A painting’s genre is its type according to the subject. History painting – a famous event, legend or battle; portrait – a person’s face and figure; genre painting – a scene of everyday life; still life – an arrangement of everyday things like fruit, flowers or dishes; landscape – a view of nature; seascape – the sea; cityscape – a view of a city. Famous works: “Mona Lisa” (portrait) – Leonardo da Vinci, about 1503–1519, the Louvre; “The Starry Night” (landscape) – Vincent van Gogh, 1889; “The Great Wave off Kanagawa” (seascape) – Hokusai, about 1831. Questions: By whom was it painted? In which year was it painted? What genre is it? What do you like about it? Answer: It was painted by ... in ... .
Worked examples
“The Starry Night” was painted by Vincent van Gogh in 1889. It is a landscape of a quiet village under a swirling night sky. “Mona Lisa” was painted by Leonardo da Vinci and it is a portrait of a woman with a quiet smile.
— What genre is this picture? — A still life. It shows apples and a jug. — By whom was it painted? — I don’t know, but I like the warm colours.
Class activity
“Guess the genre”: the teacher shows pictures, pupils name the genre and ask Who/When questions.
Practice
1
Genre: a painting of a bowl of apples.
still life
2
Genre: a view of mountains and a lake.
landscape
3
Passive question: “The Starry Night” / paint / who by
Who was “The Starry Night” painted by?
4
How is a portrait different from a history painting?
A portrait shows a person; a history painting shows an event, usually with many people.