The Art of Storytelling: Exploring Narrative Painting Across Cultures and Eras

The adage goes that a picture is worth a thousand words, but the most captivating narrative paintings can go one step further and convey layered, complex stories. The beauty of narrative art is that it spans cultures, continents, and centuries, covering everything from myths and legends to religious stories or slices of everyday life.

Jacopo da Empoli – ”Adam and Eve with Cain and Abel”. Sold for €32,000 via Kunsthaus Lempertz (November 2022).

Narrative painting, at its core, is any form of art that allows the viewer to see a story unfolding. Often, in just one image, it is possible to perceive the past, the present, and even to infer a future. This effect can be achieved when the scene represented is familiar to the audience—such as Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden or a historical portrayal of a famous battle—sparking immediate recognition. That being said, not all narrative painting depends on familiarity; at other times, the story being told is more subtle, relying on symbolism, gestures, or the interactions between characters. The joy of narrative art often lies in piecing together these visual clues to uncover a deeper meaning.

The Evolution of Narrative Painting

Narrative painting is perhaps the world’s oldest form of art. Ancient Egyptians used vivid visuals to convey not only tales of their pharaohs and gods but also to express religious beliefs about the afterlife, as seen in The Weighing of the Heart from the Book of the Dead of Ani (circa 1300 BCE). Meanwhile, ancient Greek vase paintings and Roman mosaics frequently depicted mythological scenes, battles, and everyday life, blending artistic expression with storytelling. Early Roman frescoes, and later the Italian Renaissance, built on this foundation, featuring both classical myths and religious themes.

“The Weighing of the Heart from the Book of the Dead of Ani.” Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

In these early examples, the majority of the population would have been illiterate. So it was vital that these vivid paintings could convey, for example, the Gospels to any observer. A clear definition of what is and is not narrative art can be found in Leonardo da Vinci’s two most famous paintings. The “Mona Lisa” may be the world’s most well-known artwork but, like most but not all portraiture, it is defiantly non-narrative – its mystique is part of its allure. Unlike “The Last Supper” which, in one vast mural, depicts the exact moment Jesus announces one of his apostles will betray him, their reactions each telling 12 tales in one.

In many cultures, where literacy was limited, narrative art played a vital role in conveying religious and cultural stories. In medieval Europe, for instance, the majority of the population was illiterate, so art became an essential tool to communicate biblical stories, particularly through church frescoes, altarpieces, and illuminated manuscripts. Narrative art in this period wasn’t just decorative but functional, providing visual education to its viewers. However, outside of Europe, narrative art took different forms. In Islamic art, for example, figural representations were often avoided in religious contexts, so storytelling was expressed through calligraphy, geometric patterns, and miniature painting.

Defining Narrative Art

A useful way to define narrative art is by comparing two of Leonardo da Vinci’s most famous works. The Mona Lisa may be the world’s best-known artwork, but it is largely non-narrative. While it invites interpretation, its focus is on mood and individual mystery rather than storytelling. By contrast, The Last Supper captures a pivotal biblical moment, when Jesus announces that one of his apostles will betray him. Each figure’s reaction, from shock to denial, creates 12 separate stories within a single image. This level of narrative complexity is typical of great narrative art.

While most portraits, such as the Mona Lisa, are considered non-narrative, some, like Velázquez’s Las Meninas, challenge this notion by blending portraiture with meta-narrative techniques. In Las Meninas, Velázquez inserts himself into the painting and plays with perspective, prompting the viewer to question who the true subject is—the princess in the foreground, the reflected king and queen, or the artist himself.

19th and 20th Century Developments

In the 19th century, artists like Francisco Goya moved narrative art into contemporary settings, often reflecting the horrors of war and social upheaval.  The movement towards Social Realism focused on portraying the struggles and experiences of ordinary people. Goya’s works, such as The Third of May 1808, tell vivid, politically charged stories that resonate with the viewer on a deeply emotional level. Artists like Gustave Courbet used large-scale works to tell stories previously reserved for grand historical or religious subjects, focusing instead on the lives of peasants and laborers, such as in A Burial at Ornans. During this period, the Romantic movement also influenced narrative painting, with the likes of Eugène Delacroix emphasizing drama and emotion in historical or mythological stories, as seen in Liberty Leading the People.

