs are engraved on wood, copper, linoleum, zincographic or lithographic methods.

Bookplate of Greta Garbo

Poster- an image designed for general attention, created for propaganda or educational purposes.
Linocut- engraving on linoleum.
Lithography– type of engraving: drawing a picture on a stone and making an impression from it.
Woodcut– wood engraving.

Katsushika Hokusai "The Great Wave off Kanagawa", woodcut
Etching– type of engraving on metal, engraving method and impression obtained by this method.
Computer graphics– images are compiled on a computer and shown dynamically or statically. When creating this type of graphics, it is possible to see how the image is formed at all stages and make unlimited adjustments.

Sculpture

This type of art also originated in ancient times. Many images of animals sculpted from clay or carved from stone have been found, quite accurately conveying their appearance. Many female figurines have been preserved that embody the powerful feminine principle. Perhaps these are primitive images of goddesses. Ancient sculptors exaggerated their fertile powers, depicting them with powerful hips, and archaeologists call them “Venuses.”

Venus of Willendorf, about 23 thousand years BC. e., Central Europe
Sculpture is divided into round, freely placed in space, and relief, in which three-dimensional images are located on a plane.
As in painting, in sculpture there are easel and monumental forms. Monumental sculpture designed for streets and squares, such a monument is created for a long time, so it is usually made of bronze, marble, granite. Easel sculpture– these are portraits or small genre groups made of wood, plaster and other materials.

Monument to the postman. Nizhny Novgorod

Arts and crafts

The creators of works of decorative and applied art set themselves two goals: to create a thing that is necessary for everyday life, but this thing at the same time must have certain artistic qualities. Everyday objects should not only serve a person practically, but also decorate life, delight the eye with the perfection of shapes and colors.
Of course, now many works of decorative and applied art have mainly aesthetic significance, but this was not always the case.

Main types of decorative and applied arts

Batik– hand painting on fabric

Work using the hot batik technique (using wax)
Beading
Embroidery
Knitting

Lace making
Carpet weaving
Tapestry
Quilling- the art of making flat or three-dimensional compositions from long and narrow strips of paper twisted into spirals.

Quilling technique
Ceramics
Mosaic
Jewelry Art
Lacquer miniature

Palekh lacquer miniature
Artistic painting on wood
Artistic painting on metal

Zhostovo tray
Artistic carving
Artistic processing of leather

Artistic painting on ceramics

Artistic metal processing
Pyrography(burning on wood, leather, fabric, etc.)
Working with glass

Upper half of a window at Canterbury Cathedral, UK
Origami

Photographic art

The art of artistic photography. The genres are basically the same as in painting.

Graffiti

Images on walls or other surfaces. Graffiti refers to any type of street painting on walls, on which you can find everything from simple written words to elaborate drawings.

Graffiti

Comic

Drawn stories, stories in pictures. Comics combine the features of such art forms as literature and fine art.

Artist Winsor McCay "Little Sammy Sneezes"

Non-fine arts

Architecture

Architecture– the art of designing and constructing buildings. Architectural structures can exist in the form of individual buildings or in the form of ensembles. But sometimes ensembles develop historically: buildings built at different times form a single whole. An example is Moscow's Red Square.
Architecture allows us to judge the technical achievements and artistic styles of different eras. The Egyptian pyramids, built about 5 thousand years ago, and the temples of Ancient Greece and Rome have survived to this day. Any city in any country is famous for its architectural structures.

Palace Square in St. Petersburg

Literature

In the broadest sense of the word: the totality of any written texts.
Types of literature: fiction, documentary prose, memoirs, scientific and popular science, reference, educational, technical.

Genres of literature

A literary work can be classified as a particular genre according to various criteria: by form (short story, ode, opus, essay, story, play, short story, novel, sketch, epic, epos, essay), by content (comedy, farce, vaudeville , sideshow, sketch, parody, sitcom, comedy of characters, tragedy, drama), by gender.
Epic kind: fable, epic, ballad, myth, short story, story, short story, novel, epic novel, fairy tale, epic.
Lyrical gender: ode, message, stanzas, elegy, epigram.
Lyric-epic genus: ballad, poem.
Dramatic gender: drama, comedy, tragedy.

