History painting, portraiture and genre painting were considered to be the most important genres in painting for centuries. Still life and landscape art are on the fifth and the fourth place of this Academy's hierarchy. But, if you stop and think fr a while, you will surely remember that some of the most exciting pictures you have ever seen certainly belong to these two genres. Just remember some masterpieces such as Van Gogh's Sunflowers.
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.
Flowers can be just beautiful flowers, and nothing else, but they can also be highly symbolic. For example, lilies symbolize purity, and may refer to Virgin Mary's purity as well. On the other hand, Cezanne was more interested in shapes and colors of his motifs, and didn't care much about symbolism. Other authors sometimes used this genre just to practice their technique.
Caravaggio's basket of fruits is considered to be the first Western art major work presenting still life, at least the first recognized one. In the 1600s, some authors in Netherlands became more interested in this genre. Floral motif is quite common at the time, symbolic or not. Amazed by the beauty of flowers, numerous painters decided to immortalize this beauty.
Breakfast and banquet motifs are very popular as well. Other popular themes are games and vanities. All pictures have one thing in common. The background is in dark, gray tones, tan colored, in one word, neutral. Main motif is usually bright colored, and there are some elements in gold and silver. Skulls, watches and similar objects are there to remind us of our mortality.
Landscape art depict physical world. This includes mountains, water, sky and vegetation. This type of art can be really detailed and realistic, but also idealized, romantic or impressionistic. Oil is the most dominant technique here, but many artists preferred acrylic, gauche or pastels. Mixed techniques are also quite common.
This genre became independent in the sixteenth century, but landscapes can be found much earlier. After that, it was recognized and accepted. Today, contemporary art feature modern motifs. Some popular motifs are roads, different buildings and other things surrounding modern people.
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.
The nineteenth century is the period when some of the most amazing paintings were made. England and France were the centers, and artists like Turner and Constable changed the picture. In France, several famous painters, for example Renoir and Pissaro, painted some really beautiful landscapes. Sometimes people are also found on their works, but the nature is the prime motif.
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.
Flowers can be just beautiful flowers, and nothing else, but they can also be highly symbolic. For example, lilies symbolize purity, and may refer to Virgin Mary's purity as well. On the other hand, Cezanne was more interested in shapes and colors of his motifs, and didn't care much about symbolism. Other authors sometimes used this genre just to practice their technique.
Caravaggio's basket of fruits is considered to be the first Western art major work presenting still life, at least the first recognized one. In the 1600s, some authors in Netherlands became more interested in this genre. Floral motif is quite common at the time, symbolic or not. Amazed by the beauty of flowers, numerous painters decided to immortalize this beauty.
Breakfast and banquet motifs are very popular as well. Other popular themes are games and vanities. All pictures have one thing in common. The background is in dark, gray tones, tan colored, in one word, neutral. Main motif is usually bright colored, and there are some elements in gold and silver. Skulls, watches and similar objects are there to remind us of our mortality.
Landscape art depict physical world. This includes mountains, water, sky and vegetation. This type of art can be really detailed and realistic, but also idealized, romantic or impressionistic. Oil is the most dominant technique here, but many artists preferred acrylic, gauche or pastels. Mixed techniques are also quite common.
This genre became independent in the sixteenth century, but landscapes can be found much earlier. After that, it was recognized and accepted. Today, contemporary art feature modern motifs. Some popular motifs are roads, different buildings and other things surrounding modern people.
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.
The nineteenth century is the period when some of the most amazing paintings were made. England and France were the centers, and artists like Turner and Constable changed the picture. In France, several famous painters, for example Renoir and Pissaro, painted some really beautiful landscapes. Sometimes people are also found on their works, but the nature is the prime motif.
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