Realism and Victorian Era Art

Realism in Art

Definition: An art style representing everyday scenes and events as they genuinely appeared.
Emergence: Realism emerged as the third significant art style of the early 19th century.
Rejection of Previous Styles: Artists of this movement rejected Neoclassicism, Romanticism, and Rococo.
Focus: Emphasized depicting the common, everyday world, which caused anger among critics and their rejection by academic institutions.

Rosa Bonheur: Known for animal and rural scenes.
Jean Francois Millet: Famous for genre scenes of peasants at work.
Honoré Daumier: Social caricaturist famous for depicting daily life and political themes.
Gustave Courbet: Considered the most famous Realist painter, known for his groundbreaking works.
Thomas Eakins: Focused on real human experiences, particularly in medicine and surgery.
Winslow Homer: Renowned for his depictions of American life, particularly related to the sea.
John Everett Millais: Influenced by earlier masters and noted for his oil paintings.
Steichen & Daguerre: Important contributors to photography within the realm of Realism.
Eadward Muybridge: Known for capturing motion through photography.

Karl Marx (1818-1883): Advocated for socialism in the "Communist Manifesto," arguing the working class should overthrow capitalist societies; believed scientific and rational laws should govern nature and humanity.
Adam Smith: Advocated for the "laissez-faire" philosophy, promoting a market economy based on entrepreneurship, as outlined in "The Wealth of Nations."
Industrial Revolution: Expansion characterized by innovations like Jethro Tull's seed drill, James Watt's steam engine, and Robert Fulton's steamship, which led to poor working conditions, child labor, and a new labor economy despite the excitement for employment opportunities.
Technological Advancements:
- Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone.
- Guglielmo Marconi developed the radio.
- The Wright brothers pioneered the airplane.
- Louis Pasteur conducted pasteurization;
- Charles Darwin posited theories on evolution.
- Introduced the notion of Social Darwinism related to the colonization of different cultures.
Civil War and Slavery: Events such as the Emancipation Proclamation (1863) by Abraham Lincoln highlighted social class struggles depicted in works like Charles Dickens’ "A Christmas Carol."

Death was more present in Victorian society compared to modern times, characterized by high infant mortality rates and poor hospital care, which often made illness fatal.
Family portraits often included deceased children, marking an era where saying goodbye was uncommon.

Gothic Revival: The architectural style characterized by a return to romantic medieval design, resembling gingerbread houses, named in honor of Queen Victoria.
New Technologies: Use of steel influenced design; for instance, Joseph Paxton designed the Crystal Palace for the Great Exhibition of 1851 in London.

Major Works:
- "Stone Breakers" (1849): Illustrates the harsh realities of manual labor with a focus on realism, depicting a young boy and an older man engaged in back-breaking work. This was revolutionary as it eschewed heroic depictions.
- "Burial at Ornans" (1849-1850): Representing the funeral of Courbet's grandfather, it challenged traditional notions by monumentalizing a common event, depicted without sentimentality and with a focus on realism over romantic ideals.
- Quote: "The art of painting should consist only in the representation of objects which the artist can see or touch."

Major Works:
- "The Gleaners" (1857): Depicts peasant women collecting leftover grain, emphasizing their dignity and labor.
Artistic Approach: Aimed to humanize and dignify laborers.

Major Works:
- "Gross Clinic" (1875): Depicts Dr. Samuel Gross performing surgery, showcasing realism with a focus on anatomical accuracy and the educational aspect of medicine.
- Known for his insistence on drawing from live models, including nude figures at the Pennsylvania Academy, which caused controversy.

Major Works:
- "Ophelia" (1852): Inspired by Shakespeare's work, involving a friend modeling in water for realism.

Technological Innovations: Post-1839, photography emerged, impacting Realist and Impressionist movements. The camera's development led many artists to see painting as less relevant.
Notable Photographers: Eadweard Muybridge documented motion, advancing the understanding of sequential movement.
Richard Lloyd's Work: Showed the potential of photography as an art form.

Major Works:
- "Third Class Carriage" (1862): Illustrated the lives of ordinary people in a social and political context.
- Memorable lithographs captured moments of political commentary, exemplifying social caricature.
Lithographs: Daumier's use of the lithographic medium allowed for political satire and social commentary, especially regarding urban experiences in Paris.

Key Work:
- "The Horse in Motion" (1878): Utilized sequential photographs to analyze motion, confirming that all four hooves of a galloping horse leave the ground. This initiated modern scientific photography and the eventual development of moving pictures.

Daguerreotype: Developed by Louis-Jacques Mandé Daguerre; used light-sensitive metal plates to create images, inspired by painted still lifes.

Major Works:
- Known for animal paintings, Bonheur challenged gender roles by creating works typically dominated by male artists and often dressed in masculine attire to facilitate her work in fields and markets.

Major Works:
- "Luncheon on the Grass" (1862-1863): Sparked controversy due to its untraditional subject matter of a nude woman picnicking with clothed men.
- "Olympia" (1863): Another controversial work, depicting a nude woman who meets the gaze of the viewer with an air of confrontational realism, challenging societal norms and artistic conventions of the time.

These sections detail how different artists approached Realism and each other's works; comparisons might examine stylistic choices, themes, and societal impacts.