Greatest Genre Paintings
100 Best Genre Pictures By the World's Best Painters.

Paris: A Rainy Day (1877)
By Gustave Caillebotte
Art Institute of Chicago.

Top 100 Genre Paintings

Contents

• What is a Genre Painting?
• When was the first Genre Painting produced?
• The Top 100 Greatest Genre Paintings (1500-1966)
• 16th Century Northern Renaissance
• 17th Century Dutch Realist Genre Paintings
• 18th Century Rococo
• 19th Century
• 20th Century

A Burial at Ornans (1849) (detail)
By Gustav Courbet
Musee d'Orsay, Paris.

Greatest Genre Artists
For the Top 10 exponents
see: Best Genre Painters.

What is a Genre Painting?

In fine art, a genre painting is the depiction of an everyday scene, in which one or more human figures play a significant part. The scene in question is usually painted in a realistic or at least non-idealized manner. This is the closest we can get to a definition of a genre painting, because there is no firm dividing line between this type of picture and (say) a landscape, or even a portrait. Vermeer's Little Street (c.1658), for instance, could easily be viewed as an urban landscape, while his Girl with a Red Hat (c.1666-1667) might be considered a portrait. Much depends on the intention of the artist.

When was the first Genre Painting produced?

We don't really know. Small touches of genre are evident in 15th century Italian artworks, such as those of the Venetian painter Vittore Carpaccio (c.1465-1525/6), but generally speaking such elements were merely background for what was mostly religious art. Besides, realistic genre painting did not fit with the idealization of face and figure favoured by the Italian Renaissance. Not surprisingly, therefore, it was left to Flemish painters of the Northern Renaissance - such as Quentin Massys, Lucas van Leyden and Pieter Bruegel the Elder of the Netherlandish Renaissance - to pioneer the form.

Visiting (1915)
By Abram Arkhipov
Russian Museum St Petersburg.

TYPES OF ARTS
For an explanation of the different
categories of fine, decorative and
applied arts, see: TYPES OF ART.

Top 100 Greatest Genre Paintings (1500-1966)

Here is a selected list of works, listed chronologically by artist, covering most major schools and movements.

16th Century Northern Renaissance (1500-1600)

Quentin Massys (1465-1530)
Founder of the Antwerp School of Flemish painting.
The Money Lender and His Wife (1514) Louvre Museum, Paris.

Lucas van Leyden (1494-1533)
Netherlandish Renaissance painter
The Fortune Teller (1508-10) Louvre Museum, Paris.

Pieter Bruegel the Elder (1525-69)
Netherlandish Protestant Reformation art of the 16th century
Netherlandish Proverbs (1559) Staatliche Museen, Berlin
Fight Between Carnival and Lent (1559) Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna
Children's Games (1560) K.M., Vienna
Mad Meg (Dulle Griet) (1562) Mayer van den Bergh Museum, Antwerp
Massacre of the Innocents (c.1565-7) K.M., Vienna
The Census of Bethlehem (1566) Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Brussels
Parable of the Blind (1568) Museo Nazionale di Capodimonte
Peasant Wedding (1568) K.M., Vienna
The Wedding Dance (1566) Detroit Institute of Arts

17th Century Dutch Realist Genre Paintings (1600-1700)

For more, see: Dutch Realist School of Genre Painting.

Hendrick Avercamp (1585-1634)
Dutch painter noted for his wintry genre paintings.
A Scene on the Ice Near a Town (1615) National Gallery, London.

Hendrik Terbrugghen (1588-1629)
Utrecht School of Dutch Realism
Flute Players (1621) Staatliche Kunstsammlungen, Kassel.

Gerrit van Honthorst (1592-1656)
Follower of caravaggism, Utrecht School.
The Merry Fiddler (1623) Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
Concert on a Balcony (1624) Louvre, Paris

Adriaen Brouwer (1605-38)
Haarlem School of Dutch Realism
The Operation (1631) Alte Pinakothek, Munich.

Judith Leyster (1609-60)
Dutch genre painter
Carousing Couple (1630) Louvre Museum, Paris.
The Rejected Offer (1631) Mauritshuis, The Hague.

Adriaen van Ostade (1610-85)
Haarlem Dutch Realist painter
Rustic Concert (1638) oil on canvas, Prado, Madrid.
Interior with Peasants (1663) Wallace Collection, London.

David Teniers the Younger (1610-90)
Famous for his guardroom scenes and tavern genre paintings
Gambling Scene at an Inn (1649) Wallace Collection, London.

Gerrit Dou (1613-75)
Dutch genre artist from Leiden School
Maidservant at a Window (1640) Museum Boymans-van Beuningen, Rotterdam.
The Mousetrap (1645-50) Musee Fabre, Montpelier.

