Fine art genres - a brief description. Painting: types and genres Genre painting examples

In the process of the formation of fine arts, genres of painting were also formed. If in the paintings of cavemen one could see only what surrounded them, then over time, painting became more and more multifaceted and acquired a broad meaning. Artists conveyed their vision of the world in pictures. Historians identify the following genres of painting that have formed over the entire history of this art.

. The name comes from the Latin word animal, which means animal. This genre includes paintings, the center of which are animals.

allegorical genre. Allegoria means "allegory". Such pictures contain a secret meaning. With the help of images of symbols, people, living or mythical creatures, the artist tries to convey this or that idea.

Battle genre. Image of battles, battles, military campaigns. These paintings are characterized by versatility, the presence of many characters.

Epic and mythological genres. The plots of folklore works, the themes of ancient legends, epics and ancient Greek myths were depicted.

Image of simple scenes from everyday life. This genre is characterized by simplicity and realism.

Vanitas. The genre originated in the Baroque era. This is a kind of still life, in the center of which there is always a skull. Artists tried to draw a parallel with the frailty of all things.

Veduta. The birthplace of this genre is Venice. It represents an urban panorama, in compliance with architectural forms and proportions.

Image of the interior decoration of the premises.

Ippian genre. The name speaks for itself. These are pictures of horses.

historical genre. Canvases depicting historical events. A multifaceted and important genre of painting.

Capriccio. Fantasy architectural landscape.

The name is of French origin, and means that in the center of the image is an inanimate object. The artists depicted mainly flowers, household items, household utensils.

nude. Image of a naked human body. Initially, this genre was closely associated with the mythological and historical genre.

Blende. A genre in which artists used special techniques to create an illusion.

Pastoral. A genre that elevates simple rural life to a different form, embellishing it and deifying it.

A genre in which pictures of nature are depicted on the canvas. This is a three-dimensional direction, which includes the urban landscape, seascape, and other similar topics.

. In the center of the picture is the image of a man. The artist uses techniques to convey not only the appearance, but also the inner world of his hero. The portrait can be group, individual, front. You can also highlight a self-portrait in which the artist depicts himself.

Religious genre. This includes, and other paintings on religious themes.

Caricature. A genre whose purpose is to emphasize certain shortcomings of the personality, through a comic effect. For this, exaggeration, distortion of facial features and proportions, symbolism and elements of fantasy are used.

Genres of painting can merge and closely interact with each other. Some genres lose their relevance over time, while many, on the contrary, continue to develop along with life.

Genre (from French Genre - view) - a set of works combined:

The general range of topics or subjects of the image; or

Way of understanding and interpretation: allegory, fantasy.

Genre is a few special features inherent in works of art, by which we distinguish one of them from others.

An artist-painter paints, and there are a lot of techniques, ways of working with them, they are complex and diverse, this is a whole science. But depending on what is shown in the picture, you can determine its genre.

SELF-PORTRAIT - a portrait painted from oneself.

ALLEGORY - the image of abstract concepts through associative close specific images, creatures and objects, usually endowed with attributes explaining their content.

ANIMALISTIC - associated with the depiction of animals in painting, sculpture and graphics; combines natural science and artistic principles.

BATTLE - dedicated to depicting war and military life. In the works of the battle genre, the main place is occupied by scenes of battles and military campaigns of the present or the past.

HOUSEHOLD - associated with the image of the everyday private and public life of a person.

HISTORICAL - one of the main genres of fine art, dedicated to historical events of the past and present, socially significant phenomena in the history of peoples.

CARICATURE - a genre of fine art that uses the means of satire and humor, grotesque, caricature, artistic hyperbole; image in which the comic effect is created by exaggeration and sharpening of characteristic features.

MYTHOLOGICAL - dedicated to the events and heroes that myths tell about.

STILL LIFE - a genre of fine art showing inanimate objects placed in a real household environment and organized into a specific group; a picture depicting household items, flowers, fruits, broken game, caught fish.

Nude - a genre of fine art dedicated to the naked body, its artistic interpretation.

PASTORAL - an image of the idyllic peaceful life of shepherds and shepherdesses in the bosom of nature.

LANDSCAPE - an image of any area, pictures of nature: rivers, mountains, fields, forests, rural or urban landscape; according to the subject of the image, they distinguish the architectural and urban, industrial landscape, veduta, marina (depicts the sea), historical, fantastic (futurological), lyrical, epic landscape.