Music

Music- this is art, the means of embodying artistic images for which are sound and silence, organized in a special way in time. But in general, it is impossible to give one exhaustively precise definition of the concept “music”. This is a special type of creative activity, including a craft and profession.
The type and stylistic variety of music is great.
Classic (or serious)– professional musical compositions born in the culture of Europe mainly from the New Age (the turn of the 16th-17th centuries) and in the Middle Ages;
Popular– predominantly song and dance musical genres.
Extra-European (non-European)– music of those peoples (East) whose culture differs from the culture of Western European civilization.
Ethnic (folk)– folklore musical works of different peoples, emphasizing the identity of an ethnic group, nation, tribe.
Variety (easy)– music of an entertaining nature, intended for relaxation.
Jazz– performing traditions of American blacks reinterpreted by Europeans, based on a synthesis of African and European musical elements.
Rock– music of small vocal and instrumental groups of young people, characterized by the obligatory presence of percussion and electric musical instruments, primarily guitars.
Avant-garde (experimental)- direction in professional composing in the 20th century.
Alternative– new musical compositions or performances (sound presentations, “performances”), fundamentally different from all types of music known today.
Types of music can also be determined by the function it performs: military, church, religious, theater, dance, film music, etc.
Or by the nature of the performance: vocal, instrumental, chamber, vocal-instrumental, choral, solo, electronic, piano, etc.

Each type of music has its own genres. Let's take an example genres of instrumental music.
Instrumental music- This is music performed on instruments, without the participation of the human voice. Instrumental music can be symphonic or chamber music.
Chamber music– compositions intended for performance in small spaces, for home, “room” music playing. Chamber music has great potential for conveying lyrical emotions and subtle mental states of a person. The genres of chamber music include: sonatas, quartets, plays, quintets, etc.
Sonata– one of the main genres of instrumental chamber music. Usually consists of 3 (4) parts.
Etude– a musical piece designed to improve technical skills in playing an instrument.
Nocturne(French “night”) is a genre of a small one-part melodious lyrical piece for piano.
Prelude(Latin for “introduction”) – a short instrumental piece. Improvisational introduction to the main piece. But it can also be an independent work.

Quartet– a piece of music for 4 performers.
Within each type of music, their own styles and trends can arise and develop, distinguished by stable and characteristic structural and aesthetic features: classicism, romanticism, impressionism, expressionism, neoclassicism, serialism, avant-garde, etc.

Choreography

Choreography is the art of dance.

Spectacular (mixed or synthetic) arts

Theater

A spectacular form of art, which is a synthesis of various arts: literature, music, choreography, vocals, visual arts and others.

Puppet show
Types of theaters: drama, opera, ballet, puppet theater, pantomime theater, etc. The art of theater has been known for a long time: theater was born from the most ancient ritual festivals, which in allegorical form reproduced natural phenomena or labor processes.

Opera

An art form in which poetry and dramatic art, vocal and instrumental music, facial expressions, dancing, painting, scenery and costumes are fused into a single whole.

Teatro alla Scala (Milan)

Stage

This type of art of small forms is predominantly popular and entertaining. Variety includes the following directions: singing, dancing, circus on stage, illusionism, conversational genre, clowning.

Circus

A type of entertainment art, according to the laws of which an entertaining performance is built. The content of modern circus performances is the demonstration of magic tricks, pantomime, clowning, reprise, demonstration of exceptional abilities, often associated with risk (physical strength, acrobatics, balancing act), trained animals.

Film art

A type of entertainment art, which is also a synthesis of the arts: literature, theater, dance, fine arts (scenery), etc.

Ballet

Type of performing arts; a performance whose content is embodied in musical and choreographic images. The basis of a classical ballet performance is a certain plot, a dramatic concept. In the 20th century a plotless ballet appeared, the dramaturgy of which was based on the development inherent in the music.

Genres of painting

1.1 Still life
1.2 Portrait
1.3 Animal genre
1.4 Battle genre
1.5 Everyday genre
1.6 Historical genre

1.1 Still life
Still life - translated from French into Russian means “dead nature,” that is, something inanimate.

In still life, artists depict various objects that surround us in life. These can be household items, for example, dishes, tools. Or what nature gives us - fruits, vegetables, flowers. Very often in still lifes we see both everyday objects and gifts of nature.

In the 17th century, still life established itself as an independent genre. It reflected an interest in the material world that originated in the Dutch “painting of things” of the early 15th century.

The process of the formation of still life as a genre of painting took place in many countries of Western Europe. And here it is necessary to note the Flemish and Dutch artists who, in their own way, solved the problem of conveying all the brightness of their still lifes.

Still life is not very typical for Russian art of the 18th and even 19th centuries. Among the masters of the first third of the 19th century, the Russian painter Venetsianov holds a particularly significant place. Venetsianov does not paint still lifes separately, but uses them as a complement to the painting.

A.G. Venetsianov Portrait of a mother

Still lifes constitute a significant part of the artistic heritage of Ivan Khrutsky. The artist’s talent was revealed with particular force in this genre of painting, dedicated to the depiction of flowers, fruits, vegetables and other objects. It was here that Khrutsky managed to find his own creative paths and express his passionate love for nature in bright plastic images. At the turn of the century, still life developed as an independent genre.

