Realism
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Period: c. 1840s – 1880s CE Region: Primarily France; influential across Europe and North America
Overview & Key Characteristics
Realism emerged in France around the 1840s as a powerful reaction against the prevailing artistic conventions of Neoclassicism (with its idealized historical and mythological subjects) and Romanticism (with its emotionalism, exoticism, and dramatic narratives). Spearheaded by artists like Gustave Courbet, Realism aimed to depict ordinary, contemporary subjects and everyday life – including peasants, laborers, and the urban working class – in a truthful, objective, and unsentimental manner. It sought to portray the "real" world, often focusing on aspects previously considered unworthy of serious art. This movement was closely linked to the social and political upheavals of the time, including industrialization, urbanization, growing class consciousness, and the Revolutions of 1848. Realists often challenged the official Salon system and academic hierarchies by presenting common subjects on a large scale traditionally reserved for history painting.
Summary of Common Characteristics:
| Feature | Characteristic Description (Realism) |
|---|---|
| Light | Naturalistic & Unremarkable: Depicts light as observed in everyday conditions, avoiding artificial drama or idealization. Focuses on how light reveals form and texture naturally. |
| Surface/Texture | Accurate & Sometimes Tactile: Aims for truthful rendering of textures relevant to the subject (rough stone, coarse fabric, earth). Courbet sometimes used thick paint application (impasto) to emphasize materiality. |
| Figures | Ordinary, Contemporary, Unidealized: Depicts real people from various social classes, often workers or peasants, without beautification or heroic elevation. Shows signs of labor, age, and individuality. |
| Space/Depth | Believable & Observed: Represents space realistically based on observation. Utilizes perspective naturally, often depicting commonplace or humble environments accurately. |
| Color Palette | Often Subdued, Earthy, Realistic: Frequently employs somber tones – browns, grays, greens, ochres – reflecting the everyday reality of the subjects. Avoids artificially bright or exotic color schemes. |
| Composition | Often Straightforward, Unassuming, Direct: Compositions can appear simple or even casual, rejecting elaborate classical structures or dramatic Romantic arrangements. Focus is on clear presentation of the subject matter. |
| Details/Lines | Based on Observation: Detail included to enhance realism and provide factual information about the scene. Lines are generally descriptive and serve to define forms accurately. |
| Mood/Emotion | Objective, Unsentimental, Honest, Sometimes Critical or Sympathetic. Strives for truthfulness over overt emotional display. Can implicitly convey the dignity or hardship of labor, or social inequalities, but avoids Romantic melodrama. |
| Subject Matter | Contemporary Life & Social Reality: Scenes of peasant and working-class labor, rural life, urban settings, everyday activities, portraits of ordinary people, landscapes depicted truthfully, social commentary. Explicit rejection of historical, mythological, religious (unless treated as contemporary event), or exotic themes. |
Courbet famously declared, "Painting is an essentially concrete art and can only consist of the representation of real and existing things."
Historical Context & Influences
Realism arose amidst profound societal shifts:
- Industrial Revolution: Led to increased urbanization, creation of a large industrial working class, and significant social changes and inequalities.
- Political Upheaval: The Revolutions of 1848 across Europe brought social issues and class struggles to the forefront.
- Positivism: A philosophical movement emphasizing empirical evidence and scientific observation (Auguste Comte), influencing the desire for objective representation in art.
- Rise of Photography: The invention and spread of photography presented a new standard of visual accuracy and challenged painting's role in representation, while also potentially influencing Realist compositions.
Influences: A direct reaction against the perceived artificiality of Neoclassicism and Romanticism. Drew inspiration from earlier painters admired for their realism, such as 17th-century Dutch genre painters and Spanish masters like Velázquez, Zurbarán, and Ribera. Influenced by contemporary social thought and the desire for democratic expression in art.
Key Artists & Their Contributions
- France:
- Gustave Courbet (1819-1877): The leading figure and theorist of Realism. Painted large, provocative canvases of ordinary life and rural scenes (A Burial at Ornans, The Stone Breakers, The Painter's Studio). His "Pavilion of Realism" (1855) was a landmark independent exhibition.
- Jean-François Millet (1814-1875): Associated with the Barbizon School; known for his empathetic and dignified depictions of peasant life and labor (The Gleaners, The Angelus).
- Honoré Daumier (1808-1879): Master lithographer, painter, and sculptor; offered sharp social and political satire, capturing the realities of Parisian life, law courts, and politics.
- Édouard Manet (1832-1883): A pivotal figure linking Realism and Impressionism. His paintings of modern Parisian life, rendered with a bold, flat technique, scandalized the art world (Luncheon on the Grass, Olympia).
- Russia: Ilya Repin (1844-1930): Leading member of the Peredvizhniki (Wanderers), who aimed to bring art to the people, depicting Russian history and contemporary social conditions (Barge Haulers on the Volga).
- United States:
- Winslow Homer (1836-1910): Celebrated for his realistic depictions of American life, nature, and the sea, working in both oil and watercolor (The Gulf Stream).
- Thomas Eakins (1844-1916): Known for his uncompromising realism, scientific approach to anatomy, and insightful portraits (The Gross Clinic).
Notable Works
- Courbet: A Burial at Ornans, The Stone Breakers, The Origin of the World, The Painter's Studio.
- Millet: The Gleaners, The Angelus, Man with a Hoe.
- Daumier: The Third-Class Carriage, Rue Transnonain, April 15, 1834, The Legislative Belly.
- Manet: Luncheon on the Grass, Olympia, Music in the Tuileries Garden, A Bar at the Folies-Bergère.
- Repin: Barge Haulers on the Volga, Ivan the Terrible and His Son Ivan.
- Homer: Snap the Whip, The Fog Warning, The Gulf Stream.
- Eakins: The Gross Clinic, Max Schmitt in a Single Scull, The Swimming Hole.
Legacy and Influence
Realism marked a fundamental shift in Western art by insisting on the validity of contemporary, everyday life as subject matter.
- It democratized art by turning attention to ordinary people and social conditions.
- Challenged the authority of academic institutions and paved the way for artists to choose their own subjects based on direct experience.
- Its emphasis on objective observation influenced subsequent art movements.
- The focus on modern life and the innovative techniques employed, particularly by Manet, directly inspired the Impressionists.
- Its commitment to depicting social reality continued in later movements like Social Realism and persists as a motivation for many artists today.