Elena Rossi
The Realist Movement, also referred to as Realism, emerged in the mid-19th century in the context of tremendous social and economic upheaval, including the Industrial Revolution and the French Revolution of 1848. Realist artists aimed to confront the injustices of class inequality by rejecting the idealized subjects of academic art and instead focusing on the harsh realities of everyday life, especially the working class and poor peasants. While the term Realism is often used interchangeably with naturalism, they are not synonymous. Naturalism seeks to depict objects with minimal distortion, while Realism, as an art movement, emphasizes the representation of reality, including unsavory details. Famous Realism paintings include The Stone Breakers by Gustave Courbet, Olympia by Edouard Manet, and The Elder Sister by William-Adolphe Bouguereau.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Time period | Middle years of the 19th century |
| Origin | France |
| Notable artists | Gustave Courbet, Édouard Manet, Jean-François Millet, William-Adolphe Bouguereau, Edgar Degas, Émile Zola, Robert Campin, Jan van Eyck, Ford Madox Brown, George Frederick Watts |
| Notable artworks | "The Stone Breakers", "La rencontre (Bonjour Monsieur Courbet)", "Olympia", "Le déjeuner sur l'herbe", "The Elder Sister", "The Sower", "Found Drowned", "La Nymphe Surprise", "The Spanish Singer", "Lise with a Parasol", "Woman with a Parrot" |
| Style | Emphasis on everyday life, working-class subjects, and "reality"; rejection of idealized subjects, academic art, and Romanticism |
| Impact | Brought attention to social inequality and the harsh realities of life; influenced art to confront "reality" directly and include unsavory details |
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What You'll Learn
Realism in Christian art
Realism in the arts is generally understood as the attempt to depict subject matter truthfully, without artificiality, exaggeration, or speculative and supernatural elements. The term is often used interchangeably with naturalism, although they are not synonymous. Naturalism, as an idea relating to visual representation in Western art, seeks to depict objects with minimal distortion and is linked to the development of linear perspective and illusionism in Renaissance Europe.
A recurring trend in Christian art was "realism" that emphasised the humanity of religious figures, particularly Christ, and his physical sufferings. This trend emerged in the Late Middle Ages, with some painted wooden sculptures portraying Christ covered in wounds and blood. These works, found especially in Germany and Central Europe, were intended to stimulate viewers to meditate on Christ's suffering. Similar works reappeared in the Baroque period, notably in Spanish sculpture.
During the 19th century, naturalism developed as a broad movement in European art, although it lacked the political motivations that characterised realist artists. The French art critic Jules-Antoine Castagnary, originator of the term, described naturalism as:
> "The expression of life under all phases and on all levels, and that its sole aim is to reproduce nature by carrying it to its maximum power and intensity: it is truth balanced with science."
In the 19th century, artists associated with the Realism art movement, such as Gustave Courbet, were known for their focus on mundane, ugly, or sordid subjects. Courbet's painting "A Burial at Ornans", for example, depicted a simple rural funeral service in his hometown. By portraying a mundane topic with unknown people on a large scale, Courbet challenged the conventions of history painting and highlighted the political equality established by the 1848 Revolution.
Realist painters often critiqued the social values of the bourgeoisie and monarchy, utilising the mass media to enhance their celebrity and spread their ideas. Édouard Manet, a contemporary of Courbet, pushed the boundaries of Realism further with paintings like "Le déjeuner sur l'herbe" and "Olympia", which challenged societal notions of propriety and offended the sensibilities of middle-class salon-goers.
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Naturalism vs. Realism
The terms "naturalism" and "realism" are often used interchangeably, but they are not necessarily synonymous. Both terms refer to different things depending on their corresponding fields. For example, the term "naturalism" refers to a philosophical belief system, a literary movement, and an art style. On the other hand, realism predominantly refers to a 19th-century art style and a style of film.
Realism first appeared in the early 1800s in France as a response to the French Revolution and Romanticism/Romantic themes of the past. The realist literary movement sought a move away from the Romanticism of the past, which featured lofty ideals, imagination, emotion, and larger-than-life characters. Realism, as a literary movement, can be defined as the accurate representation and portrayal of life circumstances without idealization. Realist works often feature humble characters from middle to lower social classes and problems that everyday people may face, such as social and economic issues.
Naturalism, as a literary movement, is closely related to realism and can be defined as portrayals of scientifically observed life with features of determinism, without idealization. Determinism refers to a state of being predetermined and/or that events in nature are caused by preceding events or actions. The focus of determinism in naturalist literature is the main difference between naturalism and realism. Naturalist works often featured science and technology and their influences on society.
In art, naturalism is the precise, detailed, and accurate representation of the appearance of scenes and objects. It is also called mimesis or illusionism and became especially marked in European painting in the Early Netherlandish painting of Robert Campin, Jan van Eyck, and other artists in the 15th century. In the 19th century, Realism art movement painters such as Gustave Courbet were not especially noted for their fully precise and careful depiction of visual appearances.
Realism was the first explicitly anti-institutional, nonconformist art movement. Realist painters took aim at the social mores and values of the bourgeoisie and monarchy, upon whom the art market depended. Gustave Courbet, for example, painted his hometown's "mayor, who weighs 400, the parish priest, the justice of the peace, the cross bearer, the notary Marlet, the assistant mayor, my friends, my father, the choirboys, the grave digger, two old revolutionaries" to depict a funeral. Édouard Manet pushed Realism even further in the 1860s with his frank depictions of nudity and prostitution, which offended the sensibilities of his salon-going audience.
