Genres, styles and types of painting: definitions and techniques

All paintings that exist today can be divided into several separate genres, which have their own characteristics in terms of their subject matter and depiction technique. Consider the main ones in order to have a correct idea of &#;&#;the structure of the canvases. So, among modern genres, it is customary to distinguish the following areas:

Animal

Animalistic genre (animalism) - its main motive is the image of animals. In addition to painting and graphics, animalism is often used in sculpture, photography, arts and crafts, and literature. The animalistic genre, as confirmed by archaeological excavations and research by historians, is the most ancient of all genres mastered by man. It is the images of animals that are found on the most ancient rock paintings, on household items, jewelry, amulets, weapons, and so on. Ancient animalism is often referred to as the "animal style". It is characterized by ornamental and stylized images of animals, which sometimes looked very abstract, and sometimes very realistic and believable. Currently, animalism is no less popular and in demand among connoisseurs, because the animalistic genre is the artist's admiration for the outside world and the abundance of life. Therefore, many masters turn to images of wildlife and, in particular, animals, birds, amphibians, reptiles, fish and insects. 

Battle

The battle genre (from the French "bataille" - battle) is dedicated to the themes of war and military life. The main place in it is occupied by scenes of land and sea battles, as well as military campaigns. The battle direction is characterized by the desire to capture a particularly important or characteristic moment of the battle, to convey its pathos, the heroism of the war, and often to reveal the historical meaning of military events, which somewhat blurs the boundaries between it and the historical genre. The activity of battle artists, constantly associated with the activities of the army and navy, contributed to the expansion of the scope of battle battles, supplemented by scenes of military life from campaigns, barracks and camps, as well as generalized images of soldiers, front-line sketches, etc. The progressive trend in the development of battleism in the 19th-20th centuries is associated with a realistic disclosure of the social nature of wars and the role of the people in them, with the exposure of unjust aggressive battles, the glorification of national heroism in revolutionary and liberation wars, and with the education of civil patriotic feelings among the people.

Household

The everyday genre is devoted mainly to the depiction of the everyday, everyday life of a person, both private and public. The first everyday scenes are already found in primitive rock paintings, frescoes, and even on the walls of ancient Egyptian and Etruscan tombs. They depicted scenes of plowing and gathering fruits, hunting, fishing, dancing and tribal feasts. Everyday painting originated in the Renaissance: legendary events were often transferred to the canvas and saturated with many everyday details.

Interior

Interior (from the French "intérieur" - internal) - a genre in which the subject of the picture is the image of the interior of the decoration or room. An independent interior genre was formed in the 17th century in Holland.

Ippian

The main motif of the Ippian genre (from the Greek "hippos" - horse) is the image of a horse. Since ancient times, these animals have attracted the attention of artists for their appearance, speed, grace, intelligence and disposition. The art of depicting horses reached its peak in the 18th and 19th centuries, when, along with genre and battle works, including generalized images of horses, animal painters began to create portraits of famous horses and trotters, achieving documentary similarity. Great Britain is considered the historical birthplace of "equestrian painting" - here at different times many painters specialized exclusively in images of horses. But in Russia they were very fond of this topic. We had our famous animal painters, and the names of the classics - Nikolai Sverchkov, Pyotr Klodt, Pyotr Sokolov, Franz Roubaud, Evgeny Lansere, Pyotr Kovalevsky, Nikolai Samokish are widely known throughout the world.

Historical

A genre that was very influential from the middle of the 15th century to the end of the 19th century. A historical picture was usually understood as an important event or action in which several people or groups of people participated. These events could be both historical, religious or mythical. History painting has long been considered the highest and most complex genre due to its association with a powerful idea and the ability to portray the public in lofty colors and virtues. While the popularity of history painting has waned since the 19th century, some contemporary artists are still involved in the genre, often trying to update or revisit its dominant themes and ideas.

Still life

Still life is a genre in which artists depict everyday and inanimate objects, such as household items and gifts of nature. The genre itself established itself in the 17th century in Holland, quickly gaining interest among art connoisseurs, and soon became widespread in Western Europe. naturists depicted fruits, dishes and flowers, depicting them in bright colors and colors. Still life is not characterized by mobility, all objects are presented in close-up and depicted on the canvases as detailed as possible. Idleness, monumentality, static and symbolism - these are the main characteristics of this genre throughout its existence. The word "still life" from French means "dead nature". Many Russian and foreign artists gave obvious preference to still life in a number of their paintings. Another striking example of this genre is the painting by Pablo Picasso "Decanter and Cups", Isaac Levitan's "Cornflowers", Vincent van Gogh's "Sunflowers in a Vase" and Edouard Manet's "Basket of Fruit".