I. Khrutsky. Still life

By the end of the 19th century, a galaxy of young artists appeared in Russian art, in whose work still life occupied a dominant position. Among the works of this period we can highlight: Kharlamov’s still life “Fruit”, Konchalovsky’s “Bread on the background of a tray” and Zhukovsky’s “Snowdrops”.

1.2 Portrait
A portrait (French word portrait) is an image of the appearance of a person, his individuality.

The first portraits appeared several thousand years ago in ancient Egypt. These were huge stone images of Egyptian pharaohs. In order to make such a sculpture, thousands of people worked for several years.

Ancient Egyptian sculpture of Pharaoh Ramses

A lot of time has passed since then, but artists have painted portraits and continue to paint them.

Egypt. Fayum portraits.

When creating a portrait, the main task of the artist is to accurately depict the model.

This means not only the banal copying of the person being portrayed’s appearance - clothes, hairstyle, jewelry, but also the transfer of his inner world and character. After all, if you don’t try to convey the person as a person, then your portrait will be superficial and say nothing.

In order to create a portrait, the artist must:

study the main characteristics of the person being portrayed,
characteristic features of his face,
pay attention to his demeanor - whether he is calm or, on the contrary, energetic.
if you don’t know a person, you need to get to know him better (a normal conversation during a conversation will help)

The motive for creating a portrait can be anything - from a regular order, which happens most often, to the desire to capture a loved one as a keepsake.

Why are portraits interesting? Looking at images of people who lived several years ago, and maybe even several centuries, we see the history of mankind. After all, the artists are contemporaries of those they depict, which means they accurately convey that era, giving historians a lot of additional information. Portraits of famous historical figures are especially interesting. After all, as mentioned earlier, we can recognize from them not only their appearance, but also look into the inner world of a person.

1.3 Animal genre
Animalistic genre (from the Latin animal - animal), a type of fine art in which the leading motif is the image of animals.

Charles Barton Barber 1845-1894.

Sharply stylized figures of animals and birds, which, as a rule, had magical significance, were common in primitive art, in monuments of the Eurasian “animal style” (including among the Scythians, Sarmatians, Saks and other tribes), among the peoples of Africa, Oceania, and ancient America ; The images of real and mythological animals in the art of the Ancient East are distinguished by their unsurpassed monumentality, and their expressive dynamics in wall paintings, vase paintings, plastic arts of the Cretan-Mycenaean civilization, the art of classical antiquity and Hellenism.

The animalistic genre itself appeared in China during the Tang (8th century) and Song (13th century) periods.

Kano Tanen. Carps (1805-1853)

In the medieval art of Europe, fabulous and grotesque images of animals and birds, drawn from folklore, pagan and Christian legends, were widespread; Renaissance artists (Pisanello, A. Durer) began to draw animals from life.

The European animalistic genre was formed (initially in many ways as an allegorical - moralizing, when certain animals acted as the personification of human vices and virtues) in the 17th century. in the art of Holland (P. Potter, A. Cuyp, M. de Hondekoeter) and Flanders (F. Snyders, J. Veit).

Subsequently, in the works of masters of the animal genre, natural scientific interest and the desire for an accurate recreation of the habits and natural plasticity of animals (C. Troyon in France, B. Liljefors in Sweden, etc.) coexist with romantic admiration for their strength and dexterity (A.L. Bari in France) or with decorative stylization of images of the animal world.

Artists working in the animalistic genre are called animalists.

1.4 Battle genre
The battle genre (from the French bataille - battle), a genre of fine art dedicated to the themes of war and military life.

The main place in the battle genre is occupied by scenes of land and sea battles, military campaigns of the past and present. Such images have been known since ancient times (reliefs of the Ancient East, vase paintings of Ancient Greece, reliefs on the pediments and friezes of ancient temples, on ancient Roman triumphal arches and columns, monumental paintings of Ancient India, Japanese medieval painting, etc.), in book miniatures and decorative arts medieval Europe.

As an independent battle genre, it was formed in Italy during the Renaissance, in the works of P. Uccello and Piero della Francesca; heroic generality is inherent in the battle scenes of Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Titian, and Tintoretto.

In the 17th century The rapprochement of battle painting with the historical genre was facilitated by the paintings of D. Velasquez, who deeply revealed the historical meaning and ethical basis of military events, and the works of P.P. Rubens, captivating the viewer with their dynamics and drama.

In the battle genre, types of conventionally allegorical compositions are formed with the image of a commander against the backdrop of the battle he won (C. Lebrun), a small picture with spectacular scenes of cavalry skirmishes (F. Wauerman), naval battles (W. van de Velde), views of army halts and bivouacs, echoing works of the everyday genre (A. Watteau).

