Page "Hierarchy of genres" Paragraph 31

Allegorical painting was raised above other types of history painting ; together they were the grand genre, including paintings with religious, mythological, historical, literary, or allegorical subjects — they embodied some interpretation of life or conveyed a moral or intellectual message.

The gods and goddesses from the ancient mythologies represented different aspects of the human psyche, figures from religions represented different ideas, and history, like the other sources, represented a dialectic or play of ideas.

Subjects with several figures ranked higher than single figures.

For a long time, especially during the French Revolution, history painting often focused on depiction of the heroic male nude ; though this waned in the 19th century.