PORTRAIT - a genre of fine art dedicated to the image of a person or a group of people; varieties - self-portrait, group portrait, ceremonial, chamber, costume portrait, portrait miniature, parsuna.

CARTOON - a kind of caricature, a humorous or satirical image in which the characteristic features of a person are changed and emphasized.

5. Theater

Theatre(Greek θέατρον - the main meaning is a place for spectacles, then - a spectacle, from θεάομαι - I look, I see) - a spectacular art form, which is a synthesis of various arts - literature, music, choreography, vocals, fine arts and others, and has its own specificity: the reflection of reality, conflicts, characters, as well as their interpretation and evaluation, the approval of certain ideas here occurs through dramatic action, the main carrier of which is the actor.

The generic concept of "theater" includes its various types: drama theater, opera, ballet, puppet, pantomime theatre, etc.

At all times, the theater has been a collective art; in the modern theater, in addition to the actors and the director (conductor, choreographer), the stage designer, composer, choreographer, as well as props, costumers, make-up artists, stage workers, and illuminators participate in the creation of the performance.

The development of the theater has always been inseparable from the development of society and the state of culture as a whole - its heyday or decline, the predominance of certain artistic trends in the theater and its role in the spiritual life of the country were associated with the peculiarities of social development.

The great figure, scientist and Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci said: "Painting is poetry that is seen, and poetry is painting that is heard." And one cannot but agree with him. Real art is truly perceived comprehensively. We see, and contemplate, and hear, and in our souls we keep the works of art we like. And world masterpieces remain in our memory for many years.

Genres and types of painting

Drawing a picture, the master performs it in a certain state, a special character. The work will not turn out to be full-fledged, worthy of love and attention, if only form and color are depicted on it. The artist is obliged to endow objects with a soul, people with charisma, a spark, perhaps a secret, nature with peculiar feelings, and events with real experiences. And genres and types of painting help the creator in this. They allow you to correctly convey the mood of an era, event, fact, it is better to capture the main idea, image, landscape.

The main ones include:

• Historical- depiction of facts, moments in the history of different countries and eras.
• Battle- transmits battle scenes.
• Domestic- Scenes from everyday life.
• Landscape These are paintings of nature. There are sea, mountain, fantastic, lyrical, rural, urban, space landscapes.
• Still life- illustrates inanimate objects: kitchen utensils, weapons, vegetables, fruits, plants, etc.
• Portrait- This is an image of a person, a group of people. Often, artists like to paint self-portraits or canvases depicting their lovers.
• animalistic- Pictures about animals.

Separately, one can single out another plot-thematic genre and include here works, the subject of which are myths, legends, epics, as well as paintings of everyday life.

Types of painting also mean separate ones. They help the artist achieve perfection when creating a canvas, tell him in which direction to move and work. There are the following options:

- Panorama- an image of the area in a large-scale format, a general view.

- Diorama- an image of battles, spectacular events curved in a semicircle.

- Miniature- Manuscripts, portraits.

- Monumental and decorative painting- painting on walls, panels, plafonds, etc.

- icon painting- paintings on religious themes.

- decorative painting- creation of artistic scenery in cinema and theater.

- easel painting In other words, pictures.

- Decorative painting of everyday objects of life.

As a rule, each master of fine arts chooses for himself one particular genre and type of painting that is closest to him in spirit, and mostly works only in it. For example, Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky (Hovhannes Gayvazyan) worked in the style of a seascape. Such artists are also called marine painters (from "marina", which in Latin means "sea").

Techniques

Painting is a certain manner of executing the plot, its feeling through the world of colors and strokes. And of course, such reproduction cannot be done without the use of certain techniques, patterns and rules. The very concept of "technique" in the visual arts can be defined as a set of techniques, norms and practical knowledge, with the help of which the author most accurately, close to reality conveys the idea and plot of the picture.

The choice of painting technique depends on what kind of materials, type of canvas will be taken to create a work. Sometimes an artist can take an individual approach to his work, take advantage of a mixture of different styles and trends. This author's approach allows you to create truly unique works of art - world masterpieces.

In technical terms, there are several options for painting. Let's consider them in more detail.

