Kitsch is commercial art, which means that the paintings explore the decorative function to the full. Commercial genre paintings are appealing to wide audiences, and as such will look great in offices, bars, coffee shops and stores. They are also widely used for souvenirs – placed on mugs, T-shirts, calendars, puzzles etc.

These genre paintings are focused on a common man rather than a connoisseur: they are simple, pleasant and emotionally appealing. They cheer you up and will never make you wonder about the frailty of life, God forbid! The characters in genre scenes are kids, animals, some legendary images, like cowboys – all having fun doing something exciting. It’s a toon world and it makes you feel young and stupid again. The artists who paint commercial genre paintings are great at what they do, and in terms of mastery a good kitsch artist will often surpass a good “high” style artist. The difference is in the expressive quality and the artistic subject of the painting, which prevails in the latter’s work. Kitsch genre paintings are known for their bright intense colours and easy subjects familiar and easy to understand for a s common viewer.