REALISM

Realism is an art movement that originated in France in the early 1850's. It emerged in the aftermath of the French Revolution of 1848 and the French fought for democratic reform and did this by painting modern subjects from the everyday lives of working class people. It is described as an artistic style that aims to imitate nature by means of a paintbrush. The creators of this movements considered themselves people who went against Romanticism  a dominating French artwork and literature in the early 19th century. Realism is the frame of mind of objective reality which was against emotionalism of the Romanticism. Truth and accuracy where then main goals of the Realists. Realism focused more on the accurate and truthful nature of the things which nature and life offer to artists. A lot of oil paintings and canvas art that emerged during this time showed people who were at work, ordinary lives, appearances  problems, customs, lover classed people, the ordinary and the humble. Artists' aimed to create works that ignored elements of contemporary life, mental attitudes and physical settings. The gaining popularity of realistic artworks also gave way to the popularity of photography; a new visual source that created a want within people to create representations that looked real.

Ploughing in Nivernals, 1850 - Rosa Bonheur.

Three Women in Church, 1882 - Wilhelm Leibl.

Female Nude with a Dog (Portrait of Leotine Renaude), 1861-62 - Gustave Courbet.

References:

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 15 May 2013].

The Realism Art Movement. 2013. The Realism Art Movement. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.artsmypassion.com/articles.asp?ID=306. [Accessed 15 May 2013].

PLOUGHING IN NIVERNAIS. 2013. PLOUGHING IN NIVERNAIS. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.ringlingdocents.org/pages/bonheur.htm. [Accessed 15 May 2013].

GHDI - Image. 2013. GHDI - Image. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.germanhistorydocs.ghi-dc.org/sub_image.cfm?image_id=1313. [Accessed 15 May 2013].

Female Nude with a Dog (Portrait of Leotine Renaude) 1861 62 - Gustave Courbet - www.gustavecourbet.org. 2013. Female Nude with a Dog (Portrait of Leotine Renaude) 1861 62 - Gustave Courbet - www.gustavecourbet.org. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.gustavecourbet.org/Female-Nude-with-a-Dog-(Portrait-of-Leotine-Renaude)-1861-62.html. [Accessed 15 May 2013].