Nu

Nude (from the French "nudité" - nudity, nudity) is an artistic genre depicting the beauty and aesthetics of a naked human body. Mostly, the models for paintings of this genre are girls and female representatives.

Landscape

Until the seventeenth century, the genre of landscapes was limited to the background of portraits or paintings, devoted mainly to religious, mythological or historical subjects. Today, the landscape continues to be a major theme in art, and many artists use documentary methods such as video, photography, and classification processes to explore how we relate to the places we live in and record the impact we have on the land. and our environment. In the works of the seventeenth century by Claude Lorrain and Nicolas Poussin, the paintings of this genre for the first time began to dominate the historical subjects that were supposedly the basis for the work. However, their treatment of landscapes was very stylized and artificial: they tried to evoke the landscapes of classical Greece and Rome, which is why their work became known as classical landscape. At the same time, Dutch landscape painters were developing a much more naturalistic form of landscape painting based on what they saw around them. In the seventeenth century, the French Academy classified the genres of art and ranked landscape as the fourth most important of the five official genres. Since then, the genre has expanded greatly and now includes urban, sea, mountain and industrial landscapes.

Portrait

The portrait painting genre depicts a certain person. The subject of a portrait is usually referred to as the "sitter" because traditionally people sat down in front of the artist to paint their portrait. Of course, in our time,  authors can work from photography, so not everyone has to live long hours in front of the masters. The main value of portraits is that they are effective and convincing, especially when they tell us something about a person, reveal his secrets. Therefore, a "good portrait" is not just a visual image of a person, it is a story about his essence. What a portrait shows may not be entirely obvious, sometimes it can be cleverly hidden through a certain facial expression or pose, or through the artist's use of certain colors and tones in the painting.

When the masters of the old world painted their paintings, they didn&#;t even have a thought about what style their work would be classified by art historians. But the authors of the new time, especially the creators who worked at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, were very worried about the classification of their works. Moreover, they themselves created new directions. Therefore, below we will consider the main styles into which all works should be divided:

Abstract

Abstractionism (Latin abstractus - non-objectivity) is a style in art of the 20th century, in which, instead of depicting reality, a system of purely formal elements is used, such as a line, a plane, a color spot, an abstract configuration.

Avangardism

Avant-garde (French avant-garde - forward detachment) is a generalized name for the trends in world art that arose at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. Pictures painted in the avant-garde style did not recognize social values &#;&#;and reflected radical changes in generally accepted painting.

Academism

Academism (from the French academisme) is a direction and style in European painting of the 17th-19th centuries. Academism grew up following the external forms of classical art. The followers characterized this style as a reasoning on the form of the ancient ancient world and the Renaissance, biblical stories, mythological traditions.

Baroque

Baroque (from Italian barocco, - pretentious) is a conditional generalizing name for works of art from different countries of the epoch of the 17th-18th centuries. This is one of the most ambiguous terms in the history and theory of artistic culture. The artistic style of the Baroque is characterized by dynamics, tension, contrast of forms and colors, affectation, expressiveness, heightened sensuality, the desire for the greatness of the images created, for the combination of reality and illusion, for the fusion of various genera, types and genres of art in grandiose monuments, city and palace and park ensembles.

Hyperrealism

Hyperrealism (from Latin realis - material) is a direction and style associated initially with the work of European photo-realists of the s, and then more broadly understood as trends in various types of contemporary art: painting, sculpture and cinematography of the late XX - beginning of the XXI century.

Genre

Genre style (from French genre) is an artistic depiction of scenes of everyday life as a reflection of the forms of life of the people and the reality surrounding them. Such an image may be realistic, imaginary, or romanticized by its creator. Examples of genre painting are images of market scenes, holidays, interiors and street scenes.

Impressionism

Impressionism (from French impressionnisme - impression) is one of the largest trends in art of the last third of the 19th - early 20th centuries, a style that originated in France and then spread throughout the world. Representatives of impressionism sought to develop methods and techniques that would allow them to most naturally and vividly capture the real world in its mobility and variability, to convey their fleeting impressions. The basis of the impressionist method, which can be described as the quintessence of painting, is the perception and depiction of the objects of the reality surrounding the impressionist not autonomously, but in relation to the surrounding spatial and light-air environment: reflexes, glare, warm-cold relations of light and shadow; if wider, then capture space and time itself. This is both the strengths and weaknesses of the impressionistic style.