Painting of ancient times

The history of painting begins with rock carvings of primitive man. At this time, the paintings are not distinguished by the liveliness of the plots, the riot of colors, but there was a peculiar emotion in them. And the plots of those years clearly inform us about the existence of life in the distant past. The lines are extremely simple, the subject is predictable, the directions are unambiguous.

In ancient times, the content of the drawings becomes more diverse, more often they depict animals, different things, make entire biographies on the entire wall, especially if the pictures are created for the pharaohs, which was then very believed. After about another two thousand years, colors begin to acquire.

Ancient painting, in particular, Old Russian, is well conveyed and preserved in old icons. They are a shrine and the best example, conveying the beauty of art from God. Their color is unique, and the purpose is perfect. Such painting conveys the unreality of being, images and instills in a person the idea of ​​a divine principle, of the existence of an ideal art, which one must be equal to.

The development of painting did not pass without a trace. For a long time, mankind has managed to accumulate real relics and the spiritual heritage of many centuries.

Watercolor

Watercolor painting is distinguished by the brightness of colors, purity of color and transparency of application to paper. Yes, it is on a paper surface that it is best to work in this fine art technique. The drawing dries quickly and as a result acquires a lighter and matte texture.

Watercolor does not allow you to achieve interesting tints when using dark, solid shades, but it perfectly models the color when the layers are superimposed one on top of the other. In this case, it turns out to find completely new, unusual options that are difficult to obtain with other artistic techniques.

Difficulties with watercolor

The complexity of working in such a technique as watercolor painting lies in the fact that it does not forgive mistakes, does not allow improvisation with cardinal changes. If you did not like the applied tone or you got a completely different color that you wanted, then it is unlikely that you will be able to fix it. Any attempts (washing with water, scraping, mixing with other colors) can lead to both a more interesting shade and complete contamination of the picture.

Changing the location of a figure, an object, any improvement in composition in this technique is essentially impossible to do. But due to the quick drying of paints on painting, it is ideal for drawing sketches. And in terms of depicting plants, portraits, urban landscapes, it can compete with oil paintings.

Oil

Each of the technical varieties of painting has its own specifics. This applies to both the manner of performance and the artistic transmission of the image. Oil painting is one of the favorite techniques of many artists. It is difficult to work in it, because it requires a certain level of knowledge and experience: from preparing the necessary items, materials to the final stage - covering the resulting picture with a protective layer of varnish.

The whole process of oil painting is quite laborious. Regardless of which base you choose: canvas, cardboard or hardboard (fibreboard), you must first cover it with primer. It will allow the paint to lie down and hold well, not to stand out from the oil. It will also give the background the desired texture and color. There are a lot of types and recipes for various soils. And each artist prefers his own, specific, to which he is accustomed and which he considers the best option.

As mentioned above, the work takes place in several stages, and the final is the coating of the picture with varnish substances. This is done in order to protect the canvas from moisture, the appearance of cracks (mesh) and other mechanical damage. Oil painting does not tolerate work on paper, but thanks to the whole technology of applying paints, it allows you to keep artworks safe and sound for centuries.

fine arts of china

I would like to pay special attention to the era of Chinese painting, since it has a special page in history. The Eastern direction of painting has developed over more than six thousand years. Its formation was closely connected with other crafts, social changes and conditions taking place in people's lives. For example, after the introduction of Buddhism in China, religious frescoes acquired great importance. In times (960-1127), historical paintings become popular, including stories about everyday life. Landscape painting has established itself as an independent direction already in the 4th century AD. e. Images of nature were created in blue-green colors and Chinese ink. And in the ninth century, artists increasingly began to paint pictures that depicted flowers, birds, fruits, insects, fish, embodying their ideals and the nature of the era in them.

Features of Chinese painting

Traditional Chinese painting is notable for its specific style as well as the materials used for painting, which in turn influences the methods and forms of Oriental art. First, Chinese painters use a special brush to create paintings. It looks like watercolor and has a particularly sharp tip. Such a tool allows you to create sophisticated works, and, as you know, the style of calligraphy is still widely used in China. Secondly, ink is used everywhere as paints - Chinese ink (it happens that together with other colors, but it is also used as an independent paint). This has been happening for two thousand years. It is also worth noting that before the advent of paper, people in China painted on silk. Today, modern masters of art perform their work both on paper and on a silk surface.

This is not all the technical possibilities of painting. In addition to the above, there are many others (gouache, pastel, tempera, fresco, acrylic, wax, painting on glass, porcelain, etc.), including author's options for art.