V.V.Vereshchagin. The end of the Battle of Borodino

In the 1st half of the 19th century. the development of the battle genre was influenced by historicism and the emotional pathos of romanticism; the events of the era of the Napoleonic wars and national liberation movements in Europe are captured in the paintings of A. Gros, T. Gericault, E. Delacroix, O. Vernet in France, F. Goya in Spain, P. Michalovsky in Poland, etc.

In the 2nd half of the 19th century. in military scenes and battle-historical paintings by A. von Menzel in Germany, A. Fattori in Italy, W. Homer in the USA and others, landscape, genre, psychological principles, attention to the actions and experiences of ordinary participants in hostilities are enhanced.

Artists working in the battle genre are called battle painters.

1.5 Everyday genre
Everyday genre, one of the main genres of fine art, dedicated to depicting the private and public life of a person.

Everyday (“genre”) scenes, known since ancient times (in primitive art, in paintings and reliefs of the Ancient East, ancient Greek vase painting, Hellenistic paintings, mosaics, sculpture, medieval frescoes and miniatures), emerged as a special genre during the era of the formation of the bourgeoisie in Europe. society.

The prerequisites for this were laid in the art of the Renaissance, when artists began to saturate religious and allegorical compositions with everyday details (Giotto, A. Lorenzetti in Italy, Jan van Eyck, R. Kampen, Hertgen tot Sint-Jans in the Netherlands, the Limburg brothers in France, M . Schongauer in Germany); at the end of the 15th – beginning of the 16th centuries.

The everyday genre gradually became isolated among the Venetians V. Carpaccio, J. Bassano, the Dutch K. Masseys, Luke of Leiden, P. Aartsen, and in the works of P. Bruegel the Elder, pictures of everyday life served to express the deepest ideological ideas.

Jan Vermeer of Delft. Thrush

In the 17th century The finally formed everyday genre affirmed private life as the most significant and most valuable phenomenon of life.

Sublime poeticization of everyday motifs and a powerful love of life are characteristic of the works of P.P. Rubens and J. Jordaens, admiring the healthy, natural beauty of ordinary people - for the “bodegones” of D. Velazquez. In Holland, where the classical forms of the genre finally took shape, the intimate atmosphere, the peaceful comfort of burgher and peasant life were recreated by A. van Ostade, C. Fabricius, P. de Hooch, J. Wermeer of Delft, G. Terborch, G. Metsu, the deep contradictions of life revealed Rembrandt in everyday scenes.

In France in the 18th century. The everyday genre is represented by idyllic pastorals in the Rococo style (F. Boucher), “gallant scenes” in which A. Watteau and J.O. Fragonard brought emotional subtlety and sharpness of life observations, sentimental and didactic compositions of J.B. Dream, lyrical canvases by J.B.S. Chardin, recreating the private life of the third estate.

The social-critical direction in the everyday genre was initiated by the paintings and engravings of W. Hogarth, ridiculing the mores of English society.

In the 16th–18th centuries. The everyday genre also flourished in the art of Asian countries - in miniatures of Iran, India (K. Behzad, Mir Seyid Ali, Reza Abbasi), Korean painting (Kim Hondo), and Japanese graphics (Kitagawa Utamaro, Katsushika Hokusai).

In Europe 19th century. the everyday genre became a field of social criticism and journalistically sharpened satire (graphics and painting by O. Daumier), a genre filled with life-like authenticity and pathos of affirmation of the beauty and inner significance of working people (G. Courbet and J.F. Millet in France, A. von Menzel and V. Leibl in Germany, J. Fattori in Italy, J. Israels in Holland, etc.).

In the 2nd half of the 19th century. the masters of impressionism in France (E. Manet, E. Degas, O. Renoir) approved a new type of genre painting, in which they sought to capture a seemingly random, fragmented aspect of life, the acute specificity of the appearance of characters, the unity of people and their environment; their work gave impetus to a freer interpretation of the genre, a direct pictorial recreation of everyday scenes (M. Liebermann in Germany, K. Krogh in Norway, A. Zorn in Sweden, T. Akins in the USA).

At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. in the art of post-impressionism, symbolism, and Art Nouveau style, a new stage in the development of the everyday genre began: everyday scenes are interpreted as timeless symbols, the vital concreteness of the image gives way to pictorial expression, monumental and decorative tasks (E. Munch in Norway, F. Hodler in Switzerland, P. Gauguin, P. Cezanne in France, etc.).

Artists who work in the everyday genre are called genre painters.

1.6 Historical genre
Historical genre, one of the main genres of fine art, dedicated to the recreation of past and present events of historical significance. The historical genre is often intertwined with other genres - the everyday genre (the so-called historical-domestic genre), portrait (portrait-historical compositions), landscape ("historical landscape"), and the battle genre.

