Realism Art Movement
France, 1845 - 1890
Realism Art Movement, History, Realist Oil Paintings & Artists.
1855 can be considered a pivotal year of the Realism Art movement in France. This was the year that Gustave Courbet set up his own improvised pavilion, the Pavilion du Realisme, opposite the Paris Salon. This was to show a large number of works that had been rejected by the official exhibit. His initiative pointed to the existence of a dynamic movement that had already been active for some time but had not yet been given a name or recognized.
“I have never seen angels. Show Me an Angel and I Will Paint One.”
The word ”realism or realist” can mean the faithful reproduction of reality in a work of art and has less to do with the photo-realistic painting of images and has more to do with the real subject matter. Colbert's work extends beyond mere imitation and attempts to reflect all aspects of reality.
Keeping it Real, as REALism as it gets.
Realist painting emerged in opposition to the moralistic ideals that had characterized academic art. Now, the working class, the poor, and the derelict are depicted in oil paintings. And it was not by chance that realism became popular and widespread in Europe after the political and social uprisings of 1848. The world of the mid-19th century was one of intense change, seeing the advent of industrialization, the agricultural machine, and an increase in populations moving from rural areas into the cities. The exotic, sublime, and spiritual themes of romanticism were replaced by concrete situations closer to everyday life. The dark, heavy paintings of subjects that were often unsavory or even obscene were in conflict with bourgeois ideals. Therefore, they were not well received by critics at the beginning. The Realist movement also included famous artists like the mystic Jean-Francois Millet and Honore Daumier, satirists of the political and legal world, but also a painter who depicted the lowest classes of society.
Despite the fact that Realism in its prime often came up against social and political undertones, by the time the Impressionists arrived, it had dissipated in intensity. However, it left an enduring legacy of truth and emotional earnestness in the art that would last for our own time.
How to Identify Realism Art Movement Oil Paintings?
1. Realist works of art portray the brutal, everyday reality of ordinary people from the middle and lower classes of society. Faggot Carriers by Jean-François Millet.
2. Realism is a thoughtful depiction of poor, urban, and rural workers in hunched postures, battling with their difficult, physical work. The Stone Breakers by Gustave Courbet.
3. The somber paintings employ a palette of dark colors to accentuate the plight of the people. Subjects are shown to be genuine and humble. There’s never a cheerful sentiment. Gypsy In Reflection by Gustave Courbet.
The Art of German Realism.
Around 1840, the ardors of Romanticism were cooling in Germany and throughout Europe. The Nazarene philosophy was no longer identified with Friedrich's anxiety. The upper classes sought a concrete, realistic style that conveyed the image of a strong German society. The artists of German Realism identified, both culturally and on a socioeconomic level. The leading exponent of German Realism, Adolf von Menzel, was an active protagonist on the European cultural stage in the second half of the century. Throughout his life, his artistic life reflected the development of the Realist movement. Realist paintings in German art tended to demonstrate the power of a developing state more than anything else.
American Realism Art.
American Realism is an artistic movement in the USA that was active in literature, photography, and painting from 1880 to 1940 and continues to this day. One of its main artists is Edward Hopper. His artwork is disenchantment and solitude created by spaces, light, and silences that imbue his canvases with an evocative power that seems to anticipate cinematic scenarios, situations, and characters. Hopper was a master of composition, capable of transforming functional, monotonous, and impersonal settings into poetic moments, thereby leaving the viewer to invent a storyline.
American Realism satisfied the desire to document the new American scene, depicting places and characters that served as icons of the conflicting relationship between city and country. There was a growing preference for details, urban views, industrial complexes, and cutting-edge machine technology. The socioeconomic crisis of 1929 helped to consolidate the American image. The state needed a type of art that would back up its efforts to re-launch the economy and sponsored a vast program, commissioning works and paying artists to decorate post offices, banks, schools, and government buildings.
Other Realism Artists: George Bellows, Honoré Daumier, Edgar Degas, Carl Larsson, Édouard Manet, Diego Rivera, Christian Schad, Eugène Verboeckhoven, Frederick Walker, and Andrew Wyeth
Famous Realism Art Movement Oil Painting Reproductions
Realism Art Movement Painters Biography & Painting Reproductions
- Aagaard, Carl Frederik
- Achenbach, Andreas
- Achenbach, Oswald
- Albright, Adam Emory
- Alexander, John White
- Anshutz, Thomas Pollock
- Belleuse, Pierre Carrier
- Beraud, Jean
- Beroud, Louis
- Bonheur, Rosa
- Brandt, Józef
- Breton, Jules
- Brown, John George
- Chapman, Conrad Wise
- Choultse, Ivan Fedorovich
- Cooper, Thomas Sidney
- Courbet, Gustave
- Dupré, Julien
- Durrie, George Henry
- Duveneck, Frank
- Eakins, Thomas
- Fabrés, Antonio Maria
- Fantin Latour, Henri
- Fischer, Paul Gustav
- Forbes, Stanhope Alexander
- Friant, Emile
- Haes, Carlos De
- Harvey, Harold
- Henry, Edward Lamson
- Hitchcock, George
- Homer, Winslow
- Hoog, Bernard De
- Hopper, Edward
- Israëls, Jozef
- Johnson, Eastman
- Kaufmann, Isidor
- Knight, Daniel Ridgway
- Kowalski, Alfred Wierusz
- Kramskoi, Ivan
- Langley, Walter
- Lenoir, Charles Amable
- Lhermitte, Leon Augustin
- Mauve, Anton Rudolf
- Menzel, Adolph
- Merle, Hugues
- Monsted, Peder
- Mosler, Henry
- Munkacsy, Mihaly
- Normann, Adelsteen
- Pearce, Charles Sprague
- Peto, John Frederick
- Repin, Ilya
- Sargent, John Singer
- Shishkin, Ivan Ivanovich
- Sidro, Adolfo Lozano
- Smith, Xanthus Russell
- Stevens, Alfred
- Thaulow, Frits
- Thompson, Elizabeth Southerden
- Tissot, James
- Weissenbruch, Jan Hendrik
- Zampighi, Eugenio
- Zorn, Anders
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