Genre painting, painting of scenes from everyday life, of ordinary people in work or recreation, depicted in a generally realistic manner. Genre art contrasts with that of landscape, portraiture, still life, religious themes, historic events, or any kind of traditionally idealized subject matter.
Intimate scenes from daily life are almost invariably the subject of genre painting. The elimination of imaginative content and of idealization focuses attention upon the shrewd observation of types, costumes and settings.
The term arose in 18th-century France to describe painters specializing in one kind genre of picture, such as flowers or animals or middle-class life, and was originally used derogatively by advocates of the ideal or grand manner in art.