Scenes of Everyday Life

A general category for artworks that depict ordinary people—whether documented or staged—in everyday life. The 18th and 19th centuries saw a turn from the idealized depictions of classical figures and royalty towards realism, with painters like the 19th-Century French Realists capturing the lives of ordinary people in genre paintings. Artists today continue this legacy, focusing on the often mundane aspects of contemporary domestic life, from grocery shopping to walking down the street.