French realism

French realism. Style or pictorial movement that occurred in France in the mid- nineteenth century , whose main representative is Gustave Courbet . The painter himself was the one who coined the term when naming the pavilion he had built for a provocative 1855 exhibition , an alternative to the Paris Salon, under the title “Realism”.

Story

After the emotional explosion that Romanticism supposes , frequently aligned with those nostalgic for the Old Regime, artists and writers feel the shock of the revolutionary waves of 1830 and 1848 , the latter especially, due to the brutal repressions caused by the rulers (Luis Philip, the French emperor, annulled freedom of the press, of assembly, of expression and ordered indiscriminate massacres on the Parisian barricades).

At the same time as the turmoil, Compte’s philosophical theories of positivism were strongly introduced, while in economics the first savage liberalism in history was practiced, with dire consequences on the formation of the rural and urban proletariat.

The utopian socialism tries to compensate the situation and many of the realistic painters and writers are attracted to their ideology: Honorato de Balzac led the literary movement of realism stark.

French realism in painting

In painting , the most immediate precedent is the landscaping of the Barbizon School , in which Millet was included . He painted subjects of peasant work, although with more naturalism than social demand, despite which he had to move to Great Britain during the revolution of 1848 .

The most prominent in the combative painting of Realism was Courbet , followed in engraving by Daumier . Both are examples of struggle through the weapons of art; Very combative, they were imprisoned and released, starring in continuous scandals with the security forces and the authority of the State. Satire and journalistic criticism were closely linked to his works, which used to appear published in pamphlets, libels and underground newspapers. They were frequently accompanied by the scathing verb of Charles Baudelaire , a deep admirer of his painting.

Goya was a basic pillar in French Realism painting, as it had been, in another way, during Romanticism . The use that was made of his cartoon series during this period was extraordinary, it is only necessary to compare his engravings of Caprichos with those of Daumier’s criticism of manners.

Regarding realistic aesthetics, it is unnecessary to comment that it adds to detail and verisimilitude, and moves away from extravagant compositions. His oil paintings try to be clear and direct in the transmission of his message, for which they refer to a perfect capture of the psychology of his characters, as well as of the material qualities, recovering to a certain extent the pictorial lesson of realism offered by the Century of Spanish Gold .

Its development was largely parallel to that of photography , which had a decisive influence on realist painters. In the beginning, the photographic influence did not affect the painting technique so much (in the form of hidden brushstrokes and meticulous details). Rather than challenging the painter’s reproductive skills, the camera taught him to develop a modern gaze: new frames that would end the artificiality of academic compositions and their gestures.

 

by Abdullah Sam
I’m a teacher, researcher and writer. I write about study subjects to improve the learning of college and university students. I write top Quality study notes Mostly, Tech, Games, Education, And Solutions/Tips and Tricks. I am a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence or virtue.

Leave a Comment