Realism

Realism began in the mid 19th century when the general people were starting to move to cities. Most of these people became factory workers because of the abundance of factory jobs in the city. They were mostly poor and lived in the slum areas. The other forms of art seemed out of place, so, artists wanting to please their customers, began painting everyday scenes and events exactly as they appeared. There was no idealism here, there was a new form of art, Realism. The famous artist of Realism was Edouard Manet. He believed how he painted was more vital than what he painted. This lead him to re-create scenes that he saw in his everyday life. He created amazing textures, used line often, and put various colors in what each work called for,yet he was most known for using pattern and shape. The following picture is called Portrait of Stephane Mallarm. I enjoy the choppy brush strokes that let you see each one individually, yet as a whole, create a man.

Another artists of this time was actually the first woman artist to be recognized. Her name was Rosa Bonheur, and until her, woman were not thought of artists as highly as men were. She makes her work symmetrical, yet real at the same time. She highlights the main subjects of the painting, like in this work called Couching Lion. I love the true form of the lion and its beautiful face. The fur looks pet-able, the grass looks pick-able, the mountains look close as the others look very far away by using different tints. I love realism and think it is difficult to capture the true form of anything along with its soul, yet Rosa does in this painting quite well.