Epochs of painting

Like any art form, painting has its own history of formation. And above all, it is characterized by different stages of development, multifaceted styles, interesting directions. Not the last role here is played by the era of painting. Each of them affects not just a piece of the life of the people and not only the time of some historical events, but a whole life! Among the most famous periods in the art of painting are: the Renaissance and Enlightenment, the work of impressionist artists, modern, surrealism and many, many others. In other words, painting is a visual illustration of a certain era, a picture of life, a worldview through the eyes of an artist.

The concept of "painting" literally means "to write life", to depict reality vividly, masterfully, convincingly. To convey on your canvas not only every detail, every little thing, moment, but also the mood, emotions, color of this or that time, the style and genre of the entire work of art.

Artists and sculptors, designers and architects - all these people daily bring beauty and harmony into our lives. Thanks to them, we look at statues in museums, admire paintings, marvel at the beauty of ancient buildings. Modern fine art amazes us, classical art makes us think. But in any case, human creations surround us everywhere. Therefore, it is useful to understand this issue.

Fine arts

Fine art is spatial. That is, it has an objective form that does not change over time. And it is precisely by the way this form looks that the types of fine art are distinguished.

They can be divided into several categories. For example, according to the time of appearance. Until the 19th century, only three types were considered the main ones: sculpture, painting and architecture. But the history of fine arts developed, and graphics soon joined them. Later, others stood out: decorative and applied, theatrical and decorative, design and others.

To date, there is no consensus on what types of fine art should be distinguished. But there are a few main ones, the existence of which does not cause any controversy.

Painting

Drawing is a type of fine art in which images are conveyed with the help of dyes. They are applied to a solid surface: canvas, glass, paper, stone and much more.

For painting, different colors are used. They can be oil and watercolor, silicate and ceramic. At the same time, there is a wax painting, enamel and others. It depends on what substances are applied to the surface and how they are fixed there.

There are two directions in painting: easel and monumental. The first combines all those works that are created on various canvases. Its name comes from the word "machine", which refers to an easel. But monumental painting is a fine art that is reproduced on various architectural structures. These are all kinds of temples, castles, churches.

Architecture

Construction is a monumental form of visual art, the purpose of which is to construct buildings. This is practically the only category that has not only aesthetic value, but also performs practical functions. After all, architecture implies the construction of buildings and structures for the life and activities of people.

It does not reproduce reality, but expresses the desires and needs of mankind. Therefore, the history of fine arts is best traced through it. At different times, the way of life and ideas about beauty were very different. It is for this reason that architecture makes it possible to trace the flight of human thought.

Also, this species is highly dependent on the environment. For example, the shape of architectural structures is influenced by climatic and geographical conditions, the nature of the landscape, and much more.

Sculpture

This is an ancient fine art, samples of which have a three-dimensional appearance. They are made by casting, slotting, hewing.

Basically, stone, bronze, wood or marble are used to make sculptures. But recently, concrete, plastic and other artificial materials have gained no less popularity.

Sculpture has two main varieties. It is circular or embossed. In this case, the second type is divided into high, low and mortise.

As in painting, there are monumental and easel directions in sculpture. But separately also distinguish decorative. Monumental sculptures in the form of monuments and monuments adorn the streets, they designate important places. Easel used to decorate the premises from the inside. And decorative ones decorate everyday life like small items of small plastic.

Graphic arts

It is a decorative art that consists of drawings and artistic prints. Graphics differs from painting in the materials, techniques and forms used. To create engravings or lithographs, special machines and equipment are used to print images. And the drawings are made with ink, pencil and other similar materials that allow you to reproduce the shapes of objects, their illumination.

Graphics can be easel, book and applied. The first is created thanks to special devices. These are engravings, drawings, sketches. The second decorates the pages of books or their covers. And the third is all kinds of labels, packaging, brands.

The first works of graphics are rock paintings. But its highest achievement is vase painting in Ancient Greece.

Arts and Crafts

This is a special kind of creative activity, which consists in the creation of various household items. They satisfy our aesthetic needs and often have utilitarian functions. Moreover, earlier they were made precisely for practical reasons.

Not every exhibition of fine arts can boast of the presence of arts and crafts, but they are in every home. These are jewelry and ceramic products, painted glass, embroidered items and much more.

