Realism

21/02/2014

The word Realism was used as a aesthetic creed by Gustav Curbet in 1855

Realism period took place in the 19th Century between 1840 and 1880, in France. It continued to be spreed throughout Europe and to America. the realism consist a typical style in out that happened every day life. this period lay in a discussion of a group of artists, writers and intellectuals in a Parisian Bar.

In the Realism period the artists of that time had an artistic trend to paint on their canvas such as; politics and social issues. An example of this trend is the painting of Courbet's The Burial at Ornans, 1849. This is a social issue that happens every day life that shows the sense of death and sadness by using the chiaroscuro technique in the background.

Curbet's, The Burial at Ornans, oil on canvas, Louvere Paris, 1849

Another painting with a political trend is the work of Jean-Louis-Ernest Meissonier, The Barricade in Rue Mortellerie, Paris, June 1848, 1850-1. This painting is showing the sense of tragedy and death. The inspiration after this painting is the sense observed  after the Barricade was taken down during the workers riots in June 1848.

Jean-Louis-Ernest Meissonier, The Barricade
in Rue Mortellerie, oil on canvas, 1848 

Reference....
- Ian Crofton 1990, The Guinness Encyclopedia, Gunness Publishing Ltd,1990, The Visual Arts, Realism.