Realism was an artistic and literary philosophy that emerged in France in the 19th century, championing engagement with more realistic subject matter. It should not be confused with naturalism – the pursuit of a more lifelike representation of a subject – although there is an overlap between the two. Realist artists attempted to capture scenes of ‘real life’ – for instance, urban street-life, the conditions of the working and rural classes, as well as more honest representations of nudity far removed from the idealized bodies long preferred in high art. Realism may be regarded as favouring subject matter that more truthfully reflected everyday, ordinary modern life in the post-industrial age.
Realism’s chief exponents in the visual arts were Gustave Courbet (1819–77), Honoré Daumier (1808–79) and Jean-François Millet (1814–75). As Courbet once noted: ‘Painting is an essentially concrete art and can only consist of the representation of real and existing things.’ The influence of the Realists extended to artists in other styles, notably the Impressionist Edgar Degas. However, there was also an international aspect to the movement, notably in Germany, Russia and the USA, where its leading figures were Adolph von Menzel, Ilya Repin and Thomas Eakins, respectively.
Realism in literature
In terms of literature, the Frenchman Honoré de Balzac is regularly cited as the first great realist writer, with George Eliot among the pioneers in the English language. Realism would also give rise to a number of sub-movements. For instance, the social realism of the 1920s and 30s aimed to reflect the realities of social hardship, reaching its zenith in Depression-era New York. Alternatively, magical realism combines elements of realism and fantasy, finding its ultimate expression as a literary mode in the works of Gabriel García Márquez and Salman Rushdie. Since the 1960s, meanwhile, photorealism has seen artists producing handcrafted works that are virtually indistinguishable from photographs.
Realism has had a mixed critical reception over the years. Edvard Munch took an overtly hostile position, criticizing those ‘holier-than-thou honourable realists who walk around in the belief that they have accomplished something, simply because they tell you for the hundredth time that a field is green and a red-painted house is painted red’.
While naturalism may be regarded as a conservative style, realism was revolutionary in its own way, unshackling art from traditional notions of what constitutes acceptable subject matter for serious art.