Genres: what kind of picture is it?
A genre is a type of subject. Knowing the genre is the first step in reading a work.
- Portrait: a likeness of a real person. Types: head-and-shoulders, half-length, full-length, group portrait, self-portrait, equestrian (on horseback), official/state portrait.
- Landscape: nature or a place. Sub-types: veduta (a detailed, accurate city view), seascape / marine (sea, ships, coasts), ideal landscape (an imagined perfect nature).
- Genre scene: ordinary daily life, such as a market, a kitchen or a game.
- Religious scene: stories and figures from a faith.
- Mythological scene: stories of gods and heroes from myths (Greek, Roman, Indian epics and others).
- History scene: an important event, battle or treaty, often large and serious.
- Still life: objects that do not move: fruit, flowers, books, dishes.
- The human figure (nude): studies of the body, used since ancient times to show ideal beauty and anatomy.
For a long time academies ranked genres, with history painting at the top and still life at the bottom. Today all are valued.
Abstraction: from real to non-figurative
Abstraction means leaving out details and keeping only what the artist thinks matters: shape, colour, line, rhythm.
- Realistic / figurative: looks like the real thing.
- Simplified / stylised: we still know what it is, but forms are reduced (folk art, Cubism, many Indian miniature styles).
- Abstract / non-figurative: no recognisable object at all; the work is about colour, form and feeling.
Abstraction is old: geometric patterns on pottery, Islamic tiles and textile designs are abstract. In the 20th century many painters made fully abstract pictures, some with bold geometric shapes, some with free, expressive brushwork.
Functions of art: why was it made?
- Sacred (religious): for worship or prayer: temple statues, icons, altar pieces.
- Funerary: for the dead: tombs, pyramids, grave goods.
- Commemorative: to remember a person or event: monuments, columns, memorial plaques.
- Decorative: to make spaces and objects beautiful: vases, carpets, wall patterns.
- Didactic: to teach, often to people who could not read: story panels on temple walls, stained-glass windows.
- Propaganda: to persuade and show power: rulers' portraits, posters, coins.
- Defensive and practical: city walls, gates and forts that are also works of architecture.
- Aesthetic and personal: art for beauty and self-expression.
Many works have more than one function: a carved temple gate decorates, teaches and is sacred all at once.
Symbol and allegory
A symbol is an object or colour that stands for an idea: a dove for peace, a skull for death, an hourglass for passing time, a lotus for purity, a laurel wreath for victory.
An allegory turns an abstract idea into a person or a whole scene, built from several symbols. Justice is a woman with scales (fair weighing), a sword (power to punish) and often a blindfold (no favourites). Other common allegories: the Four Seasons, the Virtues, Fame with a trumpet, Time as an old man with a scythe.
A still life can also hide symbols. Wilting flowers or a burning candle remind viewers that life is short (this type is called vanitas).
Iconography: attributes of gods and saints
Iconography is the study of what images mean. Its key tool is the attribute: an object, animal or feature that always goes with a figure.
Greek gods
- Zeus: thunderbolt, eagle. Poseidon: trident. Athena: owl, helmet, spear. Apollo: lyre, laurel. Hermes: winged sandals and hat. Artemis: bow and deer.
Christian saints
- Saint Peter: keys. Saint Catherine: a wheel. Saint George: a dragon. The four evangelists: a man/angel, lion, ox and eagle.
Hindu and Buddhist art
- Shiva: trident, drum, snake. Vishnu: conch, discus, mace, lotus. Ganesha: elephant head, mouse. Saraswati: veena, book, swan. The Buddha: lotus seat, hand gestures (mudras), the wheel of Dharma.
When you meet an unknown motif, look it up in a dictionary of symbols or iconography: these list objects and say whom or what they point to in each culture. The same object may mean different things in different cultures, so always check the context.
Try it: the four-question reading
Pick any picture: a calendar, a temple wall, a stamp or a museum website. Write four lines: Genre: what kind of picture? Abstraction: realistic, simplified or abstract? Function: why was it made? Symbols: list two objects and guess what they mean. Then open the last step of the 3D and test yourself with the attribute picker.
Key formulas and definitions
- Genre = type of subject (portrait, landscape, still life…)
- Veduta = a detailed view of a city
- Abstraction: realistic → simplified → non-figurative
- Symbol = one object for one idea
- Allegory = an idea shown as a person or scene made of symbols
- Attribute = the object that identifies a figure
- Iconography = the study of what images and symbols mean
Worked examples
1. A painting shows a bowl of apples, a jug and a candle burning low. Name the genre and suggest a hidden meaning.
Genre: still life. The burning-down candle can symbolise passing time and the shortness of life (a vanitas idea).
2. A statue shows a woman with a helmet and spear, with an owl at her feet. Who is she?
Athena, Greek goddess of wisdom. The owl and the helmet with spear are her attributes.
3. A huge painting shows a famous battle with the ruler in the centre on a horse. Give its genre and two possible functions.
History scene (with an equestrian portrait). Functions: commemorative (remembers the event) and propaganda (shows the ruler's power).
4. Carved panels on a temple wall tell the story of an epic, step by step. Which function is this mainly?
Didactic (teaching the story) and sacred at the same time; they are also decorative.
Common mistakes
- Mixing up 'genre' (type of subject) and 'genre scene' (the type that shows daily life).
- Thinking abstract art means 'badly drawn'. Abstraction is a deliberate choice to leave out detail.
- Assuming a symbol means the same thing in every culture. An owl means wisdom in Greek art but can mean other things elsewhere; always check the context.
- Calling any symbolic picture an allegory. An allegory turns an idea into a figure or a story; a single symbol is not an allegory.