Fine and applied art most of all reflects the national character. The fact is that its important component is folk art crafts. And they, in turn, are based on the customs, traditions, beliefs and way of life of the people.

From theatrical and decorative art to design

Throughout history, more and more new types of fine art appear. With the formation of the first temple of Melpomene, theatrical and decorative art arose, which consists in the manufacture of props, costumes, scenery and even makeup.

And design, as one of the art forms, although it appeared in antiquity, has only recently been singled out into a separate category with its own laws, techniques and features.

Fine art genres

Each work that comes out from the pen, hammer or pencil of the master is dedicated to a specific topic. After all, creating it, the creator wanted to convey his thoughts, feelings, or even the plot. It is according to these characteristics that the genres of fine art are distinguished.

For the first time, any systematization of a huge amount of cultural heritage was thought about in the Netherlands in the 16th century. At that time, only two categories were distinguished: high and low genres. The first included everything that contributed to the spiritual enrichment of a person. These were works devoted to myths, religion, historical events. And to the second - things related to everyday life. These are people, objects, nature.

Genres are forms of displaying life in the visual arts. And they change with it, develop and evolve. Entire epochs of fine art pass, while some genres acquire a new meaning, others die off, others are born. But there are several main ones that have passed through the centuries and still exist successfully.

History and mythology

The high genres in the Renaissance included historical and mythological. It was believed that they were intended not for a simple layman, but for a person with a high level of culture.

The historical genre is one of the main ones in the visual arts. It is dedicated to recreating those events of the past and present that are of great importance for a people, a country or a separate locality. Its foundations were laid back in ancient Egypt. But it was fully formed already in Italy, during the Renaissance, in the works of Uccelo.

The mythological genre includes those works of fine art in which legendary plots are reflected. Already in ancient art, its first examples appeared, when epics became ordinary instructive stories. But the most famous are the works of the Renaissance. For example, frescoes by Raphael or paintings by Botticelli.

The plots of works of art of the religious genre are various episodes from the Gospel, the Bible and other similar books. In painting, his famous masters were Raphael and Michelangelo. But the genre also found its reflection in engravings, sculpture and even architecture, given the construction of temples and churches.

War and life

Display war in art began in antiquity. But this theme was actively developed in the 16th century. All kinds of campaigns, battles and victories found expression in sculptures, paintings, engravings and tapestries of that time. They call works of art on this topic a battle genre. The word itself has French roots and translates as "war". Artists who paint such pictures are called battle painters.

In contrast, there is an everyday genre in the visual arts. It is a work that reflects everyday life. It is difficult to trace the history of this direction, because as soon as a person learned to use tools, he began to capture his harsh everyday life. The everyday genre in the visual arts allows you to get acquainted with the events that took place thousands of years ago.

People and nature

A portrait is a depiction of a person in art. This is one of the most ancient genres. It is interesting that initially it had a cult significance. Portraits were identified with the soul of a deceased person. But the culture of fine arts developed, and today this genre allows us to see the images of people from past eras. Which gives an idea of ​​the clothes, fashion and tastes of that time.

Landscape is a genre of fine art in which the main object is nature. It originated in Holland. But landscape painting itself is very diverse. It can display both real and fantastic nature. Depending on the type of image, rural and urban landscapes are distinguished. The latter includes such subspecies as industrial and veduta. In addition, they talk about the existence of panoramic and chamber landscapes.

Animation genre is also distinguished. These are works of art depicting animals.

Marine theme

Seascapes represent primarily early Dutch painting. The fine arts of this country gave rise to the marina genre itself. It is characterized by reflections of the sea in all forms. Marine artists paint the seething elements and serene water surface, noisy battles and lonely sailing ships. The first painting of this genre dates from the sixteenth century. On it, Cornelis Antonis depicted the Portuguese fleet.

Although the marina is more of a genre of painting, you can find water motifs not only in paintings. For example, decorative and visual arts often use elements of seascapes. It can be tapestries, jewelry, engravings.

Items

Still life - mainly also a genre of painting. Its name is translated from French as "dead nature". In fact, the heroes of still lifes are various inanimate objects. Usually these are everyday things, as well as vegetables, fruits and flowers.

The main characteristic of a still life can be considered its apparent plotlessness. Nevertheless, this is a philosophical genre, which at all times reflected the connection between man and the outside world.

The prototypes of still lifes can be found in the monumental painting of Pompeii. Later this genre became part of other paintings. For example, religious paintings. But the name behind it was established only in the 16th century.

