Realism

Realism was an artistic movement that emerged in France in the 1840s. Realists rejected Romanticism, which had dominated French literature and art since the early 19th century. The artist Gustave Courbet, the original proponent of Realism, sought to portray real and typical contemporary people and situations with truth and accuracy, not avoiding unpleasant or sordid aspects of life. Realism revolted against the exotic subject matter, exaggerated emotionalism, and the drama of the Romantic movement, often focusing on unidealized subjects and events that were previously rejected in artwork. Realist works depicted people of all social classes in situations that arise in ordinary life, and often reflected the changes brought by the Industrial and Commercial Revolutions.