GENRES AND STYLES OF ART

Understanding artistic vocabulary and experimenting with different ideas

- Vanessa Rothe

In the study of the history of art, we find many types of art that later become known collectively as "genres." But what does that word really mean? The word genre is used to help identify, categorize and organize things specifically in the world of the arts. This word can be very confusing as it is used in many different ways in the art world, so you are not alone if you are unsure how to use it. I will try to shed some light on this in this issue's Art Industry Insider. An example is John Cosby's work, shown here, which would be labeled as a landscape, plein air painting in a contemporary hybrid style genre of realism and impressionism. 

Genre generally has two meanings: the type or style of a work of art, or the topic or content of a piece. In layman's terms, genre is a grouping of the same kind of art with "similar aspects" in the work that tie it together, like the subjects of landscape, still life or figurative. However, it can often mean which type of art, such as painting, sculpture, cinema, music or literary work. It can also mean which "style" genre such as realism, cubism, impressionism, modernism or romanticism. To add to the confusion, there is another specific group of works called "genre paintings," which specifically refer to scenes that depict everyday life and mostly show interior scenes with people, animals, still lifes or even landscapes with people. So if you say "genre paintings" this usually means everyday scenes of life with a group of people, like a picnic or an open market.