A Survey of American Genre PaintingDate: Thursday, February 23, 2012
Time: 7:00 pm
Arts & Culture Series
Lecture by James Maroney
American genre painting, the portrayal of ordinary people engaged in everyday activities, has its roots in portraiture, a painting of socially prominent or politically powerful individuals or couples. But it also owes a debt to History Painting, a biblical scene or military history rendered in a style reminiscent of the Greek and Roman periods. In that portraiture was static in nature, history painting entailed action. Composites of the two styles emerged In England, which was a family grouping, found standing in the woods or at play captured as if the painter had come upon them and asked them to pose, a style referred to as conversation pieces.
American portraiture appeared shortly after English settlers had unpacked their bags and continued into the 1720s when portrait painters began adding attributes, like books or horses or ships seen in their subjects’ otherwise unadorned backgrounds. By mid-century, scenes of unspecified people, that is nameless people, caught in the act of doing things made their appearance and the style known as genre, meaning "people" painting, was born.
This lecture will illustrate the emergence of this trend from its beginning in the 1750s to its heyday in the 1840s, its transformation into "kitsch" in the 1880s and its 20th century demise.
Location: St. Johnsbury Atheneaum, 1171 Main Street, St. Johnsbury, VT
Contact: St. Johnsbury Athenaeum
Phone: 802-748-8291
Email: inform@stjathenaeum.org
Website: www.stjathenaeum.org |
