Painting was born almost simultaneously with the advent of humanity itself. The caveman gained the ability to walk straight, use tools and equip himself with an elementary dwelling. Along with this, he felt the need to depict the world around him.

Approximately 30,000 - 10,000 BC were created. They were found by archaeologists in caves in the south of France and in Spain. Ancient artists painted what they saw around them - animals, nature, battle scenes. Already in those days they used some semblance of paints, which were made from natural materials, and brushes from animal hair.

In essence, does this refer to the visual composition of oil on canvas? In fact, the term can be applied more broadly. Ask a critic to define the art of painting. He or she will inevitably dwell on the question of form. In art, a medium such as a musical composition can be broken down into smaller categories based on form such as song or opera. In this example, the musical composition is the medium and the song is a particular form of artistic expression. But also consider how the meaning expressed in the song could have come about if the artist had chosen a different form, like a written poem, for example.

After the period of antiquity came the ancient period. Painting continued to develop. At that time, it was considered as something in common with other aesthetic trends - sculpture, architecture. Works of art were used to decorate dwellings, religious and burial centers. In the period of antiquity, many painting techniques were born - a three-dimensional image, the principle of chiaroscuro, elements of perspective.

The definition of painting is also a matter of form. Is the painting realistic or abstract? Does it use organic or geometric shapes? Is the subject a landscape or a person and does it fall into a specific genre like surrealism? Was the paint applied with a brush or sponge, or was it splattered and thrown into an artistic act? These are questions that can help you understand the shape of a painting. So, what unites the field of painting?

The defining aspects that unite all works of art under the category of painting include the use of certain materials. This means that a painting is usually defined as consisting of some kind of paint applied to some kind of surface, usually a flat two-dimensional canvas. But that doesn't mean that the only works of art that count as paintings will be those made from oil paint on a canvas. In the broadest sense, graffiti is a kind of painting because it is made with spray paint. spray paint- Apply to flat surface like wall or slab pavement.

The next significant period in the history of painting is the Middle Ages. In this gloomy era, any direction of art was associated with religion. However, the canvases painted at that time still amaze us today with their expression, play of color, and expressiveness of outlines. Symbolism is also a characteristic feature of medieval painting. Later artists, whose work was associated with icon painting and other religious motifs, drew inspiration from this period.

There are many types of paints that are often used, such as tempera, acrylic, watercolor, and fresco. The possibilities that the paint application medium varies from paper, wood, leather and others. Painting is one of the oldest art forms. When societies started making tools and shooting, they also learned how to picture the world. These paintings were recorded in cave paintings that still exist today.

Over time, the art of painting evolved from the hieroglyphs of ancient civilizations to the classical and renaissance paintings that hang in the Louvre today. The art of painting has taken some radical turns, with modern forms of painting including color field and painting.

The gloomy Middle Ages were replaced by the bright period of the Renaissance - the Renaissance. At this time, there are many new techniques and unusual trends in painting. and become independent genres. There are new methods of expressiveness that artists use to display inner world man, his emotions.

Let's look at six famous artists whose works represent a wide spectrum in the history of painting. Leonardo da Vinci was a renaissance inventor, painter and painter. Da Vinci's style was copied and refined by later artists, a testament to this true innovator, imitation is the highest form of flattery. In works such as the Mona Lisa, The Virgin on the Rocks, and The Last Supper, Da Vinci used his knowledge of physiology to depict the human form as accurately as possible.

Many of his paintings depict biblical settings and religious imagery. Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio was also an Italian painter whose work represents the Baroque era. He is known for painting with chiaroscuro, a style of scene lighting in high contrast with deep dark shadows. Like da Vinci, Caravaggio also painted biblical scenes. However, unlike his predecessors, he shone them in a more realistic light to reveal their humanity. For example, the dinner at Emmaus depicts Jesus as eating and drinking with his disciples.


Portrait of a Woman (Renaissance)

In the 17th and 18th centuries, painting becomes an even more serious art. This is the period when the Catholic Church is losing its positions. Its undivided dominance is questioned. Artists are starting to turn more and more to real images. They paint people, nature, domestic scenes and events of everyday life.

Dutch artist Jan Vermeer is known for his impeccable depictions of everyday conditions, including both working class and upper class life. Art historians praise Vermeer's paintings such as The Music Lesson and Mikkayma for the way he caught the sun shining through a window on his subjects. With such vibrant colors and details, his paintings almost look like they were photographed.

