What is the relationship between genre and painting and how should I analyse it?

Scale can play a hugely important role in the purpose of a painting, and often should not be overestimated when formally analysing a painting. Scale often denominates genre, and how that genre was respected in society at the time. In the high Renaissance, large scale painting is reserved for religious works, the most important artistic output of the period. This use of scale is often directly linked to their purposes which often included being placed in churches or in public buildings for educational purposes. Consider 'The School of Athens' by Raphael, and its role in the Vatican. These paintings were often vital in relaying the key messages of the bible. In the late Renaissance period we see the scale of paintings change in relation to subject matter. Often, genre paintings were rarely featured on large scale canvases. In Pieter Bruegel The Elder's 'The Fall of Icarus', scale warps the subject matter of the piece. The fall of Icarus is a small splash out with the centre of the painting. The focus of the eye falls upon the shepherd. Thus, in minimising the presence of Icarus, Bruegel the elder places emphasis on the activities of the townsfolk, demonstrating that their activities are as worthy as a subject matter as classical themes and stories. In terms of portraiture, scale often depicts the status of the sitters present, or their status in society as a patron. However, portraits often subvert this. In the case of Manet's 'Olympia,' Manet's work gained a lot of negative criticism due to size of the canvas in the portrayal of a woman who was most likely to be a prostitute. Considering postmodernism, particularly Pop Art, scale indicates a lot about society's relationship with the subject matter. The vast collection of Campbell's Soup Tins, arranged as they are at The Tate Liverpool, creates a larger work in its entirety. The repetition and reduplication of the can is a metaphor for mechanical production. The silk screening process is a metaphor for mechanical operations- the original is no longer important or the centre feature of the art work- the work can be reduplicated as many times as it needs to me to overpower a space in the gallery or overwhelm the viewer. Finally, scale also has impacts on perspective and composition. Considering scale, are all parts of the paining proportional? What are we drawn to? Hands, a vanishing point, or a discrete event taking place in the background of the painting, and why? Continuously assess what impact scale has on the painting's perspective and composition.