2. Overview Inspired by the positivist view of the second half the 19th century, which was the faith in all knowledge derived from science, and the belief that these methods would solve all human problems Realism, therefore, was the accurate and apparently objective description (through painting) of the ordinary, observable world Introduced the contemporary to art and rejected Classicism and Romanticism Wanted to reproduce ignored aspects of contemporary life and society For the first time ordinary people and everyday activities were considered worthy subjects for art Began in the 1850s in France The Gleaners By Jean-Francois Millet, 1857
3. Overview Cont’d In the broadest sense, realism is when something has been well observed and accurately depicted Examples of realism in in these terms can be found throughout history and all around the world A fondness of humble subjects and homely details can be found very early also Realism made a resurgence during the final years and aftermath of WWI in the so-called, “Return to Order” also known as “Modern Realism” in England, traditionisme in France, and “Neue Sachlichkeit”/ “Magic Realism” in Germany New York Restaurant By Edward Hopper, 1922
4. Overview Cont’d Trompe l’oeil: “fool the eye”; a technique which creates the illusion that the objects depicted actually exist Examples of this can be found from antiquity to the present day Fallen Monarchs By William Bliss Baker, 1886
5. Important Realist Painters Henri Cadiou Ford Madox Brown Jean BaptisteSiméonChardin Gustave Courbet Honoré Daumier Thomas Eakins Winslow Homer Jean-Francois Millet Rembrandt van Rijn Théodore Rousseau Edward Hopper Andrew Wyeth Max Schmitt in a Single Scull By Thomas Eakins, 1871
12. Gustave Courbet French painter who led the Realist movement in 19th-century French painting Made bold social commentary in his work Painted subjects that were considered vulgar, such as the rural peasantry and the working conditions of the poor Believed that the only possible source for a living art is the artist’s own experience (not any attempt to portray the past or future) Depicted the harshness in life and challenged contemporary academic ideas of art Grew up in a household that held very anti-monarchial feelings (grandfather fought in the French Revolution) Studied Spanish, Flemish, and French painters
13. Medium of Choice For Realist Painters The medium of choice for Courbet and many Realist artists was oil on canvas Other mediums used in Realist paintings include acrylic, watercolor, and egg tempera
14. The work of Gustave Courbet fits into Realism because: The paintings depict things as they are as accurately as possible in order to create the illusion of reality His subjects were often the everyday and ordinary, such as the poor, prostitutes, contemporary landscapes, and peasants He openly rejected the established, academic modes of painting and subjects that were idealized, such as in Romanticism or Classicism
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16. The painting exhibits a heightened reality that makes it almost dreamlike, with figures that are both real and symbolic.
