Historical genre in the fine arts: description, representatives

Italy, where the historical genre in the visual arts originated, had all the prerequisites for the emergence of this type of painting. The Roman Empire had a very high level of cultural development, and its achievements became the basis of the art of all countries of Western Europe. Not surprisingly, it was in Italy in the Renaissance, in the XV century, a historical genre in the visual arts.

Short story

To understand what a historical genre is in art, it is necessary to take into account the features of the development of the period under consideration. The Renaissance is an epoch of the flourishing of humanistic ideas, which determined the interest not only in the human person, but also in civil and political history.

The events of the country's heroic past also had to reflect the historical genre in the visual arts. Examples include the following: paintings by Andrea Mantegna "The Triumph of Caesar" (1485-1492), various canvases by Paulo Uccello, dedicated to the battle of San Romano and others. The achievements of the Renaissance in Italy quickly spread throughout Europe, where the historical genre in the visual arts also began to develop.

European artists of historical painting of the XVII-XVIII centuries

Events of the past attracted masters in Western European countries. The development of this trend can be attributed to the XVII century - the heyday of classicism and baroque. It should be noted that in the artistic culture the historical genre came to the forefront. All other varieties of fine art for some time lost to him a place in importance, since classicism assumed the creation of primarily heroic images and monumental canvases.

In this style, on the historical theme, Peter Paul Rubens (painting "The Battle of the Greeks with the Amazons", 1619-1620), Nicolas Poussin ("The Abduction of the Sabines," 1614-1615), Jacques-Louis David, who wrote Both on antique, and on modern subjects. These works are distinguished pathos spirit, heroic poses, sublime facial expressions and gestures. By their composition, the canvases resembled the action of ancient plays and were distinguished by a certain theatrical bombast. This direction can be attributed to paintings written on evangelical subjects. For example, Harmens van Rijn Rembrandt created the painting "The Return of the Prodigal Son" (1669).

Historical painting in Europe in the first half of the XIX century

Classicism and baroque soon gave way to a new cultural trend - romanticism. Representatives of this trend have moved away from the heroic interpretation of the past, focusing on the emotional component. The artists set out to create such images to evoke sympathy and empathy among the audience. The historical genre in painting received a completely different design, as the theme of human emotions and emotions came to the fore. An example is the picture by Eugene Delacroix, "The Massacre on the Island of Chios," written in 1826. Historical motifs can be found and the work of another prominent French artist Honore Daumier: the painting "The Rise" (1848).

Western European historical painting of the period of Romanticism

In the second half of the XIX century, the historical genre in the visual arts underwent significant changes. This is due to the emergence of a new direction - realism. His representatives sought to create more plausible images and plots. To this current can be attributed the works of Adolf von Menzel, who in 1850 created a series of paintings dedicated to the era of Frederick the Great. Interest in history in this era is due in large part to the many revolutions that shocked Europe at that time. Foci of uprisings broke out in Italy, France, Germany. Therefore, scientists, artists, writers sought answers to the present in the past, which explains the emergence of realism in culture.

The emergence of the Russian historical genre in painting

Interesting for analysis and the domestic art history. The origins, types and genres in Russia are a topic for a separate conversation, because our culture has borrowed a great deal from European art. The era of classicism in the expanses of the motherland dates back to the XVIII century: it was at this time that domestic artists turned to the events of the past in their works.

The founder of the historical genre of Russian art is Anton Pavlovich Losenko. His pen belongs to famous paintings from the past of Ancient Rus ("Vladimir and Rogneda", 1770) and canvases dedicated to ancient subjects. His followers were Ivan Akimov, also turned to the events of Kievan Rus, Peter Sokolov, depicting mythological images, Grigory Ugryumov, turning to the history of the XIII century. These works, as well as European paintings in the style of classicism, are distinguished by the elevation of images and plots.

Historical themes in Russian painting in 1800-1850

The genres of painting paintings in the visual arts were very diverse, however, in connection with the development of academicism, in the first half of the century historical subjects took the mainstream in artistic culture. Artists of this trend in many ways continued the traditions of classicism, choosing the object for their work heroic facts from the past. The historical genre in the fine arts, whose paintings were particularly expressive, enjoyed the greatest popularity both among the intelligentsia and among the mass public.

This direction includes works by Anton Ivanov "The feat of a young Kievite at the siege of Kiev by the pechenegs in 968" (1810), Alexei Egorov "Rest on the way to Egypt" (1830). At the same time, a new direction arose - romanticism, whose representatives created vivid, emotional images full of psychological tension. For example, Karl Pavlovich Bryullov, who created the famous canvas about the death of Pompeii, Fedor Antonovich Bruni and Alexander Andreevich Ivanov, who wrote biblical stories.

Historical plots in the works of the authors of the last quarter of the century

In the second half of the XIX century, painters began to draw stories from the history of Russia. In art, a number of paintings appear, dedicated to various events from the past of our country. The historical genre in the fine arts is represented by the following paintings: Ilya Repin's paintings "The Sophia's Prince in the Novodevichy Convent" (1879) and "Ivan the Terrible Kills His Son" (1884), the works of Vasily Surikov, who turned to the most dramatic events from the history of Russia in the 18th century. These works are distinguished both by the colorful and expressive images, and by the background of the situation.

Historical genre of fine arts

Domestic artists began to address not only political events, but also to depict the everyday life of Russian people. Therefore, a prominent place in the painting was taken by the so-called everyday historical genre. The visual arts of this direction received great popularity among the educated public of that time.

Examples include works by the following authors: Vyacheslav Shvarts, who created a picture about the royal hunting, Konstantin Makovsky, who painted canvases about the Moscow kingdom in the 17th century. Historical everyday topics were of great importance in the work of representatives of the World of Art. The peculiarity of their paintings was the reproduction of splendor and solemnity, but with a touch of sadness (Albert Benois, depicting the pompous exits of Russian emperors and empresses in the XVIII century, Eugene Lansere, depicting the luxurious surroundings at the court, Valentin Serov, who painted royal amusements).

Historical genre in Soviet and modern painting

In Soviet times, artists often turned to the events of the past of Russia. At the same time, they revived the traditions of 19th century academicism, depicting heroic episodes from Russian history. For example, the artist V. Ye. Popkov is considered to be the founder of the "severe style" in Soviet painting (a painting that depicts the construction of a hydroelectric power station). Of particular importance in his work is the theme of the Great Patriotic War ("Mezensky widows", 1965-1968 gg.). And the pen of TE Nazarenko belongs to works on which one can see turning points: the insurgencies of Pugachev, the Decembrists.

Modern artists show great interest in the history of Russia. Igor Glazunov became famous for creating monumental canvases dedicated to understanding the past of our country: a work that symbolically shows the fate of the author, "Russia, Wake Up!" (1994) and others.

So, summing up, it can be stated that the historical themes occupied a very prominent place both in European fine arts and in Russian painting. Truth and accuracy, drama and solemnity have always been distinguished by the historical genre. All genres of fine art convey expression, but this style is the leader.