Realism in art and literature is the depiction of subjects as they appear, without embellishment or interpretation. Winged Victory of Samothrace exihibited in the Louvre. ... Literature is literally acquaintance with letters as in the first sense given in the Oxford English Dictionary (from the Latin littera meaning an individual written character (letter)). The term has generally come to identify a collection of texts, which in Western culture are mainly prose, both fiction and non-fiction... Representation is a topic in visual arts, music and literature, it concerns the depiction and ethical and political concerns of image construction and narrativity. ...

It was also a mid-19th century cultural movement with its roots in France.

Cultural movement

In the visual arts and literature, Realism started as a cultural movement in France as a reaction to the idealism of Romanticism in the middle of the 19th century in a cultural climate of demands for social and politcal reform and democracy. Realism dominated the arts in France, England and the United States from around 1840 to 1880. The visual arts are a class of artforms, including painting, sculpture, photography, and others, that focus on the creation of artworks which are primarily visual in nature. ... Literature is literally acquaintance with letters as in the first sense given in the Oxford English Dictionary (from the Latin littera meaning an individual written character (letter)). The term has generally come to identify a collection of texts, which in Western culture are mainly prose, both fiction and non-fiction... Idealism is an approach to philosophical enquiry. ... This article is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Painting

Gustave Courbet. Burial at Ornans. 1849-1850. Musee d'Orsay, Paris.

The realists sought to render everyday characters, situations, dilemmas, and events; all in an "accurate" (or realistic) manner. Realism began as a reaction to romanticism, which treated subjects idealistically. Realists tended to discard theatrical drama and classical forms of art to depict commonplace or 'realistic' themes. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1157x540, 128 KB)Burial at Ornans by Gustave Courbet (1849-1850) Oil on canvas 10 3 1/2 x 21 9 (314 x 663 cm) Musee dOrsay, Paris. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1157x540, 128 KB)Burial at Ornans by Gustave Courbet (1849-1850) Oil on canvas 10 3 1/2 x 21 9 (314 x 663 cm) Musee dOrsay, Paris. ... Gustave Courbet (portrait by Nadar) Jean Désiré Gustave Courbet (June 10, 1819 – December 31, 1877) was a French painter. ... Musée dOrsay Exterior view in the afternoon Musée dOrsay Inside the main hall The Musée dOrsay is a museum in Paris, situated on the left bank of the River Seine. ... ... Verisimilitude, in literature, is how fully the characters and actions in a work of fiction conform to our sense of reality. ... This article is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... Idealism is an approach to philosophical enquiry. ... Classicism door in Olomouc, The Czech Republic. ...

The main groups associated with realism are the Realists who depended on scientific facts, and with nature and life around them rather than creating idealistic works of art (romanticism), a group of French landscape artists who emphasized art constructed from nature known as the Barbizon School, and the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood which praised art before Raphael, who lived in a time where art was quite idealized. The Gleaners. ... Persephone, by Dante Gabriel Rossetti. ...

Trompe l'oeil, a technique which creates the illustion that the objects depicted actually exist, is an extreme example of artistic realism. Trompe-lœil mural on building in Narbonne, France. ...

Jean-François Millet. The Gleaners. 1857. Musée d'Orsay, Paris.

Among the important French realists are: Download high resolution version (800x640, 138 KB)The Gleaners. ... Download high resolution version (800x640, 138 KB)The Gleaners. ... The Sower. ... Musée dOrsay Exterior view in the afternoon Musée dOrsay Inside the main hall The Musée dOrsay is a museum in Paris, situated on the left bank of the River Seine. ...

• Camille Corot
• Gustave Courbet
• Honoré Daumier
• Edgar Degas (later assocated with Impressionism)
• Édouard Manet (later associated with Impressionism)
• Jean-François Millet

Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot (portrait by Nadar) Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot (July 26, 1796 – February 22, 1875) was a French landscape painter. ... Gustave Courbet (portrait by Nadar) Jean Désiré Gustave Courbet (June 10, 1819 – December 31, 1877) was a French painter. ... Honoré Daumier (portrait by Nadar) Honoré Daumier (1808 – 1879) was a French caricaturist and painter. ... Edgar Degas Edgar Degas (July 19, 1834 – September 27, 1917) was a French painter and sculptor. ... Impressionism was a 19th century art movement that began as a loose association of Paris-based artists who began publicly exhibiting their art in the 1860s. ... Édouard Manet (portrait by Nadar) Édouard Manet (January 23, 1832 – April 30, 1883) was a French painter. ... Impressionism was a 19th century art movement that began as a loose association of Paris-based artists who began publicly exhibiting their art in the 1860s. ... The Sower. ...

Literature and theater

French novelist Émile Zola and Gustave Flaubert were two leading Realism writers. Émile Zola Émile Zola (April 2, 1840 – September 29, 1902) was an influential French novelist, the most important example of the literary school of naturalism, and a major figure in the political liberalization of France. ... Gustave Flaubert Gustave Flaubert (December 12, 1821 – May 8, 1880) was a French novelist who is counted among the greatest Western novelists. ...

Main article: Naturalism (literature).

For other meanings see Naturalism. ...

See also

Realistic art

• Fantastic realism
• Heroic realism
• Magic realism
• Naturalism (art)
• New Realism
• Photorealism
• Romantic realism
• Social realism

Realism cultural movement The Vienna School of Fantastic Realism was a group of artists formed in Austria in 1946. ... Heroic realism is an artistic style which includes both the Socialist realism style of propaganda art associated with Communist regimes, and Nazi heroic realism, the very similar art style associated with Fascism. ... Magic realism (or magical realism) is a literary genre in which magical elements appear in an otherwise realistic setting. ... Naturalism in art refers to the depiction of realistic objects in a natural setting. ... New Realism (in French: Nouveau Réalipeinasisma) refers to an artistic movement founded in 1960 by Pierre Restany and Yves Klein. ... Photorealism is the quality of resembling a photograph, generally in a hyperrealistic sense. ... The painting by Nick Gaetano used as the cover of a later edition of Ayn Rands novel The Fountainhead Romantic Realism is an aesthetic term that usually refers to art that deals with the themes of volition and value while also acknowledging objective reality and the importance of technique. ... Social Realism is a term used to describe visual and other realistic arts depicting working class activities as heroic, especially common in communist countries. ...

• Realism

Visual art

• Barbizon school
• Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood

Literature and theatre

• Naturalism (literature)
• Realism in 19th century French literature
• Kitchen sink drama
• Nineteenth century theatre

Realism is commonly defined as a concern for fact or reality and rejection of the impractical and visionary. ... The Gleaners. ... Persephone, by Dante Gabriel Rossetti. ... For other meanings see Naturalism. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Kitchen sink drama was a recognisable British cultural movement in the late 1950s and early 1960s. ... The Era of Realism Realism began around 1850 as the Romanticism was ending around 1870, and gave way to the Isms of the 20th Century Theater. ...

References

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