Introduction to Realism

Realism originated in France and it was the result of discussion between artists, writers and intellectuals in a Parisian bar in the late 1840’s, where they discussed the latest artistic trends, politics and social issues. Realism began after the revolution of 1848 which overturned the monarchy of Louise-Philippe, the French where fighting for a democratic reform, this was a time of unrest people where dying on the street and people where not receiving the wages for the work they had done this had a huge impact on art. Artists at that time rebelled against the falseness of the Romantic paintings and wanted to portray everyday life and ordinary people to show how they were being treated, they took into consideration and made importance to the lower class, photography also had an important impact on realism.  Gustav Courbet was the leading artist and was behind it all,  he was out to change people’s perspective, he shocked the state-sponsored art academy because everything that he did went against there standard. Other famous realist where Jean-Francois Millet, Honore Daumier, Edouard Manet and Adolf von Menzel.

Meissonier,E, 1848. The Barricade

Bibliography 

Nineteenth-Century French Realism | Thematic Essay | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 2013. Nineteenth-Century French Realism | Thematic Essay | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/rlsm/hd_rlsm.htm. [Accessed 05 March 2013].

History10C - Realism. 2013. History10C - Realism. [ONLINE] Available at: http://history10c.wikispaces.com/Realism. [Accessed 05 March 2013].

Realism (arts) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 2013. Realism (arts) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. [ONLINE] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Realism_(arts). [Accessed 05 March 2013].