Subject

 Is a term used for whatever is represented in a work of art.

 Subject of an artwork answers the question: WHAT IS IT ABOUT?

 Subjects are representations in the painter’s mind about the environment.

 The choice of the subject DOES NOT affect the value of the painting.

 The true worth of a representational work of art depends on the way the subject is presented by the artist.

 Not all arts have subject. Those arts are called are called NONOBJECTIVE or
NONREPRESENTATIONAL.

 They are what they are without reference to anything in the natural world.

 SUBJECT AND CONTENT in a painting, are of two different dimensions.

 SUBJECT refers to the objects depicted by the painter.

 CONTENT refers to what the painter expresses or communicates in his work.

 The usual subjects of painters are: portrait, figure, genre, religious, scenery (landscape, seascape and
cityscape), still-life, animals, historical, social expression, mythology and legends, dream and fantasy,
and abstract.

Portrait
 Portrait painting is a genre in painting, where the intent is to depict a human subject. The term 'portrait
painting' can also describe the actual painted portrait. Portraitists may create their work by commission,
for public and private persons, or they may be inspired by admiration or affection for the subject.
Portraits are often important state and family records, as well as remembrances.

 The official Chinese court portrait painting of Empress Cao (wife of Emperor Renzong) of Song
Dynasty, 11th century

Figure

 The Golden Apple of Discord at the wedding of Peleus and Thetis, Jacob Jordaens,

A figure painting is a work of fine art in any of the painting media with the primary subject being the
human figure, whether clothed or nude. Figure painting may also refer to the activity of creating such a
work.
 Genre

The Idle Servant; housemaid troubles were the subject of several of Nicolaes Maes' works

 Genre is the pictorial representation in any of various media of scenes or events from everyday life,
such as markets, domestic settings, interiors, parties, inn scenes, and street scenes.

Religious
 Religious or sacred art /painting is artistic imagery using religious inspiration and motifs and is often
intended to uplift the mind to the spiritual. Sacred art involves the ritual and cultic practices and
practical and operative aspects of the path of the spiritual realization within the artist's religious
tradition.
 THE LAST SUPPER BY LEONARDO DA VINCI

 This 15th-century mural adorns the refectory in the Santa Maria delle Grazie convent in Milan. It is one
of the world’s most famous paintings and depicts Jesus’ final meal with his disciples. It was during this
meal that He announced one of them would betray him.

Scenery
 Landscape
 Seascape
 Cityscape

Landscape
 Landscape painting, also known as landscape art, is the depiction in art of landscapes – natural
scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests, especially where the main subject is a wide
view.

 Joachim Patinir (1480–1524), Landscape with Charon Crossing the Styx, 1515–1524. Patinir pioneered
the "world landscape" style
 Seascape
 A seascape is a photograph, painting, or other work of art which depicts the sea, in other words an
example of marine art.

Summer Squall, 1904. A seascape by Winslow Homer.

Cityscape
 In the visual arts a cityscape (urban landscape) is an artistic representation, such as
a painting, drawing, print or photograph, of the physical aspects of a city or urban area. It is the urban
equivalent of a landscape.

The Dam Square in Amsterdam, by Gerrit Adriaensz Berckheyde, c. 1660

 Still-life
 A still life is a work of art depicting mostly inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects
which may be either natural (food, flowers, plants, rocks, or shells) or man-made (drinking glasses,
books, vases, jewelry, coins, pipes, and so on)

Jan Brueghel the Elder (1568–1625), Bouquet(1599).

Animals
An art or painting that focuses on animals.

George Stubbs (1724-1806): Whistlejacket (c. 1762), National Gallery

 Historical
 History painting is defined by its subject matter rather than artistic style. History paintings usually
depict a moment in a narrative story with regards to significant happenings on our ancestral past, rather
than a specific and static subject, as in a portrait.

 Diana and Actaeon, Titian, 1556–1559, a classic history painting, showing a dramatic moment in a
mythological story, with elements of figure painting, landscape painting and still-life.

Social expression
 A painting that focuses on the expression of the people they express or show to the society.

 GEORGE W. BUSH
 MHYTHOLOGY AND LEGENDS

 Zeus [aka Jupiter or Jove]

Dream and Fantasy

 Dream art or painting is any form of art directly based on material from dreams, or which employs
dream-like imagery.
 Abstract
 Abstract art uses a visual language of shape, form, color and line to create a composition which may
exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world.