The -Isms Continue:
Realism and Impressionism
Chapter 20 Day 2 of 3
Rebekah Scoggins
Art Appreciation
March 7, 2013
Realism
A style of art and literature that depicts ordinary
existence without idealism, exoticism, or
nostalgia
 Dissatisfied with the Neoclassicist’ and
Romantics’ attachment to mythical, exotic,
extraordinary, and historical subjects.
 Believed that art should deal with human
experience and observation.
 Saw dignity of ordinary things and common life.
 Often highlighted the underrepresented, the
lower classes; or scenes people were sometimes
uncomfortable viewing.
Gustave Courbet. The Stone Breakers. 1849 (destroyed in 1945). Realism.
Portrait of Rosa Bonheur, 1856.
Rosa Bonheur. The Horse Fair. 1853–1855. Realism.
Thomas Eakins. The Gross Clinic.
1875. Realism.
Henry Ossawa Tanner. The Banjo
Lesson. 1893. Realism.
Realism moves towards
Impressionism
Édouard Manet. Luncheon on the Grass (Le Déjeuner Sur l'Herbe). 1863. Realism.
Édouard Manet. Olympia. 1863. Realism.
Impressionism
• Opposed academic doctrines and Romantic ideals and
instead turned to portrayals of contemporary society.
• Focused on two main themes: nature and contemporary
city life.
• Considered the art of industrialized, urban Paris.
• Were interested in singular moments, impressions of those
small amounts of time.
• A nebulous group whose work varied artist to artist and
were grouped together because they exhibited together in
the 1870s & 80s.
• Affirmed modern life
• Saw the beauty of the world as a gift and the forces of
nature as aids to human progress.
Claude Monet. Impression: Sunrise. 1872. Impressionism.
Claude Monet. Impression: Sunrise
(Detail). 1872. Impressionism.
Claude Monet. Arrival of the Normandy Train, Gare St. Lazare. 1877. Impressionism.
Claude Monet. Variations of St. Lazare
Train Station. 1877. Impressionism.
Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Le Moulin de la Galette. 1876. Impressionism.
Edgar Degas. The Ballet Rehearsal. 1874. Impressionism.
Kitagawa Utamaro. Reflected Beauty, Seven
Beauties Applying Make-Up: Okita. c. 1790.
Woodblock Print. Ink on Paper.
Edgar Degas. The Ballet Rehearsal
(Detail). 1874. Impressionism.
Mary Cassatt. The Boating Party. 1893–1894. Impressionism.
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. At The Moulin Rouge. 1892-95. Impressionism.