Cubism

Cubism (from the French cubisme) is a modernist movement that originated in France at the beginning of the 20th century. The Cubist style is based on the desire to decompose the depicted three-dimensional object into simple elements and assemble it on canvas in a two-dimensional image. Thus, the artist manages to depict the object from different sides at the same time and emphasize the properties that are invisible in the classical depiction of the object from one side.

Minimalist

Minimalism in fine art originated in New York City as both new and older artists moved towards geometric abstraction. In painting, these were Frank Stella, Kenneth Noland, Al-Helda, Ellsworth Kelly, Robert Ryman and many others. The style of minimal art is characterized by geometric shapes cleared of any symbolism and metaphor, repetition, monochrome, neutral surfaces, industrial materials and manufacturing methods. Minimalism seeks to convey a simplified essence and form of objects, cutting off secondary images and shells. The symbolism of color, spots and lines prevails.

Modern

Modern (from French modern - new) is an artistic style in art that arose at the end of the 19th century and reigned until the outbreak of the First World War. Its characteristic features are decorativeness, smoothness of lines and roundness of forms, their flexibility and fluidity. Also in Art Nouveau you will find an abundance of ornaments and decorations, attention to plant and natural motifs, and the s will be flat, as on posters and stained-glass windows.

Orientalism

In the visual arts, Orientalism is associated with an appeal to historical events, literary plots, the life and life of the peoples of the Near and Middle East, as well as using certain stylistic techniques of oriental creativity. Biblical scenes are depicted in oriental scenery with a reliable transfer of costumes, landscapes, ethnic types (engravings by Gustave Doré, paintings by Gustave Moreau, V. D. Polenov and others). Of particular interest were such phenomena of Eastern life as baths and harems, where imaginary ethnography became a pretext for the manifestation of eroticism, as well as markets, images of Bedouins and Janissaries, motifs unusual for the European eye.

Pop Art

Pop Art (from the English popular art - popular) is a style in the fine arts of Western Europe and the United States of the late s and s, which arose as a negative reaction to abstract expressionism. As the main subject and image, pop art used images of consumer products. In fact, this direction has replaced the traditional fine art - with the demonstration of various objects of mass culture or the material world.

Pre-Raphaelitism

Pre-Raphaelitism is a style in English painting in the second half of the 19th century, formed in the early 50s in order to fight against the conventions of the Victorian era, academic traditions and blind imitation of classical models. The name "Pre-Raphaelites" (eng. Pre-Raphaelites) was supposed to denote spiritual kinship with the Florentine artists of the early Renaissance, that is, "before Raphael" and Michelangelo: Perugino, Fra Angelico, Giovanni Bellini. The most prominent members of the Pre-Raphaelite movement were Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, Madox Brown, Edward Burne-Jones, William Morris, Arthur Hughes, Walter Crane, John William Waterhouse.

Primitivism

Primitivism is a style that originated in the 19th century, containing a deliberate simplification of the picture, making its forms primitive, like the work of a child or drawings of primitive times. According to some art historians, the concept of naive art does not fall under the definition of "primitivism", since the first means the painting of non-professionals, the second - the stylized painting of professionals. The most famous representatives of primitivism: Henri Rousseau, Niko Pirosmani, Ekaterina Medvedeva

Realism

The style of realistic painting of the 19th century spread to almost all genres: portraits, landscapes, still lifes. Favorite themes of realists: paintings with genre scenes of rural and urban life of the working class, peasants, scenes of street life, cafes and nightclubs. Realists sought to convey a moment of life in dynamics, emphasizing as clearly, realistically and believably as possible the features of the appearance of the characters, their experiences and feelings.

Renaissance

The Renaissance (from the French Renaissance - to be reborn) is not even a style, but one of the greatest cultural and historical eras, a turning point in the history of Europe between the Middle Ages and the New Age, which laid the foundations of a new European culture. Otherwise, it is customary to call it "Renaissance", the hallmark of which is the secular nature of culture, its humanism and anthropocentrism, and the increased interest in antiquity. Of particular importance in the formation of the Renaissance was the fall of the Byzantine state, and the Byzantines who fled to Europe, taking with them their libraries and works of art, containing many ancient sources unknown to medieval Europe, and also being carriers of ancient culture, never forgotten in Byzantium. So, impressed by the speech of the Byzantine lecturer, Cosimo de' Medici founded Plato's Academy in Florence.