The evolution of the historical genre is largely determined by the development of historical views, and it was finally formed along with the formation of a scientific view of history (completely only in the 18th–19th centuries).

Its beginnings go back to the conventionally symbolic compositions of Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, to the mythological images of Ancient Greece, to the documentary-narrative reliefs of ancient Roman triumphal arches and columns. The historical genre itself began to take shape in Italian art of the Renaissance - in the battle-historical works of P. Uccello, cardboards and paintings by A. Mantegna on the themes of ancient history, interpreted in an ideally generalized, timeless manner in the compositions of Leonardo da Vinci, Titian, J. Tintoretto.

In the 17th–18th centuries. in the art of classicism, the historical genre came to the fore, including religious, mythological and historical subjects; Within the framework of this style, both a type of solemn historical-allegorical composition (C. Lebrun) and paintings full of ethical pathos and inner nobility depicting the exploits of heroes of antiquity (N. Poussin) took shape.

The turning point in the development of the genre came in the 17th century. works by D. Velazquez, who brought deep objectivity and humanity to the depiction of the historical conflict between the Spaniards and the Dutch, P.P. Rubens, who freely combined historical reality with fantasy and allegory, Rembrandt, who indirectly embodied memories of the events of the Dutch revolution in compositions full of heroism and inner drama.

In the 2nd half of the 18th century, during the Enlightenment, the historical genre was given educational and political significance: paintings by J.L. David, depicting the heroes of republican Rome, became the embodiment of feat in the name of civic duty, sounded like a call for revolutionary struggle; during the French Revolution of 1789–1794, he depicted its events in a heroically elated spirit, thereby equating reality and the historical past.

The same principle underlies the historical painting of the masters of French romanticism (T. Géricault, E. Delacroix), as well as the Spaniard F. Goya, who saturated the historical genre with a passionate, emotional perception of the drama of historical and modern social conflicts.

V.I. Surikov. The morning of the Streltsy execution

In the 19th century, the rise of national self-awareness and the search for the historical roots of their peoples led to romantic sentiments in the historical painting of Belgium (L. Galle), the Czech Republic (J. Manes), Hungary (V. Madaras), and Poland (P. Michalovsky).

The desire to revive the spirituality of the Middle Ages and the Early Renaissance determined the retrospective nature of the creativity of the Nazarenes in Germany and the Pre-Raphaelites in Great Britain.

From the 1830s–1840s. salon historical compositions also became widespread, combining lush representativeness with pretentiousness, and small historical and everyday paintings that recreated in precise detail the “color of the era” (P. Delaroche and E. Meissonnier in France, M. von Schwind in Austria, etc.).

In the middle - 2nd half of the 19th century. with the freshness and spontaneity of a sketch from life, he resurrected the characters and morals of the 18th century. A. von Menzel in Germany, the ideas of national revival fed the historical painting of J. Matejko in Poland, M. Munkacsy in Hungary.

By the end of the 19th century. in the historical genre there has been a turn towards an elevated, symbolically generalized interpretation of real historical images (the plastic arts of O. Rodin in France, J.V. Myslbek in the Czech Republic), and in the art of symbolism and modernism - to the rhythmic stylization of monumental historical compositions (the paintings of P. Puvis de Chavannes in France, F. Hodler in Switzerland).

In the process of the development of fine art, genres of painting were also formed. If in the paintings of cavemen one could only see what surrounded them, then over time the painting became more and more multifaceted and acquired a broader meaning. Artists conveyed their vision of the world in paintings. Historians identify the following genres of painting that have formed throughout the history of this art.

Shanko Irina "Golden drizzle pattern" canvas/oil 70/85

Self-portrait (from the French autoportrait) is a portrait of oneself. Usually this refers to a pictorial image; however, self-portraits can also be sculptural, literary, cinematic, photographic, etc.

Shanko Irina "Through the Looking Glass" canvas/oil 60/60

Allegorical genre(from the Greek allegoria - allegory) - a genre of fine art in which a hidden and secret meaning is embedded in a work of art. In this genre, difficult-to-depict ideas (for example, goodness, strength, power, justice, love, etc.) are shown allegorically through images of living beings, animals or human figures with attributes that have historically been assigned a symbolic, easily readable meaning. The allegorical genre is most characteristic of the art of the Renaissance, mannerism, baroque, and classicism.

Animalistic(from Latin animal - animal) - a genre associated with the depiction of animals in painting, sculpture and graphics.

Shanko Irina "In the forest" canvas/oil 40/50

The battle genre (derived from the French bataille - battle) is a genre of fine art that depicts themes of war: battles, military campaigns, glorifying military valor, the fury of battle, the triumph of victory. These paintings are characterized by versatility and the presence of many characters.

