Realism
Jacques-Louis David, “The Oath of the Horatii” 1784
Caspar David Friedrich, “Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog,” 1818
Jean-François Millet, “The Gleaners,” 1857
Gustave Courbet, “The Stonebreakers,” 1849
Realism
• resisting idealization• things as they really are, appear• depiction of subject matter truthfully • without anything artificial • avoiding anything implausible, like implausible
emotions, implausible setting or conditions• avoiding exotic, supernatural elements • focus on everyday life
From the Enlightenment to Romanticism to Realism
• Minute observation of material, physical world • Minute observation of social world, social
reality, and isolation in the social • Authentic depiction of inner world, emotional
life • All things given equal weight – the mundane
versus the sublime