Moving into the 20th century, even movements that seem less narrative, like Surrealism, found ways to incorporate storytelling. Salvador Dalí’s dreamlike scenes, for example, tell fragmented, psychological stories, often inspired by Freudian ideas of the subconscious. While these stories are more abstract and subjective, they still invite viewers to engage with a narrative that may not be immediately obvious.

Techniques and Styles

Composition is arguably the most important element of any narrative art. When an artwork is telling a story, particularly one dense with action and detail, the arrangement has to guide a viewer’s eye through the painting. In this way, one canvas or panel can still convey its own linear story, capturing the moment while foreshadowing what is to come.

Caravaggio – “The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist.” Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Art of the Italian Renaissance or the Classical Realism movement of the late 20th Century is particularly conducive to following a narrative. Detailed facial expressions, precise gestures, accurate perspective and a clear focal point – even in a busy scene – help to tell a nuanced story. Most narrative artists strive for accuracy and use bold colors to first capture the attention.

Caravaggio’s religious paintings used color and his Chiaroscuro style – with dramatic contrasts between light and dark – to lead viewers through it. In “The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist”, the eye is first drawn to the red of Saint John’s cloak, the pale back of his executioner, then to the seemingly appalled onlookers, finally to two prisoners watching in the background from a barred window. Caravaggio uses color and composition, light and shade, to guide the observer through each character and tell a story where the grisly outcome is in no doubt.

Key Figures in Narrative Painting

Sandro Botticelli

Sandro Botticelli – “The Story of Virginia”. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Florence’s early Renaissance genius Sandro Botticelli created narrative masterpieces based on classical mythology – most famously “The Birth of Venus” – as well as historical themes. Artwork such as “The Story of Virginia” or “The Story of Lucretia” contain several scenes in one image, read from left to right. These paintings concerned with violated honor contain some of the same figures several times, but Botticelli guides the viewer through it with visual prompts – such as a prominent individual looking right to lead us on to the next sequence. His expert use of space, balance and perspective somehow pack in dense action without overwhelming the observer.

Diego Velázquez

Las Meninas, Diego Velasquez. Image via Wikimedia Commons.

In his most famous painting, “Las Meninas”, Spanish Baroque-era painter Diego Velázquez spins an image of household life into narrative threads. The five-year-old Infanta Margaret Theresa is at the center, surrounded by her ladies in waiting, a bodyguard, two dwarves and a dog. Unusually, Velázquez places himself in the act of painting, his eyes piercing the viewer with an image of the king and queen hanging behind him, while a figure furthest in the background is either entering or leaving the room. Velázquez creates one still image that is bustling with activity and movement, leaving the onlooker questioning their own perspective. Are we Velázquez, staring at the canvas? Or the reflected king and queen observing the finished work? Yet Velázquez was also a master of more traditional narrative artworks. “The Surrender of Breda” – showing the aftermath of Spanish military victory – expertly portrays the weariness of war, as the smoky background speaks of destruction and death.

William Hogarth

William Hogarth – “A Rake’s Progress: The Heir.” Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

The 18th Century British satirist William Hogarth produced a literal series of narrative paintings that became so renowned the style is now referred to as ‘Hogarthian.’ His deliciously melodramatic “A Rake’s Progress” shows the downfall of a spendthrift wastrel in eight sequential paintings, from “The Heir”, where he comes into fortune, through gambling and debauchery, to the final artwork: “The Madhouse”. The series is rich in humor, social commentary and detail (the first painting contains a warning motto “Beware” on a coat of arms), rewarding the observant viewer. Prints of it were wildly popular in Hogarth’s lifetime. His later six-painting series “Marriage A-la-Mode” and 12-painting “Industry and Idleness” follow a similar style.

Gustave Courbet

Social realism was the passion of 19th Century French artist Gustave Courbet. Rebelling against Romanticism, his large-scale narrative paintings sought to tell the story of peasants and laborers with the same grandeur previously reserved for historical, mythical or religious subjects. Courbet’s “A Burial at Ornans” contains over 50 figures, the grieving mourners deliberately given as much focus as the clergymen. His vast “The Painter’s Studio” (subtitled “A real allegory summing up seven years of my artistic and moral life”) presents a visual guide to Parisian society in the 1850s. Split into three parts, the poor on the left; art lovers and patrons on the right; and Courbet himself painting a landscape in the center and ignoring a nude model, indicated the artist’s rejection of the heroic ideal in favor of what he sees as real.