Fine art is a way of knowing reality and the place of man in it. It allows you to recreate reality with the help of various visual images. Works of this art find their place not only in museums or at exhibitions, but also on city streets, in houses and libraries, books and even envelopes. They are all around us. And the least we can do is learn to appreciate, understand and preserve the amazing heritage that we have inherited from the great masters of past eras.

Painting is distinguished by a variety of genres and types. Each genre is limited by its range of subjects: the image of a person (portrait), the world around (landscape), etc.
Varieties (types) of painting differ in their purpose.

In this regard, there are several types of painting, which we will talk about today.

easel painting

The most popular and well-known type of painting is easel painting. So it is called for the reason that it is performed on a machine - an easel. The basis is wood, cardboard, paper, but most often canvas stretched on a stretcher. An easel painting is an independent work made in a certain genre. She has a richness of color.

Oil paints

Most often easel painting is executed with oil paints. Oil paints can be used on canvas, wood, cardboard, paper, metal.

Oil paints
Oil paints are suspensions of inorganic pigments and fillers in drying vegetable oils or drying oils or based on alkyd resins, sometimes with the addition of auxiliary substances. They are used in painting or for painting wooden, metal and other surfaces.

V. Perov "Portrait of Dostoevsky" (1872). Canvas, oil
But a picturesque picture can also be created with the help of tempera, gouache, pastels, watercolors.

Watercolor

Watercolor paints

Watercolor (French Aquarelle - watery; Italian acquarello) is a painting technique using special watercolor paints. When dissolved in water, they form a transparent suspension of fine pigment, due to this, the effect of lightness, airiness and subtle color transitions is created.

J. Turner "Fierwaldstadt Lake" (1802). Watercolor. Tate Britain (London)

Gouache

Gouache (French Gouache, Italian guazzo water paint, splash) is a type of adhesive water-soluble paints, more dense and matte than watercolor.

gouache paints
Gouache paints are made from pigments and glue with the addition of white. The admixture of white gives the gouache a matte velvety, but when it dries, the colors are somewhat whitened (lightened), which the artist must take into account in the process of drawing. With the help of gouache paints, you can cover dark tones with light ones.

Vincent van Gogh "Corridor in Asulum" (black chalk and gouache on pink paper)

Pastel [e]

Pastel (from Latin pasta - dough) - artistic materials used in graphics and painting. Most often produced in the form of crayons or rimless pencils, having the form of bars with a round or square section. There are three types of pastels: dry, oil and wax.

I. Levitan "River Valley" (pastel)

Tempera

Tempera (Italian tempera, from Latin temperare - to mix paints) - water-borne paints prepared on the basis of dry powder pigments. The binder of tempera paints is the yolk of a chicken egg diluted with water or a whole egg.
Tempera paints are one of the oldest. Before the invention and distribution of oil paints until the XV-XVII centuries. tempera paints were the main material of easel painting. They have been used for over 3,000 years. The famous paintings of the sarcophagi of the ancient Egyptian pharaohs are made with tempera paints. Tempera was mainly easel painting by Byzantine masters. In Russia, the technique of tempera writing was predominant until the end of the 17th century.

R. Streltsov "Daisies and violets" (tempera)

Encaustic

Encaustic (from other Greek ἐγκαυστική - the art of burning out) is a painting technique in which wax is the binder of paints. Painting is done with melted paints. Many early Christian icons were painted in this technique. Originated in Ancient Greece.

"Angel". Encaustic technique

We draw your attention to the fact that you can also find another classification, according to which watercolor, gouache and other techniques using paper and water-based paints are classified as graphics. They combine the features of painting (the richness of tone, the construction of form and space with color) and graphics (the active role of paper in the construction of the image, the absence of a specific relief stroke characteristic of the pictorial surface).

monumental painting

Monumental painting - painting on architectural structures or other grounds. This is the oldest type of painting, known since the Paleolithic. Due to stationarity and durability, numerous examples of it remained from almost all cultures that created developed architecture. The main techniques of monumental painting are fresco, and secco, mosaic, stained glass.

Fresco

Fresco (from Italian fresco - fresh) - painting on wet plaster with water-based paints, one of the wall painting techniques. When dried, the lime contained in the plaster forms a thin transparent calcium film, which makes the fresco durable.
The fresco has a pleasant matte surface and is durable in indoor conditions.

