Italy, where the historical genre in the visual arts was born , had all the prerequisites for the emergence of this type of painting. The Roman Empire possessed a very high level of cultural development, and its achievements became the basis of art in all countries of Western Europe. It is not surprising that it was in Italy in the Renaissance, in the 15th century, that the historical genre in the visual arts arose.
Short story
To understand what a historical genre in art is, it is necessary to take into account the peculiarities of the development of the period in question. The Renaissance is the era of the heyday of humanistic ideas, which determined 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 are the following: paintings by Andrea Mantegna "The Triumph of Caesar" (1485-1492), a variety of paintings 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 its development.
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 it was the historical genre that came to the forefront. All other varieties of fine art for some time gave way to it in importance, since classicism implied the creation of primarily heroic images and monumental paintings.
Peter Paul Rubens (The Battle of the Greeks and the Amazons, 1619-1620), Nikola Poussin (The Abduction of the Sabine Women, 1614-1615), and Jacques-Louis David worked in this style, on historical subjects. both on antique and modern subjects. These works are distinguished by pathos, heroic poses, sublime facial expressions and gestures. In their composition, the canvases resembled the action of ancient plays and were distinguished by some theatrical pomp. This direction can be attributed to paintings written in gospel stories. For example, Harmenszoon Van Rijn Rembrandt created the painting “The Return of the Prodigal Son” (1669).
Historical painting in Europe in the first half of the 19th 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. Artists set out to create such images in order to cause sympathy and empathy among the audience. The historical genre in painting received a completely different design, because the theme of human experiences and emotions came to the fore. An example is the picture of Eugene Delacroix "The Massacre on the Island of Chios", written in 1826. Historical motifs can also be found in the work of another prominent French artist Honore Daumier: the painting "Uprising" (1848).
Western European historical painting of the period of romanticism
In the second half of the XIX century, the historical genre in the fine arts underwent significant changes. This is due to the emergence of a new direction - realism. Its representatives sought to create more believable images and plots. This trend includes the work of Adolf von Menzel, who created in 1850 a series of paintings dedicated to the era of Frederick the Great. The interest in history in this era is largely due to the many revolutions that shocked Europe at that time. Centers of uprising broke out in Italy, France, Germany. Therefore, scientists, artists, writers were looking for answers to the present in the past, which explains the emergence of realism in culture.
The emergence of the Russian historical genre in painting
The domestic history of art is also interesting for analysis. The origins, types and genres in Russia are a topic for a separate discussion, since our culture has borrowed a lot from European art. The era of classicism in the vast country dates back to the 18th century: it was at this time that Russian artists turned to the events of the past in their works.
The founder of the historical genre of Russian fine art is Anton Pavlovich Losenko. He wrote the famous paintings from the past of Ancient Russia ("Vladimir and Rogneda", 1770) and canvases dedicated to ancient subjects. His followers were Ivan Akimov, who also addressed 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 subjects in Russian painting in 1800-1850
The genres of painting in the visual arts were the most diverse, however, in connection with the development of academism, in the first half of the century, historical subjects occupied a dominant direction in artistic culture. Artists of this direction in many respects continued the traditions of classicism, choosing for their works heroic facts from the past. The historical genre in the visual arts, the paintings of which were particularly expressive, enjoyed the greatest popularity both among the intelligentsia and among the general public.
This direction can be attributed to the work of Anton Ivanov, “The Feat of a Young Resident of Kiev during the Siege of Kiev by the Pechenegs in 968” (1810), and Alexei Egorov, “Rest on the Way to Egypt” (1830). At the same time, a new direction arose - romanticism, whose representatives created vivid, emotional images, saturated with psychological tension. For example, Karl Pavlovich Bryullov, who created the famous canvas about the death of Pompeii, Fyodor Antonovich Bruni and Alexander Andreevich Ivanov, who wrote biblical stories.
Historical subjects in the works of the authors of the last quarter of a century
In the second half of the XIX century, painters began to draw plots from the history of Russia. A number of paintings appear in art devoted to various events from the past of our country. The historical genre in fine art is represented by the following canvases: paintings by Ilya Repin “Tsarevna Sophia in the Novodevichy Convent” (1879) and “Ivan the Terrible kills his son” (1884), the works of Vasily Surikov, who addressed the most dramatic events from the history of Russia in the 18th century. These works are notable for their colorful and expressive images, as well as for the background.
Historical household art
Domestic artists began to turn not only to political events, but also to the image of the everyday life of Russian people. Therefore, the so-called everyday historical genre took a prominent place in painting. The fine art of this direction gained great popularity among the educated public of that time.
As an example, the works of the following authors can be mentioned: Vyacheslav Schwartz, who created a picture about the royal hunt, Konstantin Makovsky, who painted canvases about the Moscow kingdom in the 17th century. Historical everyday topics were of great importance in the work of the representatives of the World of Art association. A feature of their paintings was the reproduction of splendor and solemnity, but with a touch of sadness (Albert Benoit, depicting the pompous exits of Russian emperors and empresses in the 18th century, Yevgeny Lansere, depicting the luxurious atmosphere at the court, Valentin Serov, who painted the royal amusements).
The historical genre in painting of the Soviet and modern times
In Soviet times, artists quite often turned to the events of the past of Russia. At the same time, they revived the traditions of academicism of the 19th century, depicting heroic episodes from Russian history. For example, the artist V. E. Popkov is considered the founder of the "severe style" in Soviet painting (a picture depicting the construction of a hydroelectric power station). Of particular importance in his work is the theme of World War II ("Mezen Widows", 1965-1968). And the pen of T.E. Nazarenko owns works on which you can see the turning points: the Pugachev uprising, the Decembrists.
Modern artists show great interest in the history of Russia. I. Glazunov became famous for creating monumental paintings dedicated to comprehending 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 historical subjects occupied a very prominent place both in European fine art and in Russian painting. The truthfulness and accuracy, drama and solemnity have always been distinguished by the historical genre. All genres of fine art convey expression, but this style is a leader.