The Need for Realism in Art
The need to present a "reality" that is clear and realistic led to the first revolution in modern art. For many years, the artist used the form of art known as romantic, which presented more imaginative ideas than the real ones. After realizing this downside of the structure of romantic art, the artist came up with a new form of art referred to as realism. Realism in arts was first evident in France in the 1840s, and it later progressed to other states. The style of art swapped the idealistic imaginings brought about by the romantic artist with images of real-life events. The artists were provoked to come up with these form of art because of the social changes as well as the industrial revolution in those years. In this work, we will explore various aspects of this form of art (realism) as well as its manifestation in literature and visual arts.
Features of Realism
Realism is the opposite of romantic with its various features showing that it is against the perceptions that were held by the artists who upheld the romantic. One of the aspects of realism that was against the idealistic beliefs is the exposure to real life. Romantic artists had a positive perception of the society, which led them to come up with imaginative works, which were full of fantasy. On the other hand, realism artists tried to present the life of the ordinary people accurately. It was against the exotic and hyperbolic emotionalism in the romantic art (Honour 14). The artists tried to show in their works the run-down social conditions of the ordinary people in those eras of the industrial revolution. The artists had hopes that their presentation of the actual living conditions of the ordinary people in the age of industrial revolution would bring about economic as well as social reforms.
Another aspect of realism that was against the beliefs of romantics is the emphasis on scientific materialism. The artists started investigating the society and the world at large using scientific ideas. The artists challenged the traditionally held beliefs about various things such as the nature of human beings as well as their origin. They also viewed the economic relationships among human beings differently from the traditional artist; they now examined it using the materialistic view. In their works, they tried to depict the underlying realities in the industrial world that triggered oppression among the ordinary people.
Another difference between realism and romantic is evident in its photography. Different from romantic, the realistic artist tried to capture the daily life in their works (Gale). The romantic artist encompassed magnificent scenery in their works not to present the real-life setting but to primarily express emotional intensity. The realism artists also developed works that were utterly objective as seen in Gustave Flaubert publication (Madame Bovary). The book expresses the real life objectively without moral synopsizing which was present in the artwork following romantic style such as (Pride and Prejudice) by Jane Austen. Besides that, realism portrayed all classes of people and all the situations in life not only the positive events (Gale).
Realism in the Visual Arts
Realism came up in the artwork in the 19th century, and it changed the earlier form of art which was more of imaginative than real. Realism changed the presentation of artwork from the imagination to the display of ordinary people in their real everyday life. It turned the presentation of the early years, which did not present the plight of people in real lives but only imaginative and heroic scenes. Realism is evident in various visual artworks as well as literature from the 19th century. The first exponents of realism in arts were Gustave Courbet, Honore Daumier, Jules Bastien Lepage, as well as Jean- Francois Millet. Courbet was the leader of the movement with the claims that he wanted to present ideas as well as translate the traditions in his appreciation. They detailed their works to show the presence of ordinary people and their contemporary living. For instance in the leading proponent, Courbet, work (Burial at Ornans as well as the stonebreakers). In his works, he depicts the lives of the ordinary people from his native land. For instance, in the stonebreaker painting instead of using the romantic style to show the harmony of the pastoralists with nature he uses the realistic form of art to explain their plight. The painting portrays a stony roadside and two men whose faces seem to conceal a lot pounding stones. The concealment of the faces in this picture is evidence of the dehumanizing nature of their everyday monotonous work. It was an allusion of the harsh conditions in France in the 1840s where failed harvest led people to the daily earnings labor of delivering raw materials for the industries, new roads, housing, as well as the railroads. Another early painting is Jean Francois Millet painting (The gleaners, 1857) which depicts individuals gathering grains in the fields near them. It was a reality that had not been presented by the romantic artists, and it was taken as a shock by the public of the time.
Realism in Literature
Realism is also evident in literature, for instance, in Charles Dickens' work (Hard times, 1954). In this work, he expresses the fading of hope of the industrial revolution, the industrial revolution was deemed to improve the lives of the citizens, but it does the opposite (Sayre 54). He reveals in his novel that the industrial revolution makes the lives of the middle people more miserable rather than making it better. They were creating wealth for the upper class at the expense of the ordinary people who were the majority. Most of realism literature works were reacting and criticizing the industries whose primary aim was getting high profits at whatever human costs were hence oppressing the employees who worked there. Another realism artist is Mark Twain who came up with a book known as the "Gilded Age" in 1873 together with Charles Dudley Warner. The book portrays the actual state of Washington, which was having fraudulent political leaders as well as greedy industrialists. At this time, there was also great industrial activity in America, which was spearheaded by monopolistic energetic entrepreneurs whose primary goal was making high profits. Another Mark Twain work is Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, 1876 that brings up the reality of human relations as well as moral reflections. Realism is evident in this novel because he uses a realistic setting. The setting includes places such as Missouri as well as along the banks of the Mississippi River. It also uses real-life characters such as the hero in the story who is depicted to have encountered real-life challenges such as peer pressure, being a rebel as well as developing a moral direction. The problems described in the book are the challenges that teenagers encounter in their daily struggle hence it is realistic. He also portrays other characters who are present in daily living such as ignorant characters as well as flawed characters who try to do what they believe in but they slip up.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I rank high the realism artists in bringing reality into artwork with their main aim being not selecting the facts due to aesthetic value or the ethical considerations but using them all to show reality. They set down their objectives and authentically represent the real life of individuals especially the lower-class individuals. It is evident in various paintings such as Courbet painting, The Stonebreakers, as well as various literary works. The literary works include Charles Dickens (Hard times), Mark Twain, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, among others. The artistic realism works mostly focus on the middle-class individuals who are going through various plights due to the industrial revolution.
Works Cited
Gale, Cengage Learning. A Study Guide for" Realism". Gale: Cengage Learning, 2016.
Honour, Hugh. Romanticism. Routledge, 2018.
Sayre, Henry M. . "Humanities: Culture, Continuity and Change." The. Vol. 2. Pearson Higher Ed ( 2014).
