The Academy set up the hierarchy of genres, and the most important one is history painting, followed by portraiture and genre painting. Still life and landscape art are younger, and they were considered less important for long time. They keep fifth and fourth place in this hierarchy, but some people have different opinion about it. Van Gogh's Sunflowers, for example, cannot be considered as less important, by all means.
Still life painting became popular in sixteenth century. Artists paint inanimate objects, natural or manufactured, anything that doesn't move or is dead, as it is explained in Tate museum Glossary. Natural objects usually include food, drinks, flowers and similar things. Manufactured objects painted on these pictures are often bottles, vases and books.
Early works often involved symbolism, especially when it comes to flowers. Lilies were often featured, as a symbol of purity. Later on, some other artists enjoyed painting something simply because these objects were interesting for their shape or their color, or maybe texture. Cezanne was one of them, and he made some really lovely pieces.
The first recognized major work of Western still life is Caravaggio's basket of fruits. It was painted in 1596. During the early 1600s, this genre became popular in the Netherlands. These early works were mostly religious and symbolic. Floral motifs were especially prominent. Flowers were appreciated for their grace and fragrance, and paintings immortalized these values.
Banquet pictures, game pictures and vanities were also quite popular motifs. Background is usually neutral, tan colored or gray, while flowers, for example, are bright colored. They use silver and gold for details. It is interesting that in this period you will often found watches, skulls and other reminders of death as a main motif.
Landscape paintings usually depict mountains, rivers, sea, sky and grass, in one word, nature. Some pictures are really realistic, and some present idealized world. Impressionists often chose this genre, and there are numerous beautiful masterpieces you can see in museums. The most popular technique is oil, but numerous authors use water colors or pastels, or mixed media.
Landscape officially became an independent genre in the 1600s. In this early period only a few authors were interested in painting landscapes. The situation will soon be changed, and this genre is popular today as well. Modern landscapes feature industrial buildings, roads and similar things.
In Chinese art, this lovely motif was highly appreciated, but in Western art it was included in paintings only as a setting for different human activities, purely as a background. With the rise of the Dutch and Flemish schools in the seventeenth century, some prominent artists such as Vermeer made the difference, and this type of art became more respected and popular.
Nineteenth century gave birth to some of the most beautiful examples of landscape art. Mostly made in England and France, by artists such as Constable, Turner, Camille Pissarro and Renoir, these pictures can really take your breath away. Human figures can be presented in the background, but if they have no importance at all, the picture is still considered as landscape.
Still life painting became popular in sixteenth century. Artists paint inanimate objects, natural or manufactured, anything that doesn't move or is dead, as it is explained in Tate museum Glossary. Natural objects usually include food, drinks, flowers and similar things. Manufactured objects painted on these pictures are often bottles, vases and books.
Early works often involved symbolism, especially when it comes to flowers. Lilies were often featured, as a symbol of purity. Later on, some other artists enjoyed painting something simply because these objects were interesting for their shape or their color, or maybe texture. Cezanne was one of them, and he made some really lovely pieces.
The first recognized major work of Western still life is Caravaggio's basket of fruits. It was painted in 1596. During the early 1600s, this genre became popular in the Netherlands. These early works were mostly religious and symbolic. Floral motifs were especially prominent. Flowers were appreciated for their grace and fragrance, and paintings immortalized these values.
Banquet pictures, game pictures and vanities were also quite popular motifs. Background is usually neutral, tan colored or gray, while flowers, for example, are bright colored. They use silver and gold for details. It is interesting that in this period you will often found watches, skulls and other reminders of death as a main motif.
Landscape paintings usually depict mountains, rivers, sea, sky and grass, in one word, nature. Some pictures are really realistic, and some present idealized world. Impressionists often chose this genre, and there are numerous beautiful masterpieces you can see in museums. The most popular technique is oil, but numerous authors use water colors or pastels, or mixed media.
Landscape officially became an independent genre in the 1600s. In this early period only a few authors were interested in painting landscapes. The situation will soon be changed, and this genre is popular today as well. Modern landscapes feature industrial buildings, roads and similar things.
In Chinese art, this lovely motif was highly appreciated, but in Western art it was included in paintings only as a setting for different human activities, purely as a background. With the rise of the Dutch and Flemish schools in the seventeenth century, some prominent artists such as Vermeer made the difference, and this type of art became more respected and popular.
Nineteenth century gave birth to some of the most beautiful examples of landscape art. Mostly made in England and France, by artists such as Constable, Turner, Camille Pissarro and Renoir, these pictures can really take your breath away. Human figures can be presented in the background, but if they have no importance at all, the picture is still considered as landscape.
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