Genre painting (or petit genre) depicts aspects of everyday life by portraying ordinary people engaged in common activities. One common definition of a genre scene is that it shows figures to whom no identity can be attached either individually or collectively—thus distinguishing petit genre from history paintings (also called grand genre) and portraits.

The number of artists who have touched, however briefly, the "peasant genre" are numerous. I have included in this genre gallery a number of artists for whom this genre was significant. Bruegel, during the Dutch and Flemish Renaissance, combined landscapes and the peasantry; moving away from the traditional focus on historical and religious paintings.