Realism

(1850 - 1880) Realism is defined by the accurate, unembellished, and detailed depiction of nature or contemporary life. The movement prefers an observation of physical appearance rather than imagination or idealization. In this sense, Realism can be found in movements of many other centuries. The mid 19th century Realist movement chose to paint common, ordinary, sometimes ugly images rather than the stiff, conventional pictures favored by upper-class society. It was an opposition to the traditional approach to Neoclassicism and the drama of Romanticism. Furthermore, advocates of the style were no longer preoccupied with the expectations of the Salons, Academies, or other art institutions. Realists strived to paint scenes as they actually appeared. Often the artists depicted ugly and common subjects that normally alluded to a social, political, or moral message. Never really becoming a solid, unified movement, the closest Realist group was the Barbizon School of landscape painting, headed by Corot and Millet in France. American realists included Thomas Eakins and Henry Ossawa Tanner, who both studied in France. Realism was influential in the development of many later movements including The Ash Can School, the American Scene Painters, and much later Contemporary Realis.