Realism
The Realism art movement generated from 19th century France after the French Revolution. The main aspect of this movement was that it didn't depict any exaggerated drama or propaganda that was very common during the 18th century, but instead it depicted scenes of ordinary common people during their everyday activity such as working or even nature. Colours in Realism art is not exaggerated as well, instead, artists use natural colour to give a more realistic look. It is also very common that artists balanced out the paintings using warm and cold colours and also balancing out the scenery with the people in the area to help the viewer to focus on specific areas. Realism later helped the development of photography in the later future as well. Nowadays, Realism is still being practiced by many artists but the subject of the paintings has changed more to nature scenery than to people working.
The End of the Working Day 1886-87
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This painting by Jules Breton depicts a beautiful scene of women working on the field. At first glance, one would automatically look at the sun because of its position and its intense orange colour. The colour of the women’s clothing, especially the one with the shovel, balances out the intense warm colour of the sun. Breton has also positioned the women at the center of the scene to give more focus on them. I also believe that this helps to balance the field background with the people as well. Breton has also balanced out the positive and negative space of the sky and the field. I find that the shade contrasts and enhances the colour of the scene as well. It is also quite interesting to note that the struggle of what the women are experiencing with the beautiful scenery creates a quite ironic scene.
She’s Mine
This contemporary painting by Cathy McCelland shows a very calm and beautiful landscape. The balance of colour of yellows, greens and blues give out beautiful effect. I also find that the tree and the birds balance out the negative space of the blue sky as well. The atmospheric perspective further enhances the realism of the paintings as well.
1.) Realism (art movement). Available from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Realism_(art_movement) [13 October 2014].
2.) Finocchio Ross. Nineteenth-Century French Realism. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Available From: http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/rlsm/hd_rlsm.htm, [13 October 2014]
