[[File:Ankh isis nefertari.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.7|alt=drawing of Nefertari with Isis|[[Nefertari]] with Isis]]
The increasing tendency to privilege painting above other arts, (and to a lesser degree sculpture,) above other arts has been a feature of [[Western art|Western]] and [[Eastern art history|East Asian]] art. In both regions, painting has been seen as relying to the highest degree on the imagination of the artist and being the furthest removed from manual labour – in [[Chinese painting]], the most highly valued styles were those of "scholar-painting", at least in theory practiced by gentleman amateurs. The Western [[hierarchy of genres]] reflected similar attitudes.