Van Gogh, who suffered from mental illness, painted a self-portrait at the end of his life which shows his self-destructing ear. The influence of the Spanish painter Pablo Picasso on the development of 20th century art cannot be overestimated. His work was among the first to experiment with abstract forms and non-representational compositions. Picasso and his contemporaries, including Matisse and Dali, redefined the meaning of painting and representation.

At this time, a number of areas of author's painting were formed - mannerism, baroque, rococo, classicism. Appear national schools in Italy, the Netherlands, Germany, Russia and other major countries.

In the 19th century, fine arts became the property of a developed society. The features of this or that direction of painting depend on the mood among the masses. Romanticism appears - the desire for the ideal and perfection. Later, he was replaced by impressionism - more realistic, impartial, spectacular.

An extreme example of abstract art, the action of Pollock's action, aimed at not depicting a recognizable scene or object, but the act of artistic production itself. The definition of a painting refers to its form, not its style or technique. The application of paint on the surface unifies the painting form. That is, graffiti art and oil painting are considered types of painting.

Painting is one of the oldest arts that goes back to prehistoric times. Art developed through ancient world and the Renaissance and reached new levels of sophistication during the Baroque era with the development of different ways of representing light.

With the advent of technological progress in the 20th century, painting is also changing globally. Technique, rigidity of forms, some exaggeration - that's character traits directions that emerged at the beginning of the century. Abstractionism, avant-gardism, underground - these are trends that relate to abstract painting.

Landscapes: landscape painting

Landscapes are works of art that feature scenes of nature. This includes mountains, lakes, gardens, rivers and any kind of scenic view. Landscapes can be watercolors, hash, pastels or prints of any kind. The pictorial landscapes created in Dutch create the natural world around us. We tend to think of this genre as majestic mountain scenes, gently rolling hills and still waterfalls.

fine arts of china

However, landscapes can depict any kind of scenery and the objects within it, such as buildings, animals, and people. While there is a traditional view of landscapes, over the years artists have moved to other settings. For example, cityscapes are views of urban areas, seascapes capture the ocean, and waterscapes have fresh water, such as Monet's work on the Seine.

By the end of the 20th century and to this day, changes continue to occur in painting. On the one hand, this is the emergence of innovative digital technologies that allow you to create unique contemporary works. But contemporary artists no less willingly turn to the origins - oil and watercolor painting, because the classical art, created with the help of a brush of paints and canvas, to this day does not lose its relevance.

In art, the word landscape has a different definition. "Landscape format" refers to something that has a width greater than its height. It is essentially a work of art in a horizontal, not vertical orientation. Landscape in this sense really comes from landscape paintings. The horizontal format is much more conducive to capturing the broad perspectives that artists hope to portray in their work. The vertical format, although used for some landscapes, tends to limit the subject's point of view and may not have the same impact.

It's kind visual arts in which images are transmitted by applying paints to any surface (canvas, paper, glass, lime plaster, stone, etc.). There are two main areas of painting - easel and monumental. The easel includes works created on the artist's easel, that is, on his Machine. And monumental painting includes painting, which is reproduced mainly on any architectural structures (painting of churches, temples, execution of frescoes, etc.)

As popular as they may be today, landscapes are relatively new to the art world. Capturing the beauty of the natural world was not a priority in early art when the focus was on spiritual or historical subjects. Already in the 17th century, landscape painting appeared.

Directions of painting

Many art historians acknowledge that it was at this time that the scenery became the subject itself, and not just an element in the background. This included the work of French painters Claude Lorraine and Nicholas Poussin, as well as Dutch painters such as Jacob van Ruyschdael.

- Painting genres

it different kinds works divided according to themes and objects of images.

The following main genres are distinguished:

Portrait- a genre in which the artist conveys the visual characteristics of the model in the created picture. He can depict the complete similarity of lines, shapes, colors, the real appearance of a person, or he can use his own vision and interpretation of the image.

Decorative painting - applied art

In the fourth in a row, the French Academy. The history of painting, portraiture and were considered more important. Still life was considered less important. He often romanticized painterly looks and came to dominate painting subjects as artists attempted to capture what was around them for all to see.

Landscapes also gave first sight to many people from foreign lands. While realistic landscapes will always be enjoyed by collectors, artists such as Monet, Renoir and Cezanne have shown a new way of looking at the natural world. From there, landscape painting flourished and is now one of the most popular genres among collectors. The artists moved the landscape to different places with new interpretations and many traditions.