Gerard Terborch (1617-81)
Dutch Realist painter noted for moralizing pictures
Parental Admonition (1654-55) Staatliche Museen zu Berlin.
Woman Writing a Letter (1655) Mauritshuis, The Hague.

Jan Steen (1626-79)
Dutch Realist from Haarlem
Beware of Luxury (1663) Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.
The Christening Feast (1664) oil on canvas, Wallace Collection, London.

Samuel Van Hoogstraten (1627-78)
Dutch Realist noted for his deep linear perspective
The Slippers (1654-60) oil on canvas, Louvre, Paris.
View down the Corridor (1662) oil on panel, Dyrham Park, UK.

Gabriel Metsu (1629-67)
Dutch Realist from Leiden noted for polished small-scale genre paintings
The Prodigal Son (1640s) oil on canvas, Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg.
The Music Lesson (1658) oil on canvas, National Gallery, London.

Pieter de Hooch (1629-83)
Dutch realist artist active in Delft
Courtyard of a House in Delft (1658) oil on canvas, National Gallery, London.
The Linen Cupboard (1663) Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.

Jan Vermeer (1632-1675)
Leader of the Delft School of genre painting
Soldier and a Laughing Girl (c.1658) oil on canvas, Frick Collection, New York.
The Milkmaid (c.1658-1660) oil on canvas, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.
Young Woman with a Water Jug/Pitcher (c.1662) Metropolitan Museum, NY.
Woman Holding a Balance (1662-3) National Gallery of Art, Washington DC.
Woman with a Pearl Necklace (c.1662) SMPK, Gemaldegalerie, Berlin.
The Music Lesson (Lady/Gentleman at the Virginals) (c.1665) Royal Collection.
The Concert (c.1665-1666) Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston, MA.
Girl with a Pearl Earring (Head of a Girl with a Turban) (c.1665) Mauritshuis.
The Art of Painting (c.1666-1673) Kunsthistorisches Museum.
The Lacemaker (c.1669-1670) oil on canvas, Louvre, Paris.
Girl with a Red Hat (c.1666-1667) National Gallery of Art, Washington DC.

Nicolas Maes (1634-93)
Dutch genre painter active in Dordrecht
The Eavesdropper (1657) oil on canvas, Dordrecht Museum, Dordrecht.

See also: Dutch Baroque Art.

Other 17th Century Genre Paintings (1600-1700)

Georges de La Tour (1593-1652)
French Baroque portrait artist and genre painter
The Cheat with the Ace of Diamonds (1647) Louvre Museum, Paris.

Le Nain Brothers (Antoine, Louis, Mathieu c.1600-1648)
French Baroque genre painters and portraitists.
Family of Country People (1640) Louvre, Paris.
The Forge (undated) Louvre, Paris.

See also Baroque Painting.

18th Century Rococo Genre Paintings (1700-1800)

Jean Raoux (1677-1734)
French Rococo painter
Taste (From the Five Senses series) (1715-34) Pushkin Museum, Moscow.

Jean-Francois de Troy (1679-1752)
Rococo portraitist and genre painter.
The Oyster Lunch (1735) Musee Conde, Chantilly.

Jean-Antoine Watteau (1684-1721)
French Rococo artist
An Embarrassing Proposal (1716) Hermitage, St Petersburg.

William Hogarth (1697-1764)
English Rococo-era painter noted for his satirical morality genre scenes.
The Rake's Progress (8 scenes) (c.1735) Sir John Soane's Museum, London.
Marriage a la Mode (6 scenes) (c.1743) National Gallery, London.

Jean Chardin (1699-1779)
French Rococo still life and genre painter
Saying Grace (Le Benedicite) (1744) Hermitage, St Petersburg.

Pietro Longhi (1702-85)
Venetian Rococo artist
The Introduction (1740) Louvre, Paris.

Francois Boucher (1703-70)
French Rococo painting
An Afternoon Meal (1739) Louvre, Paris.

Gaspari Traversi (1722-70)
Italian Rococo artist
The Drawing Lesson (1750) Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City.

Jean-Baptiste Greuze (1725-1805)
French Rococo art
L'Accordee de Village (1761) Louvre, Paris.

19th Century Genre Paintings (c.1800-1900)

Mikhail Shibanov (died after 1789)
Russian genre painter
Solemnizing the Wedding Contract (1777) Tretyakov Gallery.

David Wilkie (1785-1841)
Scottish genre painter
The Letter of Introduction (1813) National Gallery of Scotland.
Distraining for Rent (1815) National Gallery of Scotland.
Reading the Will (1820) Neue Pinakothek, Munich.

Honore Daumier (1808-79)
French realist, caricaturist, lithographer
The Third Class Carriage (1864) Walters Art Museum, Baltimore.

