Overview of the Realism Art Movement

Study Notes

Realism was an art movement reacting against the emotional and exaggerated themes of Romanticism.
Artists and writers focused on depicting the reality of everyday life.
The Realism movement lasted roughly forty years, from 1840 to 1880.
It followed the Romanticism movement and preceded Modern Art.

The Gleaners (Jean-François Millet): A painting showcasing peasant women collecting leftover wheat. It depicted the harsh realities of poverty and was not well-received by the French upper class when first exhibited in 1857.
Young Women from the Village (Gustave Courbet): A painting that contrasted with Romantic ideals. Courbet showcased the unidealized reality of the people and the landscape. The figures were dressed in practical clothing, and the environment was not romanticized, criticized for its "reality."
The Fox Hunt (Winslow Homer): Depicts a hungry fox in pursuit of food, along with ravens similarly driven by hunger. It highlights the harsh realities of winter for animals.

Gustave Courbet: A leading French Realist artist, known for using art as social commentary.
Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot: A French landscape painter who transitioned from Romanticism to Realism.
Honoré Daumier: A French painter renowned for his caricatures of famous people.
Thomas Eakins: An American Realist painter, known for portraits and landscapes, including The Gross Clinic.
Winslow Homer: An American artist famous for his ocean and other landscape paintings.
Édouard Manet: A key figure in the transition from Realism to Impressionism.
Jean-François Millet: A French Realist painter known for his farm peasant subjects.

The Realism movement began in France following the 1848 revolution.
Unlike other art movements, Realism had less sculpture and architecture.
Towards the end of the movement, a group of English artists, poets, and critics, called Pre-Raphaelites, emerged. They believed High Renaissance art was superior.
The invention of photography influenced the rise of Realism.