Epic and mythological genres. The subjects of works of folklore, themes of ancient legends, epics and ancient Greek myths were depicted.

Everyday genre. Works of the everyday genre address themes of everyday life and give an idea of the activities and life of various strata of society.

Vanitas (from Latin vanitas, lit. - “vanity, vanity”) is a genre of Baroque painting, an allegorical still life, the compositional center of which is traditionally the human skull. Such paintings, an early stage in the development of still life, were intended to serve as reminders of the transience of life, the futility of pleasure and the inevitability of death.

Veduta. The birthplace of this genre is Venice. It represents a city panorama, respecting architectural forms and proportions.

Gallant - (courteous, polite, courteous, courteous, interesting) outdated associated with the depiction of exquisite lyrical scenes from the life of court ladies and gentlemen in artistic works mainly of the 18th century.

Cityscape(architectural landscape) is a genre of fine art in which the main subject of the image is city streets and buildings.

Shanko Irina "Arts Square" canvas/oil 40/30

Interior (derived from the French intérieur - internal) is a genre in which the subject of the image is an image of the interior of a room.

The hippo genre (derived from the Greek hippos - horse) is a genre of fine art in which the main motif is the image of a horse.

Historical is one of the main genres of fine art, dedicated to historical events of the past and present, socially significant phenomena in the history of peoples.

Caricature - (derived from Italian caricare - to exaggerate) a genre of fine art that uses the means of satire and humor, grotesque, caricature, an image in which a comic effect is created by exaggeration and sharpening of characteristic features. A caricature ridicules a character's flaw or depravity in order to attract him and the people around him, in order to force him to change for the better.

Capriccio (derived from the Italian capriccio, literally - caprice, whim) is an architectural fantasy landscape, mainly the ruins of fictional ancient buildings.

Mythological (from the Greek mythos - legend) is a genre of fine art dedicated to the heroes and events about which the myths and legends of ancient peoples tell.

Seascape (marina) (derived from the French marine, Italian marina, from the Latin marinus - sea) is a genre of fine art depicting a marine view.

Still life - (translated from French - dead, inanimate nature) a genre of fine art, images of inanimate objects placed in a real everyday environment and organized in a certain group; a painting depicting household items, flowers, fruits, game, caught fish, etc.

Shanko Irina "Still life with peppers" canvas/oil 40/40

Nude (naked) (derived from the French nu - naked, undressed) is an artistic genre in sculpture, painting, photography and cinema, depicting the beauty of the naked human body, mainly female. In its development, the nude is closely related to the image of the naked human body and embodies the ideal of beauty of a given country and era. The nude originated in the Renaissance within the framework of mythological, allegorical, historical and everyday genres.

Illusion is one of the genres of fine art, a characteristic feature of which is special techniques of perspective painting that create the effect of optical illusion and blur the line between reality and image.

Parsuna (distorted Latin persona - person, person) is originally synonymous with the modern concept of portrait, regardless of the style, image technique, place and time of writing. The concept of parsun in the meaning of a work of the transition period from icon painting to secular portraiture.

Pastoral (French pastorale - pastoral, rural) is a genre in literature, painting, music and theater. A genre that elevates simple rural life to a different hypostasis, embellishing it and deifying it.

Landscape (French paysage, from pays - country, area) is a genre dedicated to the depiction of any area: rivers, mountains, fields, forests, rural or urban landscapes. A genre in which the canvas depicts pictures of nature. This is a voluminous direction that includes a city landscape, seascape, and other similar themes. In fine art, this is the name given to both the genre and individual works dedicated to nature. This can be pristine nature, as well as one transformed by man - an industrial landscape.

Shanko Irina "The Leprosy of Time" canvas/oil 70/70

Portrait (French portrait, “to reproduce something feature by feature”) is a genre of fine art dedicated to the depiction of a person or group of people; varieties - self-portrait, group portrait, ceremonial, chamber, costume portrait, portrait miniature. In the center of the picture is an image of a man. The artist uses techniques to convey not only the external appearance, but also the inner world of his hero.

Shanko Irina canvas/oil size: 37/45

Religious genre. This includes iconography and other paintings on religious themes.

Thematic picture- mixing traditional genres of painting (everyday, historical, battle, compositional portrait, landscape, etc.)

Shanko Irina "Fragments of memory" canvas/oil 60/50

Cartoon (French charge) is a humorous or satirical image in which the characteristic features of the model are changed and emphasized within the normal limits, with the aim of making fun, and not humiliating and insulting as is usually done in caricatures. (see caricature)

Hua Niao (translated from Chinese: birds and flowers) is a genre of Chinese painting depicting birds and flowers.

