I’m an art historian (currently ABD in a PhD program and I’ve taught at the university level for years now). This is a rather broad question, so I’m sure you might have more luck specifying a few things, similar to how you’ve already specified a specific medium, of painting.

• Which country, region?
• Society could be broken down into categories of reception, such as critics, museums, and other artists (which is where you’ll find changes prior to society as a whole)
• Are you referring to how living artists were thought of while they were living and making art? Or how painters from the past, like a Rembrandt, were considered during a modern/contemporary time frame?
• In terms of the societal “view,” this could additionally be broken down into the economic standing of painters, number of painting-specific exhibitions at galleries and museums, etc.