GENRES AND STYLES OF ART

Understanding artistic vocabulary and experimenting with different ideas

- Vanessa Rothe

In the study of the history of art, we find many types of art that later become known collectively as "genres." But what does that word really mean? The word genre is used to help identify, categorize and organize things specifically in the world of the arts. This word can be very confusing as it is used in many different ways in the art world, so you are not alone if you are unsure how to use it. I will try to shed some light on this in this issue's Art Industry Insider. An example is John Cosby's work, shown here, which would be labeled as a landscape, plein air painting in a contemporary hybrid style genre of realism and impressionism.