Romanticism

Romanticism is an ideological and artistic trend that emerged in European and American culture of the late 18th century - the first half of the 19th century, as a reaction to the aesthetics of classicism. Initially, the style developed (s) in philosophy and poetry in Germany, and later (s) spread to England, France and other countries. He predetermined the latest development of art, even those of his directions that opposed him. Freedom of self-expression, increased attention to the individual, unique features of a person, naturalness, sincerity and looseness, which replaced the imitation of classical examples of the 18th century, became new criteria in art. The Romantics rejected the rationalism and practicality of the Enlightenment as mechanistic, impersonal, and artificial. Instead, they prioritized the emotionality of expression, inspiration.

Rococo

Rococo style is an image of gallant scenes from the life of the aristocracy. There is no place for cruel realities, religious motifs with saints, or the glorification of strength and heroism. Art historians call Rococo the most frivolous and even vulgar of all styles that have ever existed. A characteristic element of the style, which gave it its name, is rocaille - a sea shell. This is a peculiar form of a curl resembling a sea shell. Rococo brought into fashion various trinkets, which were also decorated with patterns and ornaments characteristic of this style. The attraction to light colors is noticeable both in painting and in decorating walls, knick-knacks, upholstery of fabrics on furniture. The "rocky" style is characterized by pastel, light shades, white, golden blue lilac colors.

Symbolism

Symbolism (French symbolisme - a sign, a sign) - a trend in the visual arts, originated in the painting of France in the s-s, but became most widespread in the Art Nouveau period at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries. The isolation of symbolism as a trend and style is associated with the strengthening of the romantic worldview in crisis, critical eras in the development of culture. The characteristic qualities of symbolist works of art are mysticism, mysterious mythological and sacred themes and plots, allusions, allegories, vague, disturbing and vague moods, esoteric symbolism. In the field of form there is a tense rhythm, deformation, foggy and gloomy coloring. The term "symbolism" in art was introduced by the French poet Jean Moréas in the manifesto "Le Symbolisme", published on September 18, in the Parisian newspaper Le Figaro.

Social Realism

Socialist realism (Sotsrealism) is a direction of fine art depicting the ideals, as well as the exploits of a socialist society. The style of artistic socialist realism was widespread in the USSR and other socialist countries. Nowadays, socialist realist canvases are becoming popular as "artistic and historical curiosity" among collectors living in Western countries. In addition to fine arts, the term "socialist realism" also applies to Soviet literature.

Supermatism

In the s, Kazimir Malevich founded Suprematism in painting - a subspecies of abstractionism, based on the manner of geometrism and the clarity of displaying s and objects. Artists conveyed reality with the help of geometric shapes in bright colors. The style was based on triangles, circles, squares, straight lines, which were combined in various combinations.

Surrealism

A distinctive feature of the surrealist style is the use of paradoxical combinations of forms and illusions. It skillfully combines dream and reality, real and fictional. Surrealists were inspired by the idea of &#;&#;a revolution of their own consciousness. And art acted, in their opinion, as a tool for this. A mixture of philosophical teachings is a characteristic feature of the theory of surrealism.

Figurativism

Figurativism is one of the styles of figurative art, where the main object of the image is the s of people or animals. Objects for creativity can be a variety of animate and inanimate objects: people, houses, animals, cars, plants. But to implement his ideas, the author has the right to use all available means: a wide color palette, bizarre and original shapes of objects and their proportions, a combination of contrasts, the role of light and shadow, perspective and volume.

Fauvism

Fauvism (from French Fauvisme - wild) is a trend in French painting of the late 19th (rudiments) - early 20th century (official beginning) was assigned to a group of artists whose canvases were presented at the autumn salon of . Unusual paintings left the viewer with a feeling of energy, vivid emotions of love and passion, and the French critic Louis Vaucelles called these painters wild animals (fr. les fauves). This was the reaction of contemporaries to the exaltation of color that struck them, the &#;wild&#; expressiveness of colors. So a random statement was fixed as the name of the whole trend. The artists themselves never recognized this epithet over themselves. The distinctive features of the Fauvist style include the dynamism of the brushstroke, spontaneity, and the desire for emotional strength. The power of artistic expression was created by bright coloring, purity and sharpness, contrast of colors, intensely open local colors, juxtaposition of contrasting chromatic planes. Complements the image of the sharpness of the rhythm. Fauvism is characterized by a sharp generalization of space, volume and the entire pattern, the reduction of form to simple outlines while refusing black and white modeling and linear perspective.