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Realism in other art forms
Realism in art is characterised by subjects painted from everyday life in a naturalistic manner, as well as artworks painted in a realistic, almost photographic way. The movement emerged in the mid-19th century as a reaction to Romanticism and History painting, with artists like Gustave Courbet, Jean-François Millet, Honoré Daumier, and Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot rejecting Romanticism and its idealisation of earlier academic art. Courbet, for instance, is known for his paintings of mundane topics, such as his depiction of a rural funeral service in "A Burial at Ornans".
Literature
Broadly defined as "the faithful representation of reality", literary realism is based on objective reality. It focuses on showing everyday activities and life, primarily among the middle or lower classes, without romantic idealisation or dramatisation. In literature, realism was a reaction to the rigidities and conventions of "bourgeois realism", prompting the revolt later labelled as modernism.
Theatre
Theatrical realism first emerged in European drama in the 19th century, influenced by the Industrial Revolution, the age of science, and the invention of photography. It directs attention to the social and psychological problems of ordinary life, portraying people as victims of forces larger than themselves, confronted with a rapidly changing world.
Opera
Verismo is an opera style that invokes realism.
Cinema
Italian neorealist cinema is an example of realism in film.
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Illusionism in European painting
The development of illusionism continued in the Late Medieval and Early Renaissance periods, aided by new techniques in oil painting that allowed for subtle and precise effects of light and colour. During this time, scientific methods of representing perspective were developed in Italy and gradually spread across Europe. The accurate depiction of landscapes also evolved during this period, particularly in Early Netherlandish and Renaissance painting, before reaching a high level of sophistication in 17th-century Dutch Golden Age painting.
By 1600, European portraiture had advanced significantly, achieving very good likenesses in both painting and sculpture. However, the subjects were often idealised, with features smoothed or posed artificially. Still life paintings and still life elements within other works played a crucial role in the development of illusionistic painting. While Early Netherlandish flower paintings lacked realism due to their unconventional arrangements, the genre contributed to the advancement of illusionism, with artists like Edward Collier achieving high levels of illusionism in their still life works.
The term "mimesis" or "illusionism" is used to describe the artistic tradition of creating works that appear to share physical space with the viewer or represent physical appearances precisely. This tradition encompasses various techniques, including trompe-l'œil, anamorphosis, optical art, abstract illusionism, and illusionistic ceiling painting techniques.
In the 20th century, illusion art continued to evolve, utilising new technologies like computers to create graphic designs and virtual realities. Artists began to explore innovative spaces and surfaces, such as buildings, pavements, and even the human body, pushing the boundaries of what is possible in the realm of illusion art.
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Realism and the Industrial Revolution
The Realist Movement emerged in the mid-19th century in the context of tremendous social and economic upheaval brought about by the Industrial Revolution. The revolution stimulated the dramatic expansion of industry and increased prosperity, but it also brought enormous inequalities in wealth that eventually led to social revolution. Realism, as an art movement, was a response to this upheaval, as well as the Enlightenment's rationalization of life and society, and the rise of Romanticism in art.
Realism was the first explicitly anti-institutional and nonconformist art movement. Realist painters rejected the idealized subjects from history, fiction, and myth that were the mainstay of academic art, and instead focused on the everyday lives of the working class. Poor peasants and workers replaced classical warriors, gods, and kings in their paintings, and the “Grand Manner” style was replaced by an uncompromising realism that did not shy away from unsavory details. Artists like Gustave Courbet, Édouard Manet, and Jean François Millet capitalized on the mundane, ugly, or sordid, and their works were motivated by a renewed interest in the commoner and the rise of leftist politics.
The development of newspaper printing and mass media in the wake of the Industrial Revolution also brought about a new conception of the artist as a self-publicist. Courbet, Manet, and others purposefully courted controversy and used the media to enhance their celebrity. Manet, for example, submitted his painting Le déjeuner sur l'herbe to the Salon of 1863, where it was rejected due to its scandalous depiction of two young dandies dining in a forest with a fully nude woman. The painting offended the sensibilities of its salon-going audience, especially middle-class men who participated in similar dalliances with Parisian prostitutes.
The political resonance of Realism had a powerful effect on art outside of France as well. Artists from across Europe and beyond used Realism to call attention to social inequality in their own countries. For example, in the 19th century, Daumier created a print denouncing the monarchy and participating in Realism's assault on traditional power structures. The print chronicles the impact of the industrial revolution on the conditions of the poor, focusing on a peasant family riding in the third-class carriage of a train.
Overall, the Industrial Revolution played a significant role in the emergence and development of the Realist Movement in art, as artists sought to depict the social and economic realities of the time and challenge traditional power structures and values.
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Frequently asked questions
There are several paintings that represent the Realism art movement. Gustave Courbet's "The Stone Breakers" (1849) is considered one of the most influential works of French Realism. Other notable works include Jean-François Millet's "The Sower" (1850), Édouard Manet's "Olympia" (1863), and William-Adolphe Bouguereau's "The Elder Sister".
Realism emerged in the aftermath of the French Revolution of 1848, reflecting the social and political upheaval of the time. It rejected idealized subjects and classical themes, focusing instead on everyday life, especially the working class and poor peasants. Realism sought to confront social inequalities and present an uncompromising view of reality, often including unsavory details.
Romanticism emphasized personal expression and laid the foundation for art as social protest. Realism took this further by directly confronting injustices, particularly those related to class inequality. While Romanticism often featured mythical subjects, Realism replaced these with depictions of poor peasants and workers.
Gustave Courbet is considered one of the most influential artists of the Realism movement. Other notable artists include Édouard Manet, Jean-François Millet, William-Adolphe Bouguereau, George Frederick Watts, and Pierre Auguste Renoir.
Realism extended beyond visual art to include literary realism, theatrical realism, and Italian neorealist cinema. In literature, authors like Émile Zola adopted a naturalist approach, focusing on the representation of everyday life. In cinema, the neorealist movement in post-World War II Italy emphasized realism and social commentary.
