GENERAL DESCRIPTION
From the Renaissance to the beginning of the modern period, European paintings were classified according to genre, or subject matter, and each genre had its rank. The human figure was considered the most elevated subject because of the belief that man was made in God’s image. As artists moved away from depicting the figure, the importance and nobility of their images was thought to diminish.
The most prestigious genre, history painting, depicted scenes drawn from history, religion, or literature. Greek and Roman subjects, stories from the Bible, and great narratives of kings and emperors were considered the most worthy subjects for artists.
Second in importance to history painting were scenes of everyday life. These images involved the human figure but showed men and women going about the ordinary activities of daily life rather than in moments of heroic action.
Portrait painting was the least important genre that dealt with the human figure. Although portraits can record the appearance of remarkable individuals and offer psychological insight into their characters, they are also often seen as mere reflections of human vanity.
In the hierarchy of genres, the least important were those in which the human figure plays little or no role: landscape and still life. Though these “lowly” genres depicted the grand spectacles of nature, they lacked the moral content that was believed to derive only from significant human action. Not until the end of the 18th century did these subjects begin to be appreciated as important genres for artistic experimentation.
Excerpt from
DMA Label text, 2010.
NOTES
ASSOCIATED CONTENT CHUNKS
AUDIO ASSETS
VIDEO ASSETS
IMAGE ASSETS
WEB RESOURCES
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York~Learn more about genre painting in Northern Europe from the Met.
ARCHIVAL RESOURCES
FUN FACTS
TEACHING IDEAS
RULES
apply to objects where department_id equals 4
apply to objects where medium contains oil
apply to objects where date_begin gte 1700
apply to objects where date_end lte 1900
Category
rules_operator
AND
General Description
From the Renaissance to the beginning of the modern period, European paintings were classified according to genre, or subject matter, and each genre had its rank. The human figure was considered the most elevated subject because of the belief that man was made in God’s image. As artists moved away from depicting the figure, the importance and nobility of their images was thought to diminish.
The most prestigious genre, history painting, depicted scenes drawn from history, religion, or literature. Greek and Roman subjects, stories from the Bible, and great narratives of kings and emperors were considered the most worthy subjects for artists.
Second in importance to history painting were scenes of everyday life. These images involved the human figure but showed men and women going about the ordinary activities of daily life rather than in moments of heroic action.
Portrait painting was the least important genre that dealt with the human figure. Although portraits can record the appearance of remarkable individuals and offer psychological insight into their characters, they are also often seen as mere reflections of human vanity.
In the hierarchy of genres, the least important were those in which the human figure plays little or no role: landscape and still life. Though these “lowly” genres depicted the grand spectacles of nature, they lacked the moral content that was believed to derive only from significant human action. Not until the end of the 18th century did these subjects begin to be appreciated as important genres for artistic experimentation.
Excerpt from
DMA Label text, 2010.
Fun Facts
Archival Resources
Web Resources
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York~Learn more about genre painting in Northern Europe from the Met.
Notes
rules
Apply To
Objects
department_id
Equals
4
Apply To
Objects
medium
Contains
oil
source file
terms-0038.xml.nores