Carl Spitzweg (1808-85)
German genre painter
The Bookworm (1850) Museum Georg Schafer, Schweinfurt.

Jean-Francois Millet (1814-75)
Pious French rural artist
The Wood Sawyers (1850-2) Victoria & Albert Museum, London.
The Gleaners (1857) Musee d'Orsay, Paris.

Pavel Fedotov (1815-52)
Russian genre painter
The Mayor's Courtship (1848) Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow.

Adolph Menzel (1815-1905)
Early German Impressionist-style painter
Living Room with Menzel's Sister (1847) Bayerische Staatsgemaldesammlungen

Gustave Courbet (1819-77)
Leader of French realism movement
The Stone Breakers (1849) Gemaldegalerie, Dresden (destroyed in WWII)
A Burial at Ornans (1850) Musee d'Orsay, Paris.
The Wheat Sifters (1854) Musee des Beaux-Arts, Nantes.

William Powell Frith (1819-1909)
English genre painter of large public scenes
Derby Day (1856-8) Tate Gallery, London.

Rosa Bonheur (1822-99)
French realism
Ploughing in the Nivernais (1848) Musee d'Orsay, Paris.

Eugene Boudin (1824-1898)
Plein air painter of beach scenes
The Beach at Trouville (1864) Musee d'Orsay, Paris.

Lord Frederic Leighton (1830-96)
Victorian sculptor and painter
The Music Lesson (1877) Guildhall Art Gallery, London.

Edouard Manet (1832-83)
Classical painter, portraitist, strong influence over Impressionists
Music at the Tuileries (1862) National Gallery, London.

Vasily Pukirev (1832-90)
Russian genre painter
The Unequal Marriage (1862) Tretyakov Gallery.

Vasily Perov (1834-82)
Russian genre and landscape painter
Easter Procession in the Country (1861) Tretyakov Gallery.
The Drowned Girl (1867) Tretyakov Gallery.

Grigory Miasoyedov (1834-1911)
Russian genre painter
The Zemstvo is Dining (1872) Tretyakov Gallery.

Edgar Degas (1834-1917)
Impressionist genre painter
The Dance Class (1873-5) Musee d'Orsay, Paris.
L'Absinthe (1876) Musee d'Orsay, Paris.

James Tissot (1836-1902)
American realist painter
The Reception (1884) Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY.

Winslow Homer (1836-1910)
American realism
Snap the Whip (1872) Butler Institute of American Art, OH.

Paul Cezanne (1839-1906)
French Impressionist and Post-Impressionist painter.
The Card Players (1893) Courtauld Institute Galleries, London.

Berthe Morisot (1841-95)
Impressionist
Woman at Her Toilette (1875) Art Institute of Chicago.

Pierre Auguste Renoir (1841-1919)
Impressionist genre painter, portraitist
Ball at the Moulin de la Galette (1876) Musee d'Orsay, Paris.
Luncheon of the Boating Party (1880-1) Phillips Collection, Washington DC.

Luke Fildes (1843-1927)
English realist painter
The Doctor (1891) Tate Britain, London.

Konstantin Savitsky (1844-1905)
Russian genre painter
Repairing the Railway (1874) Tretyakov Gallery.

Thomas Eakins (1844-1916)
American realism
The Gross Clinic (1875) Jefferson University, Pennsylvania.

Ilya Repin (1844-1930)
Russian genre painter
Bargemen on the Volga (1870-73) Russian Museum, St.Petersburg.
They Did Not Expect Him (An Unexpected Visitor) (1888) Tretyakov.

Giuseppe de Nittis (1846-84)
Italian realism
Breakfast in the Garden (1884) Pinacoteca Giuseppe de Nittis, Puglia.

Vladimir Makovsky (1846-1920)
Russian genre painter
Bank Crash (1881) Tretyakov Gallery.

Max Liebermann (1847-1935)
German Impressionist genre-painter
Papageienallee (1902) Private Collection.
Terrace of Restaurant Jacob in Nienstedten (1902) Kunsthalle, Hamburg.
The Parrot Man (1902) Folkwang Museum, Essen.

Gustave Caillebotte (1848-94)
Underrated French Impressionist
Paris Street, Rainy Day (1877) Art Institute of Chicago.

Paul Gauguin (1848-1903)
Cafe in Arles (1888) Pushkin Museum, Moscow.
Ruperupe (Gathering Fruits) (1899) Pushkin Museum.

P.S.Kroyer (1851-1909)
Danish Post-Impressionist, plein air landscape & genre painter
Lunchtime (1883) Skagens Museum, Denmark.

Frank O'Meara (1853-88)
Irish plein air landscape and genre painter
Reverie (1882) private collection.

Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890)
Expressionist
Cafe Terrace at Night, Arles (1888) Yale University Art Gallery.
The Hospital at Arles (1889) Oskar Reinhart Collection, Winterthur.

Gunnar Berndtson (1854-95)
Finnish realist painter
Summer (1893) Turku Art Museum, Finland.

Tom Roberts (1856-1931)
Australian Impressionist painter
Shearing the Rams (1890) National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne.

Richard Thomas Moynhan (1856-1906)
Irish genre painter
Metropolitan School of Art, Dublin - a Lesson (1895) private collection.

John Lavery (1856-1941)
One of the greatest of Irish artists
Under the Cherry Tree (1884) Ulster Museum of Fine Art, Belfast.

Frank Bramley (1857-1915)
English genre painter and landscape artist of the Newlyn School
Domino! (1886) Crawford Municipal Art Gallery, Cork.

Georges Seurat (1859-1891)
French post-Impressionist
Bathers at Asnieres (1884) National Gallery, London.
Sunday on La Grande Jatte (1884-6) Art Institute of Chicago.

Walter Osborne (1859-1903)
One of the great Irish genre painters
The Fishmarket (1895) Hugh Lane Gallery, Dublin.

Frederic Remington (1861-1909)
Wild West frontier artist
The Fall of the Cowboy (1895-6) Amon Carter Museum, Fort Worth.

Nathaniel Hill (1861-1934)
Plein air genre and landscape painter
Sunshine, Brittany (1884) private collection.

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901)
French Post-Impressionist painter, lithographer
At the Cafe La Mie (1891) Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
At The Moulin Rouge (1892) Art Institute of Chicago.
At The Salon Rue des Moulins (1894) Musee Toulouse-Lautrec, Albi.

William Gerard Barry (1865-1941)
Irish genre painter
Time Flies (1887) Crawford Municipal Art Gallery, Cork.

Edouard Vuillard (1868-1940)
Intimism style of genre work
The Flowered Dress (1891) Museu de Arte de Sao Paulo.

20th Century Genre Paintings

Anders Zorn (1860-1920)
Swedish portraitist and genre artist
Girls From Dalarna Having a Bath (1908) National Museum, Stockholm.

Walter Sickert (1860-1942)
English post-Impressionist genre painter
Ennui (1914) Tate Britain, London.

Abram Arkhipov (1862-1930)
Critical realist Russian genre painter.
Visiting (1915) Russian Museum, St Petersburg.

Felix Vallotton (1865-1925)
French painter, member of Les Nabis.
Interior (1903-4) Hermitage, St Petersburg.

Jack B Yeats (1871-1957)
One of the greatest Irish genre painters
Off the Donegal Coast (1922) Crawford Municipal Art Gallery, Cork.

William Orpen (1878-1931)
Irish portrait genius, and genre painter
The Cafe Royal in London (1912) Musee d'Orsay, Paris.

George Wesley Bellows (1882-1925)
Ashcan School, New York
Stag at Sharkey's (1909) Cleveland Museum of Art.

Edward Hopper (1882-1967)
American urban genre painter
Hotel Room (1931) Thyssen-Bornemisza Foundation, Lugano.
Office at Night (1940) Walker Art Center, Minneapolis.
Nighthawks (1942) Art Institute of Chicago.

Auguste Macke (1887-1914)
German expressionist
Park Restaurant (1912) Kunstmuseum, Basel.

Thomas Hart Benton (1889-1975)
American Regionalist painter
Cradling Wheat (1938) Saint Louis Art Museum, St Louis.

Norman Rockwell (1894-1978)
Poster artist noted for genre paintings of nostalgic American scenes
Freedom from Want (1943) Norman Rockwell Art Collection Trust.

William Patrick Roberts (1895-1980)
Cubist artist
The Seaside (1966) Arts Council Collection, Hayward Gallery, London.

John Steuart Curry (1897-1946)
American regionalism painter
Baptism in Kansas (1928) Whitney Museum of American Art.

Emiliano di Cavalcanti (1897-1976)
Brazilian figurative painter
Five Girls From Guaratingueta (1930) Museu de Arte de Sao Paulo.

Candido Portinari (1903-62)
Left-wing Cubist artist; follower of Fernand Leger.
Coffee (1935) Museo Nacional de Belas Artes, Rio de Janeiro.

Renato Guttuso (1912-87)
Italian realism
A Calabrian Worker's Sunday in Rome (1945) Pushkin Museum, Moscow.

Alex Colville (b.1920)
Magic realism.
The Swimming Race (1959) National Gallery of Canada, Ottowa.

• For more analysis of important genre works, see: Famous Paintings Analyzed.
• For more about figurative realism, see: Art Encyclopedia.