genres
The word “genre” indicates a kind of painting, with a defined theme and some rules the author needed to apply. It is clear that we can divide in genres the whole history of painting, but since XVII century and until XIX century these divisions peculiarly imply the specialization of the painters, in landscapes or in still lives, for example. The genre’s choice was dictated also by the customers’ taste, which used to vary according to the age, place and fashion (some artists painted musical instruments, vases and flowers, or little tables with dead chicken and game).