Shan Shui (translated from Chinese: mountains and water) is a genre of Chinese painting depicting mountains and waterfalls.

Genres of painting can merge and interact closely with each other. Some genres lose relevance over time, but many, on the contrary, continue to develop along with life.

Picturesque works of art are usually divided into genres. They are a form of reflection of life and help to classify and unite paintings by different artists. Genres of painting are constantly changing along with eras, some of them disappear or are reborn in a new form. For example, such as vanitas (allegorical still life of the Baroque era) or capriccio (architectural fantasy landscape).

New genres also emerge over time, which are subdivisions of existing ones. For example, in a landscape you can highlight a cityscape and an interior. The combination of genres into more general names is also typical. An example can be given: battle, historical, everyday, allegorical genres are often called figurative. The genres of painting are very numerous, as new masters of painting with new talents and ideas appear all the time. And this is wonderful, because everything is moving forward. Let's take a look at the widely known and most frequently used genres.

Marina

Marina- a genre of painting that depicts a sea view. It is a type of landscape. Usually in such paintings you can see the sea element at different times of the year and in different conditions. Marine painters also depict the struggle between man and the elements, for example, they often paint ships and sailing ships caught in a storm.

It is a genre of fine art in which the main theme is nature. It can be depicted in its original form or in a human-transformed form. Landscape in the modern sense is something that has been formed over many centuries as artistic techniques change and emerge. The main place in this genre is given to perspective, composition, depiction of changes in the air and water environment, as well as light.

- This is an image of animals in paintings. It combines two principles: artistic and scientific. The author can focus in his paintings both on the accurate depiction of animals and on figurative characteristics. For example, endowing animals with human traits.

is an image of architectural structures. It can be classified as a type of landscape, which depicts not a natural landscape, but an architectural one. In addition to images of various buildings, you can see images of interiors in this genre.

is the artist’s depiction of battle scenes. This is a war theme that reflects the history of land, sea battles and military campaigns. The authors of this genre strive to show the heroes of the war, capture important moments of battles, and also reveal their historical meaning.

- the artist’s reflection of scenes of everyday life of the people and the reality around them. These can be market scenes, images of holidays and street scenes, women and children, needlewomen at work and much more. The artist can depict real and fictional subjects.

— artists’ depiction of various historical events and figures, as well as major social events.

- a genre in which inanimate objects are depicted in paintings. They can be various household items: kitchen utensils, dishes, fruits and flowers, as well as compositions from these items. The most famous still life artists are the Flemish and Dutch schools, who create works using a special technique.

In the 17th century, a division of painting genres into “high” and “low” was introduced. The first included historical, battle and mythological genres. The second included mundane genres of painting from everyday life, for example, everyday genre, still life, animal painting, portrait, nude, landscape.

Historical genre

The historical genre in painting does not depict a specific object or person, but a specific moment or event that took place in the history of past eras. It is included in the main genres of painting in art. Portrait, battle, everyday and mythological genres are often closely intertwined with the historical.

"Conquest of Siberia by Ermak" (1891-1895)
Vasily Surikov

Artists Nicolas Poussin, Tintoretto, Eugene Delacroix, Peter Rubens, Vasily Ivanovich Surikov, Boris Mikhailovich Kustodiev and many others painted their paintings in the historical genre.

Mythological genre

Tales, ancient legends and myths, folklore - the depiction of these subjects, heroes and events has found its place in the mythological genre of painting. Perhaps it can be distinguished in the paintings of any people, because the history of each ethnic group is full of legends and traditions. For example, such a plot of Greek mythology as the secret romance of the god of war Ares and the goddess of beauty Aphrodite is depicted in the painting “Parnassus” by an Italian artist named Andrea Mantegna.

"Parnassus" (1497)
Andrea Mantegna

Mythology in painting was finally formed during the Renaissance. Representatives of this genre, in addition to Andrea Mantegna, are Rafael Santi, Giorgione, Lucas Cranach, Sandro Botticelli, Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov and others.

Battle genre

Battle painting describes scenes from military life. Most often, various military campaigns are illustrated, as well as sea and land battles. And since these battles are often taken from real history, the battle and historical genres find their intersection point here.

Fragment of the panorama “Battle of Borodino” (1912)
Franz Roubaud

Battle painting took shape during the Italian Renaissance in the works of artists Michelangelo Buonarroti, Leonardo da Vinci, and then Theodore Gericault, Francisco Goya, Franz Alekseevich Roubaud, Mitrofan Borisovich Grekov and many other painters.

Everyday genre

Scenes from the everyday, public or private life of ordinary people, be it urban or peasant life, are depicted in the everyday genre in painting. Like many others genres of painting, everyday paintings are rarely found in their own form, becoming part of the portrait or landscape genre.