Ilya Repin. "Portrait of Modest Mussorgsky"

Ivan Vishnyakov. "Portrait of Sarah Eleonora Fermor"

Still life- a genre that is based on the image of inanimate objects. If we translate this word from different languages, it will mean - Dead nature or Motionless life. This genre is dedicated to the depiction of objects united in a group, a plot. In still life, in addition to inanimate things (jugs, cutlery, figurines, etc.), animate things can also be used, but they are already cut off from their natural environment and are not considered as such, for example, fish on the setting table or flowers added to a bouquet. The image of moving living beings - birds, animals, is used in rare cases and only as an addition. Much attention is paid to the elaboration of details, textures.

One thing is certain, the landscape now dominates the landscape of the art world. Library Hertsian - Institute of Art History. Max Planck, Rome. What are the links between the history of optics and the history of painting? research project in the Hertian Library in Rome deals with this issue and is based on the systematics of classical optics, which from late antiquity was divided into the doctrine of vision and light into three main areas: direct vision, based on the direct propagation of light rays, reflection on reflective surfaces and deflection of light rays on junctions of various dense media.


Paul Cezanne. "Still life with apples and oranges"



Heda, Willem Klas. Still life.

Domestic- a genre in which the main is the image of everyday, everyday life of people. It is also used in sculpture and graphics. Its origin occurred in antiquity, when much attention was paid to the life and work of the common people. Even then, this genre was used for wall painting and ceramics.

Fundamental to our daily perception is direct vision and understanding of all the effects associated with the direct propagation of light. This includes the interpretation of shadows, which allow us to correctly understand the contours and three-dimensionality of objects. But even in antiquity, contours and shading were understood as central elements of a two-dimensional representation. In addition, it was already observed at that time that shadows can create a true picture of an illuminated object due to the linear propagation of light.

So, the Roman scientist Pliny the Elder in Chr. In his " natural history” tells the legend that painting was invented when it began to trace such shadows of people and be constantly fixed. She combines painting in a mythical-allegorical image with a mirror image that the boy Narcissus saw in the source. In this interpretation of the legend of Narcissus, Ovid Alberti was guided by philosophical arguments, but he placed it at the same time within the framework of the second part of optics, which deals with the phenomena of reflection.


Vasily Perov. "Troika"



Vasily Vereshchagin. "Visit to a prisoner by his family in Italy"

Mythological- this genre is dedicated to the depiction of heroes, various scenes from mythology. Myths and legends have always existed and exist among the peoples of the world and this is a very valuable source for creativity. The basis of the genre is that the artist can freely interpret mythical subjects.

The mirror as a new standard of pictorial fidelity corresponded with the development of perspective and naturalism in Italian and Dutch painting. Indeed, in another passage of his treatise, Alberti referred to the mirror as the judge of the finished work, and demanded in practice that things written after nature still be improved by "judgment of the mirror". With such control of the painted image by a mirror inserted into the visual path, the Italian architect and sculptor Filippo Brunelleschi had proved just a few years earlier in Florence that the linear perspective he had developed in a public experiment was "correct".


Sandro Botticelli. "Birth of Venus"



Titian. "Bacchus and Ariadne"

animalistic- genre, main theme which is the image of animals separately, or against the background of nature, hunting scenes. It got its start from primitive times, when tombs, vases, temples were painted with images of animals. The works of animal artists are often used to illustrate literary works.


Paulus Potter. "Young Bull"



Jan Fate. "Landscape with a peacock"

Battle- this genre is dedicated to the depiction of military battles, sea or land, military campaigns. Artists try to capture key scenes and main heroes of the battle in their work. They also often depict scenes of military life.


Vasily Vereshchagin. "Apotheosis of War"



Bogdan Willewald. "The feat of the cavalry regiment in the battle of Austerlitz in 1805"

Landscape- a genre in which the main role is assigned to the image of primordial nature or nature modified by man. Artists of this genre also transfer plots of the urban and industrial environment to their canvases. In the image of the landscape, the transmission of the atmosphere, the change in the light value, its change is very important.


Ivan Shishkin. "Polesye"

Historical- a genre, the essence of which is to depict all kinds of events from the historical past, scenes from the life of the people.


Ilya Repin. "Ivan the Terrible kills his son"



Nicholas Ge. "Peter I interrogates Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich in Peterhof"

Marina - genre, which is a kind of landscape. The main role in it is occupied by the image of sea views, battles and all events that are associated with the sea. Artists who write in this genre are called marine painters.


