Realism

• 1840s - 1880s
• Realists believe that only what they can see and experience is worthy subject matter
• Subjects had to be treated as natural and realistic as possible
• ==Main Criticism:== Did not understand the progressive realist philosophy that glorified the working class. They believed it lacked spirit and was therefore not art.
• ^^Subjects^^:   * Real and existing scenes from everyday life   * Represented truthfully (joyful scenes and harsh realities)   * Rejection of religion, mythology, idealism, and social criticism (one exception)
• ^^Artists^^:   * %%Courbet%%     * “I can’t paint angels, because I haven’t seen any”     * Received negatively by critics, remained undeterred     * The Stonebreakers, A Burial At Ornans     * Believes painting should only consist of objects that the painter can see and touch   * %%Rosa Bonheur%%     * Female painter that dressed as a man with short hair (avoid harassment)     * Worked in sculpture and painting     * Loved painting animals (positive painting & brought her fame)     * Used to dissect horses at slaughterhouses for anatomy     * The Horse Fair, Ploughing in the Nivernals   * %%Daumier%%     * Used the grid method to enlarge his sketches onto canvases       * As seen in The Third Class Carriage due to thin washes of muted color     * Depicts socio-economic changes     * Was also a well-known social caricaturist in the newspapers (criticizing King Louis Philip, judges, and lawyers)     * Was jailed for 6 months   * %%Millet%%     * Inspired by Courbet       * Initially received negatively by critics       * Later gained popularity       * Conservative style/technique       * Commonly painted sowing seed, harvestings, plowing, and gleaning       * The Gleaners depicts realism from its color, form, and simplicity (simple dignity) from its strong light and deep shadows   * %%Homer%%     * Known for painting like a picture     * Homer had to record the civil war by sketching for a magazine (a very dangerous job)       * More than 800 drawings     * His career began by making wood engravings in Harper's Weekly magazine     * At the time, watercolor was used as preliminary studies/sketches for oil paintings (Homer was very interested in this medium)

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