Expressionism

Expressionism (from Latin expressio, "expression") is a style and one of the currents of avant-garde art. Expressionism appeared in Europe during modernism and replaced impressionism. Received the greatest development at the beginning of the 20th century. From impressionism, expressionism is distinguished by bright expressiveness, eccentricity, exaggerated emotionality. In their paintings, expressionists try to express not so much external qualities as internal experiences through external images. Expressionists of the early 20th century paid special attention to such emotional experiences as fear, pain, despair, anxiety.

What is fine art? The answer to that question has changed throughout the centuries. It is a fluid answer, and not all art specialists will agree. In general, however, fine art is an art whose primary value is aesthetic or intellectual. In other words, it is not mainly utilitarian.

Fine art encompasses a number of different activities such as drawing, painting, sculpture, and likely architecture and photography, depending upon who is asked. Some will claim that art produced upon commission is not fine art, but many famous painters of the past, including Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, worked on commission, and their art is firmly considered to be fine art.

Before the Renaissance, fine artists were considered skilled workers and nothing more. However, during the Renaissance, that began to change, and their status was elevated.

What is considered fine art changes as artists develop new methods and as technology changes. Because of this, there is no one set definition of fine art that can survive all the centuries. However, people often consider fine art to be ''art for art's sake.'' In other words, the art is valued for something beyond its usefulness.

There is a difference in the classification of art between fine art and decorative arts and crafts. One of the primary ways people differentiate between the two is based on the ultimate purpose of the piece produced. If the art will be used, it is often considered decorative art or a craft.

Decorative Arts vs. Fine Art

Fine art is often considered to be high art. Decorative arts, on the other hand, are regarded as low art.

Art produced purely for its aesthetic or intellectual appeal is generally considered fine art. Art with a utilitarian purpose is considered a craft or decorative art.

Painting is almost always considered fine art as it does not serve another purpose as a woven rug would. Ceramics, on the other hand, can be viewed as a decorative art because the end product is often utilitarian.

Great skill may be required of both the artist and the artisan. Because of this, sometimes people will claim that a piece of decorative art might rise to the level of fine art.

Another factor that often sets fine art apart is that it is usually one of a kind. This makes the art more valuable.

As mentioned above, painting and sculpture are almost always considered fine art. Examples of decorative arts and crafts are ceramics, weaving, and glass.

Fine Art

Have you ever wanted to create something to express yourself? If so, you were exploring a fundamental idea connected to fine art. Definitions can be slippery, but in basic terms, fine art is something created for aesthetic or intellectual value rather than utilitarian or practical purpose.

Fine art involves creative expression, and it doesn't have to be beautiful. It might convey an idea or an emotion or explore social commentary. The concept of ''art for art's sake,'' originated in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with the rise of abstract art - art that exists for its own purpose.

Perceptions of Fine Art

Some people argue that anything made on commission or for a client isn't fine art, but the nature of art and artists has changed over time. Famous artists like Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo were commissioned, and few people would argue that the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel isn't fine art.

Additionally, there's long been a perceived difference between fine art and decorative arts or crafts, like glass, ceramics, and textiles, that have a utilitarian or applied purpose. Decorative arts and crafts tend to be functional. However aesthetically striking a finely woven Persian carpet might be, it serves a basic purpose as a floor covering.

The definition of fine art has broadened and changed throughout the 20th and 21st centuries with the development of new mediums like photography and digital formats. Who knows what new mediums will be used to create fine art in the future.

2-D Fine Art

Some fine art is two-dimensional. The most basic is drawing, or the idea of using a tool like a pencil, pen, or charcoal to create lines or shadows, a practice fundamental to many other kinds of fine art. Another type of two-dimensional fine art is painting, which includes mediums like watercolor, oil, and acrylics. A painting may be created on a wooden panel, a canvas, or almost any other surface.

Other types of two-dimensional fine art may involve processes that create more than one image. Printmaking involves the use of an etching, engraving, or screen-printing to transfer an image from one surface to another, usually in very high quality and limited quantities to qualify as fine art.