Senior Division
Bethany Sparkman & Emily Watson
The Transition to Realism
During the Progressive Era, artists began to focus more on the realistic aspects of life. This new form of art was accurately named Realism.
Realism in the unchanged depiction of nature and other aspects of life. It rejects inaccurate portrayals of the real world, and focuses instead on details and physical appearances.
While artists during an age of Romanticism-inspired art focused on exaggerated ideas of happiness and love and essentially ignored harsh realities of sickness and death, Realism artists decided to show life in all of its emotional reality.
Realism shares some ideas with naturalism, which is art inspired by the principles and methods of natural science, but they do have some differences. Realism shows life as it is, while shows what life could be like.
Realism in the unchanged depiction of nature and other aspects of life. It rejects inaccurate portrayals of the real world, and focuses instead on details and physical appearances.
While artists during an age of Romanticism-inspired art focused on exaggerated ideas of happiness and love and essentially ignored harsh realities of sickness and death, Realism artists decided to show life in all of its emotional reality.
Realism shares some ideas with naturalism, which is art inspired by the principles and methods of natural science, but they do have some differences. Realism shows life as it is, while shows what life could be like.
The Realism Art Movement
The Realism Art Movement started in France after the 1848 Revolution, and lasted until 1880. It began soon after Gustave Courbet had an independent exhibition in 1855 which shocked spectators who had only been exposed to Romanticism artwork.
Courbet displayed to the viewers of his work that realism art implied a social or moral lesson and showed the grim, unaltered depiction of the lives of commoners.
But not all realism art showed grim settings; they also displayed contemporary life that was sweet, sentimental, and spontaneous.
Courbet displayed to the viewers of his work that realism art implied a social or moral lesson and showed the grim, unaltered depiction of the lives of commoners.
But not all realism art showed grim settings; they also displayed contemporary life that was sweet, sentimental, and spontaneous.
