Realism - Overview from Phil Hansen

sometimes the paintings that have the most impact on us are those that depict familiar scenes from our everyday lives art that makes us pause to feel and think chief proponent of realism Gustave Courbet believed that painting should represent real and existing things this was the driving force behind realism one of the most important periods in French art this was a time of revolution the time when both the French Revolution and Industrial Revolution spurred dramatic change across the world the first seeds of realism also referred to as naturalism were sown soon after the revolution of 1848 which included a wave of over 50 countries in Europe and Latin America the French public's desire for more dramatic reforms manifested in the realist art and literature that would flourish from the 1840s until the 1880s realists were the first generation of artists to adopt a highly scientific perspective in their art three of the most influential thinkers were Charles Darwin Karl Marx and Auguste Comte Charles Darwin introduced the idea of evolution and survival of the fittest which came to be considered a justification for the extreme wealth inequality of the time Karl Marx whose response to extreme wealth disparity was equal distribution and increased worker rights under communist government and Auguste Comte stressed the importance of positivism focusing on understanding the relationship between cause and effect in early times religion mythology and philosophy were considered the highest truths but during the mid and late 1880s more than ever before the world that people could see touch taste hear and feel was considered objective truth the French Royal Academy whose endorsement was significant for artists during this time thought that good art should be beautiful classically inspired and in line with French morality realist artists challenged all these ideas by painting non idealized everyday scenes of middle-class and poor people of modern times these themes were both a response to the over idealization of the romanticism and neoclassicism that came before and a reflection of new scientific worldview and concern for human rights realism brought the issues in lives of the working class to the forefront painting a gritty picture of the harsh realities as well as beautiful joys of normal everyday lives realism in painting was an art of changing times realists abandoned classicism and Romanticism preferring to create compelling and socially critical pictures based on direct observations of the world around them common characteristics of realist art was a rejection of artistic theory rules a break from religious and mythological themes minimal idealization social criticism and a scientific lens realist art aim to portray people and scenes as they really were as a leader of the French realist movement Gustave Courbet used rural and agrarian people from his native region as well as scenes of nature on a monumental scale at the salon of Paris of 18-49 and 1850 cor BAE's brilliant examples of realist paintings took the nation by storm in particular the stone breakers and a burial at or nuns have come to be regarded as groundbreaking paintings that challenged convention and modern perceptions the stone breakers shows the state of poor peasant workers during the industrial revolution it reveals the hardships that miners farmers and peasants faced at the hands of factory owners and capitalists the motionless faces and mellow colors are melancholic while also informing us about the harsh realities faced by the working-class Courbet is honest simplistic portrayal of day to day imagery was considered by critics as crude and even anti-authoritarian another example of core Bayes defiance of conventional art methods and perspectives is young woman from the village which was exhibited at the salon of Paris in 1852 the painting featured three young girls Courbet sisters dressed in countrified costumes and representing the rural middle class they are seen giving money as charity to a poor cow herder critics panned this painting calling it clumsy and tasteless despite continuous rejections from critics Courbet continued undeterred inspiring many fellow artists notably jean-francois millet and honoré daumier like corbeil jean francois Malay also faced initial criticism but gained popularity in the 1860s he is best known for his depictions of rural life scenes of peasants at work in particular Malay left his home in Peretz to settle in Barbizon in 18-49 in order to live in closer proximity to his rural subjects his sheep shearing beneath a tree in crane and watercolor is one of his many artworks on the subject of sheep shearing one of his most emotional compositions admired and copied by Van Gogh his first steps depicts a father putting down his tools and stretching his arms out for his child's first steps while the child's mother carefully guides her movements malaise most famous work the Gleaners depicts rural poverty through three peasant women gleaning grains bending over the ground all three women have their eyes fixed firmly downwards the scene portrays the hardships faced by peasant women whose job was to go out into the fields at sunset and pick up ears of corn missed by the harvesters malaise portrayal was considered anti-authoritarian but his conservative style was a far cry from core bass less restrained technique honoré daumier was a well-known lithographer who had parodied King louis-philippe in caricatures inspired by the realism movement knowmia turned to more realistic portrayals later in his career his the first-class carriage and the third-class carriage portray the socio-economic distinctions of the time through his experiences traveling in different classes of rail coaches Edouard Manet another eminent realist painted people in natural settings as seen in the landscape of his painting luncheon on the grass artist John Sargent practice his own form of realism depicting human forms and his characteristic glimmers of light as seen in Madame X during the same time The Naturalist literature complimented the realist movement pushing the working class into the realm of art and literature flow bears Madame Bovary Tolstoy's war and peace and Henry James's portrait of a lady we're all three realist works still popular today at the time the harsh everyday realities in these novels shocked readers but they also struck a powerful chord realists the literature was characterized by simple plots and complex characters social critique matter-of-fact style and a focus on the lives and daily struggles of lower and middle class characters plays like imps ins a dollhouse and Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard and three sisters were influential works and realist theater the realist movement spawned two offshoots the Barbizon School and Ashkan school the Barbizon School was comprised of French landscape painters in the town of Barbizon the Ashkan school was in the United States and depicted gritty scenes from city life realism would go on to influence the work of young progressive artists and pave the way for Impressionism and the late 1800s

Channel: Philinthecircle

Views: 263,153

Rating: 4.8962345 out of 5

Keywords: Realism (Art Period/Movement), Art History (Film Genre), Art (Collection Category), Documentary (TV Genre), Gustave Courbet (Visual Artist)

Id: cump0Nxteb4

Length: 8min 47sec (527 seconds)

Published: Wed Mar 26 2014