Gelati Monastery (Georgia). Church of the Holy Mother of God. Fresco on the top and south side of the Arc de Triomphe

A secco

And secco (from Italian a secco - dry) - wall painting, performed, unlike frescoes, on hard, dried plaster, re-moistened. Paints are used, ground on vegetable glue, egg or mixed with lime. Secco allows more surface area to be painted in a working day than fresco painting, but is not as durable a technique.
The asecco technique developed in medieval painting along with fresco and was especially common in Europe in the 17th-18th centuries.

Leonardo da Vinci The Last Supper (1498). A secco technique

Mosaic

Mosaic (fr. mosaïque, ital. mosaico from lat. (opus) musivum - (work dedicated to the muses) - decorative, applied and monumental art of different genres. Images in a mosaic are formed by arranging, setting and fixing multi-colored stones, smalt, ceramic tiles and other materials on the surface.

Mosaic panel "Cat"

stained glass

Stained-glass window (fr. vitre - window glass, from lat. vitrum - glass) - a work of colored glass. Stained glass has been used in churches for a long time. During the Renaissance, stained glass existed as a painting on glass.

Stained-glass window of the Palace of Culture "Mezhsoyuzny" (Murmansk)
Diorama and panorama also belong to the varieties of painting.

Diorama

The building of the diorama "Assault on the Sapun Mountains on May 7, 1944" in Sevastopol
A diorama is a ribbon-shaped, semicircularly curved painting with a foreground subject plan. The illusion of the presence of the viewer in the natural space is created, which is achieved by the synthesis of artistic and technical means.
Dioramas are designed for artificial lighting and are located mainly in special pavilions. Most of the dioramas are dedicated to historical battles.
The most famous dioramas are: "Assault on the Sapun Mountains" (Sevastopol), "Defense of Sevastopol" (Sevastopol), "Fights for Rzhev" (Rzhev), "Breakthrough of the Siege of Leningrad" (Petersburg), "Storm of Berlin" (Moscow), etc.

Panorama

In painting, a panorama is a picture with a circular view, in which a flat pictorial background is combined with a three-dimensional subject foreground. Panorama creates the illusion of real space surrounding the viewer in a full circle of the horizon. Panoramas are mainly used to depict events covering a large area and a large number of participants.

Museum-panorama "Battle of Borodino" (museum building)
In Russia, the most famous panoramas are the Museum-panorama "Battle of Borodino", "Battle of Volochaev", "The defeat of the Nazi troops near Stalingrad" in the museum-panorama "Battle of Stalingrad", "Defense of Sevastopol", the panorama of the Trans-Siberian Railway.

Franz Rubo. Canvas panorama "Battle of Borodino"

Theatrical and decorative painting

Scenery, costumes, make-up, props help to reveal the content of the performance (film) more deeply. The scenery gives an idea of ​​the place and time of the action, activates the viewer's perception of what is happening on the stage. The theater artist seeks to sharply express the individual character of the characters, their social status, the style of the era, and much more in sketches of costumes and make-up.
In Russia, the heyday of theatrical and decorative art falls on the turn of the 19th-20th centuries. At this time, outstanding artists M.A. began to work in the theater. Vrubel, V.M. Vasnetsov, A.Ya. Golovin, L.S. Bakst, N.K. Roerich.

M. Vrubel "City Lollipop". Sketch of the scenery for the opera by N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov "The Tale of Tsar Saltan" for the Russian Private Opera in Moscow. (1900)

Miniature

A miniature is a pictorial work of small forms. Particularly popular was the portrait miniature - a portrait of a small format (from 1.5 to 20 cm), characterized by a special subtlety of writing, a peculiar technique of execution and the use of means inherent only to this pictorial form.
The types and formats of miniatures are very diverse: they were painted on parchment, paper, cardboard, ivory, metal and porcelain, using watercolor, gouache, special artistic enamels or oil paints. The author can inscribe the image, in accordance with his own decision or at the request of the customer, in a circle, oval, rhombus, octagon, etc. A classic portrait miniature is a miniature made on a thin ivory plate.

Emperor Nicholas I. Fragment of a miniature by G. Morselli
There are several miniature techniques.

Lacquer miniature (Fedoskino)

Miniature with a portrait of Princess Zinaida Nikolaevna (Yusupov's jewels)