Genre of History Painting
"Istoria" Paintings, of Historical, Mythological Scenes with a Narrative Message.
Visual Arts Guide

The Last Supper, by Leonardo Da Vinci.
(detail)

History Painting (Istoria)

According to Italian Renaissance Art theory, the highest painting genre is reserved for 'History Painting'. Unfortunately, this term is misleading, as it does not necessarily mean the painting of 'historic scenes'. The term stems from the Italian word "istoria", meaning narrative, or story - one which typically involves several figures in action and emotionally engaged.

In his treatise 'On Painting' (1435), the Italian art authority Leon Battista Alberti (1404-1472) identifies istoria with the representation of the noble, the exemplary deeds and struggles of moral figures - such as Saints or other Biblical figures, pagan divinities, mythological heroes as well as those of historical events. History Painting aims to elevate the morals of the whole community, and is ideally suited to the decoration of public spaces, in churches, town halls, and palaces. Thus History Painting is an inspirational and educational art genre, and is best portrayed on larger-than-life canvases.

The Creation of Adam, by Michelangelo.
Ceiling of Sistine Chapel, the Vatican.

God Passing the Spark of Life to Adam
A detail from The Creation of Adam.

Italian Renaissance

Almost all of the artistic developments in Italian Renaissance Art can be understood as a response to the character of History Painting. In his frescoes in the Scrovegni (Arena) Chapel at Padua (c.1304-13), Giotto (1267-1337) condensed the Biblical narrative into moments of supreme drama, emphasizing the key actors and creating new scenes of pathos and significance. He was followed by Leonardo Da Vinci (1452-1519) whose masterpiece 'The Last Supper' - surely the greatest of all Christian history paintings - was a seemingly authentic record of a unique event as well as a cogent portrayal of that event's universal significance.

Michelangelo (1475-1564) sharpened History Painting further with his 'Creation of Adam' on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, in which the precise moment of human creation is captured in a spark of life between God and Adam. Raphael (1483-1520), the third Renaissance genius, consistently produced inspirational History Painting (eg. Entombment of Christ).

Seventeenth Century

Among Baroque artists, Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) stands out as one of the great Hisory Painters, with works like 'Allegory of War and Peace', 'Minerva Protecting Peace from Mars' and 'The Rape of the Daughters of Leucippus'. Another artist of this genre was Velazquez (1599-1660) with works like 'The Surrender of Breda' (1634).

Eighteenth Century

This period was a watershed in the development of History Painting. By the end, due to the dull prescriptions of the academies and the semantic confusion between istoria and history, the genre became devalued.

'Death of General Wolfe' (1771) by Benjamin West (1738-1820) just about lived up to its billing as a History Painting, but 'The Execution of Lady Jane Grey' (1933) by Paul Delaroche (1797-1856) was no more than sentimental melodrama.

Another poor example of History Painting is 'Watson and the Shark' (1778) by John Copley (1738-1815), which merely portrayed a terrible but ethically insignificant event. That said, John Copley's other works, like 'Death of Chatham', 'Death of Major Peirson', 'The Repulse of the Floating Batteries at Gibraltar' and 'Admiral Duncan's Victory at Camperdown' comprise the greatest series of modern History Paintings executed in England in the eighteenth century. 'Death of Marat' by Jacques Louis David was another history canvas that lived up to the genre.

Nineteenth Century

The decline of History painting quickened during this century. Artists strove more for dramatic art, rather than the morally uplifting or inspirational. In addition, as education became more widespread and the visual arts public increased in number, the acceptable range of subjects fit for inclusion in History painting also increased. As a result, the great models which history painters had previously looked up to began to lose their authority. Eugene Delacroix (1798-1863) was the most vigorous of the Romantic History Painters.

Conversely, art academies and other authorities misguidedly raised genre subjects to the status of history painting in order to lend greater weight to their moral value. When Jean-Francois Millett (1814-1875) or Daumier (1798-1879) portrayed labourers as heroic figures, or Gustave Courbet (1819-1877) painted a large group portrait of his fellow citizens (A Burial At Ornans 1850) they might have been making a valuable social point, but they were hardly elevating the mores of the community.

To add to the semantic confusion about 'istoria' versus 'history', another development during this period was the movement known as 'historicism'. This emerged when some artists began to adopt the artistic styles and conventions used during the era depicted in their paintings. Notable exponents of historicism included the Belgian artist and teacher, Hendrik Leys (1815-1869). A good example was his imitation of the painting methods of the Dutch genre painters in his own genre scenes from the same era, such as: Floris se rendant a une fete (1845) and Divine Service in Holland (1850).

Twentieth Century

Perhaps because the cataclysmic events of the early and mid-twentieth century destroyed so many value systems, and blurred the difference between good and evil, this period seemed to take little interest in issue of the genres. It certainly ceased to accord special status to History Painting. Even so, the genre endured as a resource when artists wanted to demonstrate the gravity of their work. Examples of twentieth century History Painting include: States of Mind genre scenes by Umberto Boccioni (1882-1916); 'Guernica' with its juxtaposition of modern and traditional images, by Pablo Piccaso (1881-1973). Paradoxically, the strongest reaction against the decline of inspirational or noble History Painting was the Nazi campaign against 'Degenerate Art' (entartete Kunst). In the Soviet Union too, the totalitarian authorities imbued Socialist-Realist Art with a nobility and grandeur to better propagandize their political agenda.

Modern Abstract Art

A modern alternative to the tired academic formula of History Painting was to turn to abstract art when depicting monumental or grave issues. Seen in these terms, the masterpiece, 'The Disintegration of the Persistence of Memory' by Salvador Dali, with its Surrealistic presentation of a nuclear world, might be considered a History Painting. Other artists who used abstract images and symbolism to depict serious issues were Kasimir Malevich (1878-1935), Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944) and Piet Mondrian (1872-1944), and later, Mark Rothko (1903-1970) and Barnett Newman (1905-1970). Sadly, the inspirational power of an abstract painting rarely is typically far less than that of a figurative hero caught up in a dramatic moment of history.

Sculpture

Antique Relief Sculpture from the Greek and Roman eras offered many lessons in heroic iconography for history painters. Free-standing sculptures too, often represented mythical and historical figures although size and form limited their narrative. In addition to the great Renaissance artists Donatello and Michelangelo, two of the greatest 'History Sculptors' were Bernini (1598-1680) and Auguste Rodin (1840-1917). Bernini's sculpture (eg. The Rape of Proserpine, 1621; Apollo and Daphne, 1622) had a visionary, theatrical quality which perfectly suited the Baroque style. Rodin also used multi-figure freestanding sculpture to capture great historical situations: two such masterpieces being 'The Burghers of Calais' (1884-1889), and 'The Gates of Hell' (1880-1917) - the latter being loaded with biblical and other figures.

Will History Painting Survive?

Two factors, both arising in the twentieth century, have combined to spell the likely end of History Painting, First, there seems now to be very few subjects (aside from the Nativity of Christ) that can evoke an interested understanding in Western society. Second, the istoria or narrative which used to be the main component of traditional History Painting, is now almost universally delivered by film. Nearly all iconic moments or narratives from history and mythology are now conveyed by photographs or video film, rather than fine art. In the absence of a new Renaissance in painting, it is hard to see how the genre of History Painting can survive.

• For more about the different types of painting (portraits, landscapes, still-lifes etc) see: Painting Genres.
• For details of landscape and portraiture in Ireland, see: Irish Art Guide

• How to Update This Mini Review of History Painting Genre

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