Frida Kahlo

Frida Kahlo – “The Two Fridas.” Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

The powerful, autobiographical self-portraits of Frida Kahlo helped her tell a different type of narrative: that of her own life. Kahlo’s 55 self-portraits incorporated a range of styles meshing surrealism, cubism, and realism, with Mexican folk art. Yet each is linked by their bold use of color and an unapologetic portrayal of her heritage, the daughter of a German father and a mother of Spanish and Indigenous descent. In “The Two Fridas,” Kahlo defiantly shows two sides of her heritage, represented by her attire, and connected by an artery shared between their beating hearts. Through her use of symbolism, Kahlo was able to tell her own story of passion, pain, and self-exploration. “I don’t really know if my paintings are surreal or not,” she said, “but I do know that they represent the frankest expression of myself.”

Diego Rivera

Diego Rivera – “Detroit Industry, North Wall”. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Mexican artist Diego Rivera was able to explore narrative art in a contrasting way to his longtime partner, Kahlo. His giant murals and frescoes are characterized by their storytelling and social commentary, often highlighting the struggles of the working classes. The vast “History of Mexico”, painted over six years in a stairwell of the National Palace in Mexico City, shows everything from Aztec origins and religious practices to wars against French and Spanish invaders. Meanwhile his “Detroit Industry Murals”, commissioned by the Ford CEO, Edsel Ford, provoked controversy when they were unveiled in 1933 as they appeared to show the exploitation of straining workers, as much as they celebrated their efforts.

Katsushika Hokusai

Katsushika Hokusai – ”The Ghost of Kohada Koheiji.” Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

“The Great Wave off Kanagawa”, Katsushika Hokusai’s masterpiece, might seem in its awe-inspiring simplicity, the opposite of narrative art. Yet it was part of a series of 36 exquisite landscape prints around Mount Fuji, involving everything from workers carrying baskets to teahouses and temples. If this was Hokusai showing life in Japan in the 1830s, his “One Hundred Ghost Stories” series tells supernatural tales of Japanese myths and legends. They include “The Laughing Hannya”, a demon holding the head of a child, and “The Ghost of Kohada Koheiji”, featuring a murdered husband returning for revenge, based on Edo folklore. Alas, despite the title, Hokusai did not complete his hundred prints and only five survive.

Qi Baishi

China’s acclaimed self-taught artist began his career as a carpenter and first gained renown for his delicate depictions of plants, birds, insects, and animals – in particular shrimp. Initially a master of the Gongbi style, characterized by intricate detail and fine brushwork, Qi Baishi evolved to the more freely expressive Xieyi (literally “sketching thoughts” style). His amusing “Stealing the Wine Vat”, featuring a man slumbering by a prone over ladle portrays a well-known comedic story in Ancient China. On a different scale, Qi’s “Twelve Landscape Screens”, telling the tale of his exploratory journey across China in the 1920s, sold for over $140 million in 2017.

Themes and Subjects

Narrative painting’s topics are as diverse as there are stories in the world: from legendary deeds, historical and current events, to personal autobiographies. It encompasses a diverse range of styles but there are common threads: a use of symbolism, enabling the discerning viewer to “read” a painting via visual clues.

Sandro Botticelli – “Primavera.” Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Yet while some narratives are clear, based on events or stories the artist expects an audience to be familiar with, others are less conclusive, their meaning open to interpretation. Allegorical paintings can use characters and objects to tell a story with a deeper philosophical meaning. Boticelli’s “Primavera”, for example, contains a group of figures from classical mythology with no apparent link, but is widely interpreted to tell the story of the beginning then passing of spring; with Venus, goddess of April, in the center and Mercury, the god of May, chasing away the last clouds before summer.

Legacy and Influence

Until the late 19th and early 20th Century, most artwork contained some form of overt narration. The Modern Art movement changed that, often detaching artwork from specific or implicit meaning and leaving greater interpretation in the hands of the audience. Yet even Abstract or Modern Art can convey a mood or a message, albeit without defined storytelling.

Pic

Pablo Picasso Guernica (1937)

While in the modern age of digital art and immersive installations, narrative painting may seem less fashionable, its influence will never truly dim. Each celebrated piece of narrative art tells the story of a time and a place, of a cultural identity and heritage, or even of one individual. For this, as a means of cultural preservation – as well as for their artistic merit – narrative paintings will continue to enchant, educate, and beguile us in the way they always have.