Talk:Genre art

Comments
I suggest this article be moved to "Genre works" so that all relevant artistic media can be included (i.e. genre works in drawing, printmaking and photography - as well as painting). Pinkville 17:28, 27 September 2005 (UTC)


 * There is a difference between the genre of painting, and the genre of drawing, especially if we're talking about genre's of baroque and ren. paintings. I say make a seperate section for the drawings and printmaking, etc. Painting genre is completely different. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 70.17.217.235 (talk • contribs) 19:47, 27 October 2006.

Agreed. But I'll consolidate the various media under "genre work". Pinkville 23:08, 2 November 2006 (UTC)


 * I disagree. 'Genre painting' is a rather outmoded, but quite specific connoisseur term, mostly employed before 1920 and in relation most often to German painting, but it's still valid. However, I cannot find the term applied to drawing or other media. I don't think drawings of everyday life will be found to be referred to as 'genre drawing'. I've tried to find the origin of this use of 'genre' and so far the earliest discussion of the meaning that I can find is from the American journal of 1811, The Port Folio, Volume 6, Volumes 40-42; Volumes 220-227 of American periodical series: 1800-1850, contributors Joseph Dennie, John Elihu Hall, which is quite specific:


 * "INTRODUCTORY ESSAY ON PAINTING.


 * "Among the various terms of art used on the continent of Europe, and of which we have adopted many for every-day use, it may be observed that we have omitted one, at least in the peculiar sense in which it is there understood. Were we to translate the word genre by the English style, we should be literally correct; but then this word genre is applied in a more limited sense; for as an intelligent French critic observes, it has been agreed upon in technical language to apply this term to all pictures in which the ﬁgures are not as large as life. The pictures of Poussin, he observes, which are much smaller than reality, are yet deserving to be classed as historical paintings; so also is the gallery of Rubens, although the subjects are modern. The Flemish School is considered as having given birth to this which is specifically styled genre. The pupils and masters of that school found the historical source completely drained by the Italians; they had, moreover, no models of antiquity before them, and their particular talent for drawing did not encourage them to attempt subjects as large as life. But this genre, which admits : choice of subject, ad libitum is particularly favourable to mediocrity, as its models are within the reach of every amateur of the easel; nor does it refuse its aid to genius, when genius chooses to sink to its level.


 * "Talent also, though even of a moderate kind, there ever found room for exercise; for on a canvass not too extensive, it is much easier to attend to the detail of outline, and to produce all the magic of colouring, than in a picture on a large scale. Pictures which are designed for a near point of view, lose nothing of the finer touches of the pencil, or of the illusions of colour; so that whilst genius is necessary to form the historical painter, a certain taste, or turn of mind, will enable the man even of moderate talent to please in that species of painting now under discussion. Historical painting requires extraordinary grandeur both in conception and in execution, and even that the chosen subject should have sufficient celebrity to be known at a glance; whilst genre avails itself of all that historical painting neglects, for all the scenes of domestic life come within its range; and correctness of representation is the principal object in view from Greuze to Calot."


 * My dictionary gives 'genre' as "— noun, plural gen·res [zhahn-ruh z; French zhahn-ruh] a class or category of artistic endeavor having a particular form, content, technique, or the like: the genre of epic poetry; the genre of symphonic music.


 * Fine Arts: paintings in which scenes of everyday life form the subject matter.

a realistic style of painting using such subject matter.
 * genus; kind; sort; style.
 * — adjective
 * Fine Arts. of or pertaining to genre.
 * of or pertaining to a distinctive literary type."


 * Thus this article might be given a subtitle so that it reads 'Genre painting: scenes of everyday life", but that does not fit the WP format. Instead, in the introduction, which at present, despite efforts made, is somewhat confusing on 'genre', the origin, distinction and definition of this specific usage in 'genre painting' could be made clearer, and the article could explain that other media are also used to depict everyday life, but that the term 'genre painting' had a particular meaning in art connoisseurship of a certain period.
 * happy to attempt this if others agree. JamesMcArdle 00:24, 4 April 2016 (UTC)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just modified one external link on Genre art. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
 * Added tag to http://www.ajronline.org/cgi/reprint/158/5/970.pdf
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20101003044618/http://www.thamesandhudson.com/9780500543931.html to http://www.thamesandhudson.com/9780500543931.html

When you have finished reviewing my changes, you may follow the instructions on the template below to fix any issues with the URLs.

Cheers.— InternetArchiveBot  (Report bug) 21:52, 12 October 2017 (UTC)