An Approach to Painting Genres

The fleeting nature of life and the passage of time are some of the messages hidden behind compositions of inanimate objects, fruits and flowers. These compositions, rendered with carefully considered lighting, great mastery of colour and, often, remarkable attention to detail, offer us an image frozen in time. This is the genre of still life, which reached its greatest splendour throughout the 17th century in the Netherlands and the Iberian kingdoms, but which remains very much present in the art world today.

Painting genres emerged from classifying or categorising painting according to its subject matter. With this activity and “Great Events, Great Figures…, History”, we continue the series in which we can explore artistic genres through an online theoretical lecture, during which we will take a historical and theoretical journey, analysing the most representative works.

To complement this lecture, we will later visit the Museum, where works from the collection will take centre stage and provide a testament to the richness of each of the painting genres and their characteristics within the collection. More information about the visit, here.

Image: Rafael Durancamps. Fruit, 1925. Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya.