Genre

A subject for many artists, it is depiction of people going about human interactive activities such as domestic chores, moving into frontiers, fighting or socializing. Genre paintings are often narrative, and because they eschew &#39;lofty&#39; subjects such as religious symbolism and mythology, it was not until the 17th century that they gained respect as &#39;high art&#39;. Dutch 17th-century artists Jan Steen, Jan Vermeer, and Pieter de Hooch first used genre as subject matter. In American painting, the word genre was first used in the mid-19th century to describe works that showed daily life. Among noted American genre artists are William Sidney Mount, Thomas Waterman Wood, Seymour Joseph Guy, Edward Lamson Henry, John Joseph Brown and Enoch Wood Perry. Sources: Kimberley Reynolds & Richard Seddon, "Illustrated Dictionary of Art Terms"; Donald Martin Reynolds, "Masters of American Sculpture" <br><br>A category of artistic work marked by a particular specified form, technique, or content.<br><br> A type of painting representing scenes of everyday life for its own sake, popular from the 17th century to the 19th century.