Aivazovsky "Stormy sea at night"



Thomas Moran"Sunset on the sea"

- Directions of painting

1. Abstract expressionism

Abstract expressionism is in some way related to surrealism, they are similar in that the works are created without an accurate understanding of the plot. In his works, the artist can express all his emotions and feelings, drawing quickly, using large brushes, strokes, sometimes dripping paint onto the canvas. Very often, the picture is created right in front of the viewer, like a small performance, revealing the whole gamut of expression. It is this direction that was given another, quite characterizing name "Action Painting"

The masters of abstract expressionism are: Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Willem de Kooning, Franz Kline, Lee Krasner.


Jackson Pollock"Shorthand figure"

2. Abstract art

Abstractionism can be safely considered an associative art. The works of this direction are far from depicting reality and are an expression of the artist's understanding of the world around him. The main place in such works is given to formal elements: lines, color spots, abstract figures. One of the goals of abstract art is to achieve harmony by creating certain geometric and color combinations that will evoke various associations in the viewer.

The main representatives of the direction were: Wassily Kandinsky, Pablo Picasso


Wassily Kandinsky: "Yellow-red-blue"



Pablo Picasso: "Guernica"

3. Avant-garde

avant-garde is common name experimental currents, beginnings of the 20th century, which denied the traditional approaches and methods of academic drawing. Their main goal was the desire for freedom from the framework and established forms, the creation of a completely new art. In the works, the imitation of the real world in primitive technology is often performed, the denial of the meaningfulness of human existence.

4. Academicism

This direction was founded at the time of the creation of creative groups and academies that sought to create rules and frameworks for creativity and become a place vocational education. The system of such training was very strict and focused on the significant events of the epochs. On the one hand, academism preserved clear traditions of painting, on the other hand, it interfered with the development of original talents that would have their own vision. Academic drawing was not controversial and defiant, therefore it easily got along with all state changes.

Karl Bryullov "Horsewoman"



Jean-Leon Gerome« Summer afternoon on the lake

5. Surrealism

A direction in art that was formed by the 1920s in France. With its appearance, Surrealism wanted to achieve a new way of thinking, to discover a new type of knowledge of the world. In the world of art, he introduced existence outside of reality, in dreams and daydreams. For this direction, the works of Sigmund Freud on the unconscious play a very important role. Analyzing them, the artists extracted various images and feelings from their dreams and transferred them to the canvases. It is very difficult to find logic and understand everything in the works of this direction, so they just need to be perceived as they are, with their inherent quirkiness.

The brightest representative of Surrealism is Salvador Dali.


Salvador Dali "The Evening Spider Brings Hope"

6. Fauvism

This is a direction in painting that appeared in the 20th century. His work has always been distinguished by its simplicity and emotionality. Fauvism can be compared with the manifestation of art in primitive times. Artists depict objects flat, using combinations of bright pure colors. There is a rejection of perspective and the play of light and shadow. The Fauvists always took color combinations and motifs for the plot from wildlife, but they interpreted them on canvas with extreme contrast, large bright (a little wild) spots.

Leading representatives of the direction can be called Henri Matisse and Andre Derain.


Henri Matisse "Dance"



Andre Derain "Charing Cross Bridge"

7. Cubism.

In the visual arts, cubism originated at the beginning of the 20th century. Its basis is the decomposition of the depicted object into geometric shapes, interconnected planes, the desire for fragmentation. There is no sense of light and space in the works, the main means of expression is multicolor. First of all, the artist tries with his works to convey to the viewer more full information about the object, not your point of view on it.

The most famous cubic products are

Juan Gris "Man in a Café"

Pablo Picasso "Violin and Guitar"

8. Anachronism

Anachronism is a direction of painting in which artists look for inspiration in the visual arts of the past, rethinking it in a new way and parodying it in some moments. They try to interpret classical works in their own way, to bring them closer to contemporary art.

Carlo Maria Mariani: "Flight of the Gods"



Gerard Garouste: "Valaam"

9. Underground

This is a direction that unites the types of contemporary creativity, which denies all the standards of the accepted, thereby shocking the public. This is an art that is designed for self-expression, and not for making money. The underground became an opponent of those frames and trends in which artists, poets and writers were driven. In the Soviet period, all art that was banned can be called by this definition.


Graffiti in the city of Olinda, Brazil.



10. Impressionism

The word Impressionism in French means "impression". This direction of painting originated in France in the 19th century and became so called after the Paris exhibition, which featured the work of Claude Monet "Impression". The most significant representatives of the current are: Renoir, Sisley, Monet, Cezanne. They have always sought to show the true beauty of everyday things.

