What is an art genre?

An art genre is a category of subject matter — what the picture is about. Portraits, landscapes, still lifes, history paintings: genres are the answer to "what am I looking at?", each with its own conventions, hidden symbols and pecking order.

The old academies even ranked them: history painting at the top, still life at the bottom. The ranking is dead, but the genres — and their secret symbol languages — are very much alive.