"Musical Instrument Seller" (1652)
Karel Fabricius

The origin of everyday painting occurred in the 10th century in the East, and it moved to Europe and Russia only in the 17th-18th centuries. Jan Vermeer, Karel Fabricius and Gabriel Metsu, Mikhail Shibanov and Ivan Alekseevich Ermenev are the most famous artists of everyday paintings in that period.

Animalistic genre

The main objects of the animalistic genre are animals and birds, both wild and domestic, and in general all representatives of the animal world. Initially, animal painting was part of the genres of Chinese painting, since it first appeared in China in the 8th century. In Europe, animal painting was formed only during the Renaissance - animals at that time were depicted as the embodiment of human vices and virtues.

"Horses in the Meadow" (1649)
Paulus Potter

Antonio Pisanello, Paulus Potter, Albrecht Durer, Frans Snyders, Albert Cuyp are the main representatives of animal painting in the fine arts.

Still life

The still life genre depicts objects that surround a person in life. These are inanimate objects combined into one group. Such objects may belong to the same genus (for example, only fruits are depicted in the picture), or they may be dissimilar (fruits, utensils, musical instruments, flowers, etc.).

"Flowers in a Basket, Butterfly and Dragonfly" (1614)
Ambrosius Bosshart the Elder

Still life as an independent genre took shape in the 17th century. The Flemish and Dutch schools of still life are especially distinguished. Representatives of a wide variety of styles painted their paintings in this genre, from realism to cubism. Some of the most famous still lifes were painted by painters Ambrosius Bosschaert the Elder, Albertus Jonah Brandt, Paul Cezanne, Vincent Van Gogh, Pierre Auguste Renoir, Willem Claes Heda.

Portrait

Portrait is a genre of painting, which is one of the most common in the fine arts. The purpose of a portrait in painting is to depict a person, but not just his appearance, but also to convey the inner feelings and mood of the person being portrayed.

Portraits can be single, pair, group, as well as a self-portrait, which is sometimes distinguished as a separate genre. And the most famous portrait of all time, perhaps, is the painting by Leonardo da Vinci called “Portrait of Madame Lisa del Giocondo,” known to everyone as the “Mona Lisa.”

"Mona Lisa" (1503-1506)
Leonardo da Vinci

The first portraits appeared thousands of years ago in Ancient Egypt - these were images of pharaohs. Since then, most artists of all times have tried themselves in this genre in one way or another. The portrait and historical genres of painting can also overlap: the image of a great historical figure will be considered a work of the historical genre, although at the same time it will convey the appearance and character of this person as a portrait.

Nude

The purpose of the nude genre is to depict the naked human body. The Renaissance period is considered the moment of the emergence and development of this type of painting, and the main object of painting then most often became the female body, which embodied the beauty of the era.

"Rural Concert" (1510)
Titian

Titian, Amedeo Modigliani, Antonio da Correggio, Giorgione, Pablo Picasso are the most famous artists who painted nude paintings.

Scenery

The main theme of the landscape genre is nature, the environment - city, countryside or wilderness. The first landscapes appeared in ancient times when painting palaces and temples, creating miniatures and icons. Landscape began to emerge as an independent genre in the 16th century and has since become one of the most popular genres. genres of painting.

It is present in the works of many painters, starting with Peter Rubens, Alexei Kondratyevich Savrasov, Edouard Manet, continuing with Isaac Ilyich Levitan, Piet Mondrian, Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque and ending with many contemporary artists of the 21st century.

"Golden Autumn" (1895)
Isaac Levitan

Among landscape paintings, one can distinguish such genres as sea and city landscapes.

Veduta

Veduta is a landscape, the purpose of which is to depict the appearance of an urban area and convey its beauty and flavor. Later, with the development of industry, the urban landscape turns into an industrial landscape.

"St. Mark's Square" (1730)
Canaletto

You can appreciate city landscapes by getting acquainted with the works of Canaletto, Pieter Bruegel, Fyodor Yakovlevich Alekseev, Sylvester Feodosievich Shchedrin.

Marina

A seascape, or marina, depicts the nature of the sea element, its grandeur. The most famous marine painter in the world is perhaps Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky, whose painting “The Ninth Wave” can be called a masterpiece of Russian painting. The heyday of the marina occurred simultaneously with the development of the landscape as such.

"Sailboat in a Storm" (1886)
James Buttersworth

Katsushika Hokusai, James Edward Buttersworth, Alexey Petrovich Bogolyubov, Lev Felixovich Lagorio and Rafael Monleon Torres are also famous for their seascapes.

If you want to learn even more about how painting genres in art arose and developed, watch the following video:

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