Impressionism is the direction that was the first to show all the colorfulness and authenticity of life and the world around us, the versatility of life and the appearance of people. The most common theme for the image is the landscape, but at the same time, you can find scenes from life: women with children, dancing ballerinas and more.


Claude Monet "Impression"



Paul Cezanne "The plain at Mount Sainte-Victoire"

11. Divisionism (Pointillism)

This is a painting method, in which the main thing is that the artist decomposes the color tone into individual colors and applies them to the canvas with dots of various shapes. When considering such a work by the viewer, he sees a whole image.

Outstanding masters of this trend are: Paul Signac, Giovanni Segantini, Georges Lemmen, Henri Edmond Cross.


Paul Signac "Pine"



Georges Lemmen "The Beach at Heist"

12. Symbolism

Symbolism is one of the largest trends that has greatly changed the attitude towards art. Translated from Greek, it means "symbol, sign." The Symbolists tried to experiment, strove for innovation, which to some extent influenced modern views art.

Artists of symbolism appeal to the invisible, parallel worlds that exist in reality (the main thing is to be able to see and interpret them), and depict these images in works with the help of signs.

Masters of symbolism are: Gustave Moreau, Pierre Puvis de Chavannes, Odilon Redon, Felicien Rops, John Everett Milles, Victor Borisov-Musatov, Mikhail Vrubel, Hugo Simberg.

Mikhail Vrubel « Swan Princess»



Hugo Simberg"Wounded Angel"

13. Intimism

The word intimism, translated from Latin, means (secret, intimate, sincere). This is a direction of painting that arose at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. The main theme of the artists of this direction was the image of the private life of people. Color and the specificity of the composition came to the fore in the works. An important role was played by the image of lighting in the plot, which gave a special coziness and a feeling of a homely atmosphere. For intimists, a detailed image of the interior, a combination of color and shape was important, while people played a secondary role.

Masters of intimism are: Pierre Bonnard, Edouard Vuillard, Ker-Xavier Roussel, Felix Vallotton.



Edouard Vuillard "Interior"



Pierre Bonnard "Lunch»

- Painting functions

Painting, like many other forms of art, carries a cognitive, philosophical and mostly aesthetic function. Painting reflects the views and spiritual content of a particular era, its development in social terms. Many works have documentary value. Painting affects the thoughts and feelings of the viewer, makes you experience the plot depicted by the author. It is a kind of aesthetic education for society.

- History of painting

Painting is one of the oldest forms of art. It originated from the time of rock paintings. In the development of various techniques and genres of painting, a whole heritage, spiritual treasures were accumulated.

Antiquity showed the inclination of the people to show life and the world as they are, real. It was then that such principles of expressiveness as chiaroscuro and perspective were born. All this was used to decorate places of worship and dwellings.

The Middle Ages brought something completely new to painting, it reflected mainly religious motifs. The symbolism of the color used played a big role. For the background of frescoes and canvases, they used neutral (abstract) or gold, which symbolized the divine intention of the picture.

In the Renaissance, the role of painting increased, it used a more based system of chiaroscuro, linear and aerial perspective. This received a response in papers on everyday topics, in portraits, religious and mythological subjects.

Leonardo da Vinci "Madonna in the Rocks"

In the 17-18 centuries. European painting is becoming more and more complex. New social ideals are headed, the reflection of the conflict of the individual with the outside world begins to appear in the paintings. In this era, genres of painting are formed.

In the 19th century There is a new direction - romanticism, longing for something new. In the painting of romanticism, the emphasis is on the image of the dramatic events of history and the present, there is a contrast of light and shadow, rich color.

A revolution in painting occurs with the advent of Impressionism. This direction is characterized by a more real image of the world, its variability, the impressionist image of their impressions. In their works, they actively mix pure colors and convey the texture of objects. In this era, artists begin to go to the open air.

At the turn of the 19th-20th centuries. arises abstract painting. There is a refusal of artists from figurativeness, the emergence of a more authorial attitude to work, the identification of their attitude to the world around them. Abstractionism uses geometric forms, conditional colors, associations of compositions and exaggerated, modified forms.

In the 20th and 21st centuries painting strive for ever greater self-expression, caused by the development of technological progress. Works are being created using digital technologies.

All this should surely lead to the emergence of new trends, but still classical oil painting is currently one of the favorite techniques of the masters.