History painting

History painting, as formulated in 1667 by André Félibien, a historiographer, architect and theoretician of French classicism, was in the hierarchy of genres considered to be the grande genre.

Related Topics:
1667 - André Félibien - Classicism - Hierarchy of genres

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History paintings included paintings with religious, mythological, historical, literary, or allegorical subjects--they embodied some interpretation of life or conveyed a moral or intellectual message.

Related Topics:
Religious - Mythological - Historical - Literary - Allegorical

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The gods and goddesses from the ancient mythologies represented different aspects of the human psyche, figures from religions represented different ideas, and history, like the other sources, represented a dialectic or play of ideas. For a long time, especially during the French Revolution, history painting often focused on depiction of the heroic male nude; though this waned into the 19th century.

Related Topics:
Psyche - Ideas - French Revolution - 19th century

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In the mid-nineteenth-century there arose a style known as historicism, which marked a formal imitation of historical styles and/or artists.

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:See also: Hierarchy of genres

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