Realism

1850 - 1860

Gustave Courbet

Courbet was a farmer's son from Ornans in south-eastern France near the Swiss border

He was a committed socialist He chose subjects to reflect this He avoided subjects previously thought suitable for fine art He had a reputation of being loud and arrogant but was in fact an

intelligent and sensitive man Courbet and other painters met in a Paris Café which they renamed

the ‘Pavillion of Realism’

‘Truth not Prettiness’

Realist artists favoured ordinary scenes of modern life over historical or religious subjects

The wanted ‘Truth not Prettiness” and to shock society with realistic images of rural society working hard

They painted farmers, gravediggers, woodsmen, poachers in paintings that glorified the hard work.

They disliked smooth and slick or "false surface" and preferred rough, unfinished textures in their paintings

Gustave Courbet 1819-77

(image wikipedia)

• All artists had to exhibit at the Paris Salon

• In the beginning Courbet found it hard to have his work accepted

• One painting was however purchased by the government and won a gold medal

• This meant he was exempt from the judging process and from now on he had the freedom to paint as he pleased

• He presented ‘Realist’ scenes from his beloved home town of Ornans at the Salon

A Burial at Ornans 1849-50 Gustave Courbet Musee d'Orsay, Paris

• The huge painting created a storm of outrage at the 1850 Salon • The subject proclaimed the importance and dignity of an ordinary life and death • It shocked 19th century French society • The critics said it was "too big and the figures were too ugly".

Bonjour Monsieur Courbet, 1854

Gustave CourbetMusée Fabre, Montpellier, France

• He represented himself as a simple artist walking across the country side to meet his patron

• This was offensive to people who expected a well dressed image of a ‘respectable’ artist standing in a ‘graceful’ pose

• He holds his head high to greet his patron as an equal

• The servant stands behind the ‘fine gentleman’ with head bowed

The Diligence in the Snow 1860

Gustave Courbet Hugh Lane Gallery Dublin

Sir Hugh Lane Bequest, 1917, on loan from the National Gallery London, since 1979.

• Horses and oxen struggle with a stagecoach stuck in the snow.

• Courbet is said to have seen an accident like this while on a hunting trip

Image the Hugh Lane Gallery www.hughlane.ie

Jean Francois Millet 1814–1875

Painted French rural life and human situations with insight and compassion.

Considered a socialist and the Salon of 1851 found his work ‘crude’ He came from a family of peasant farmers near in Normandy He wrote: “I have never seen anything but fields since I was born, so I try to say

as best I can what I saw and felt when I was at work” His artistic talent led him to study in Paris He hated the Paris Academic studio training system He moved his family to live at Barbizon outside Paris and from then on

painted peasant life and country scenes He painted the human side of life with religious overtones

The SowerJean Francois Millet Museum of Fine Arts Boston

Image from wikipedia

This first great peasant picture painting showing an energetic farmer striding across a ploughed field, scattering seeds was called "confrontational" and "savage”

The Gleaners Jean Francois Millet Musée D’Orsay Paris

• Millet’s best known works are set in the great spreading harvest fields near Barbizon

• Three women bend forward to glean or pick up the leftovers from the harvest.

• This was regarded as one of the lowest jobs in society

• Millet gives them pride of place them in the centre the picture

• The golden evening sunlight falls on their shoulders

The Angelus Jean Francois Millet Musée D’Orsay Paris

• A dignified, hard working couple stop to pray at the end of a working day • The man holds his cap reverently and the woman clasps her hands. • The evening sky is flushed pink over the expanse of the fields and the church

steeple is visible in the distance

Acknowledgements

Art Associates Maria Moore

Margaret O’Shea

Local Facilitator TeamAine Andrews

Joe CaslinJane Campbell

Siobhan CampbellNiamh O’Donoghue

Niamh O’NeillKeith O’Rahilly

Sheena McKeonTony MorrisseyMonica White

Many thanks to the following for their invaluable contribution to the European Art History and Appreciation series of workshops and resource materials.

PDST Professional Development Service for Teachers

PDST Professional Development Service for Teachers

The PDST is funded by the Department of Education and

Skills under the National Development Plan 2007 -

2013

Cultural & Environmental Education

Professional Development Service for Teachers (PDST)Dublin West Education Centre,

Old Blessington Road,Tallaght,Dublin 24

National Co-ordinatorConor Harrison

Mobile: 087 240 5710E-mail: conorharrison@pdst.ie

AdministratorAngie Grogan

Tel: 014528018 Fax: 014528010E-mail: angiegrogan@pdst.ie.