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Bonjour, Monsieur Courbet, 1854. Realistic painting by Gustave Courbet.

Realism in the visual arts and literature is the depiction of subjects as they appear in everyday life, without embellishment or interpretation. The term also describes works of art which, in revealing a truth, may emphasize the ugly or sordid.

Realism often refers to the artistic movement, which began in France in the 1850s. The popularity of realism grew with the introduction of photography—a new visual source that created a desire for people to produce things that look “objectively real.” Realists positioned themselves against romanticism, a genre dominating French literature and artwork in the late 18th and early nineteenth century. Undistorted by personal bias, Realism believed in the ideology of objective reality and revolted against exaggerated emotionalism. Truth and accuracy became the goals of many Realists.

[edit] Visual arts

Main article: Realism (visual arts)

Realists render everyday characters, situations, dilemmas, and objects, all in a "true-to-life" manner. Realists tend to discard theatrical drama, lofty subjects and classical forms of art in favor of commonplace themes.

[edit] Theatre

Main article: Realism (theatre)

The achievement of realism in theatre was to direct attention to the physical and philosophic problems of ordinary existence, both socially and psychologically. In plays of this mode people emerge as victims of forces larger than themselves, as individuals confronted with a rapidly accelerating world.^[1] These pioneering playwrights were unafraid to present their characters as ordinary, impotent, and unable to arrive at answers to their predicaments. This type of art represents what we see with our human eyes.

[edit] Cinema

Italian neorealism was a cinematic movement incorporating elements of realism that developed in post-WWII Italy. Notable Neorealists included Vittorio De Sica, Luchino Visconti, and Roberto Rossellini.

[edit] Gallery

Gustave Courbet, Stone-Breakers, 1849.	Wilhelm Oswald Gustav Achenbach, Abendstimmung in der Campagna, 1850.	John Singer Sargent, Madame X (Madame Pierre Gautreau), 1884.	Eilif Peterssen, The salmon fisher, 1889.
Ilya Repin, They did not Expect Him, 1884-1888.	Otakar Švec, Josif Stalin's memorial in Prague, 1955-1962.

By Ciera

[edit] See also

Literary realism
Simulated reality
Chanson réaliste (realist song), a style of music performed in France primarily from the 1880s until the end of World War II
Aspectism

[edit] References

^ Simard, Rodney. Postmodern Drama: Contemporary Playwrights in America and Britain. New York: UP of America, 1984.

West, Shearer (1996). The Bullfinch Guide to Art. UK: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. ISBN 0-8212-2137-X.

[edit] External links

Article on American literary realism at the Literary Movements site

[0] Simard, Rodney. Postmodern Drama: Contemporary Playwrights in America and Britain. New York: UP of America, 1984.

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