In the middle of the 19th century, the painter Courbet was not happy. At the time, art consisted of fine, impeccable images destined for the middle class. He was to revolutionise all that with his new stream of Realism.
He set out to portray reality without trying to make it more appealing and he began with his subjects: he did not try to make them more beautiful than they actually were!
1849-1850, oil on canvas, 10’4” x 21’11, Orsay Museum, Paris
It was ambitious. But, like Le Gray with the double negatives, Courbet took a new angle on a burial, with each subject posing in his studio. We are a long way off from a picture portraying reality here!
At the same time, other artists were looking in the same direction. Rosa Bonheur, for example, with her views on working in the fields.
1849, oil on canvas, 4’4” x 8’7”, Orsay Museum, Paris. Photo: Thesupermat, CC BY-SA 4.0
The painter Courbet, who painted characters without idealizing them, initiated the Realist movement.
