Realism in painting. main idea

The term "realism" literally means "real", "material." In art, this direction objectively, truthfully reflected reality using specific means.

Historically, the concrete meaning of the concept "realism" means the flow of art and literature, which was formed in the eighteenth century. Its flowering and all-round development this direction has reached in the 19th century. In this period, critical realism in painting showed itself particularly clearly . The direction developed in the process of interaction or struggle with other currents of art of the twentieth century.

Realism in painting of the middle of the 19th century is characterized by a certain artistic system, which is theoretically justified as an aesthetically conscious method.

In France, this trend in art is connected, mainly, with the name of Courbet. The main requirement of the realism of that time was an appeal to modern reality in the diversity of its manifestation, relying on exact science. Representatives of the current used clear and clear techniques, replacing them with several "vague and unsteady" devices of romanticism. Of great importance in the further development of the direction was the revolution of 1848, which dispelled the illusions of representatives of the French intelligentsia.

In Russia, realism in the painting of the second half of the 19th century is inextricably linked with the development of democratic social ideas. This manifested itself in a close study of nature, deep sympathy for the fate and life of the people combined with the denunciation of the existing state system.

The last third of the nineteenth century was marked by the formation of a group of Wanderers. Among them are Kramskoy, Perov, Shishkin, Repin, Savrasov, Surikov and others. Thanks to them, realism in painting has strengthened its positions, manifested in the historical and everyday genre, landscape and portrait.

Traditions of the current especially established in Russia by the beginning of the twentieth century. This can be seen in the works of Korovin, Serov, Ivanov and others. After the revolution, it was on the basis of these traditions that socialist realism began to develop in painting. This creative device was an aesthetic reflection of the public conscious concept of man and the world. This concept, in turn, was conditioned by the era of struggle for the formation and strengthening of a new society.

Realism in painting became the main artistic direction in the USSR. The idea of this trend was the proclamation of a true representation of reality in its revolutionary development.

A more precise concept was formulated by Gorky in 1934 at a congress of writers. He said that realism in painting, literature, art as a whole is called to affirm existence as an action. Being a creative device, he performs the task of continuously developing the most valuable human abilities, thanks to which it becomes possible to win over natural forces for the sake of health and longevity of mankind and great happiness on the planet. So, realism in painting and other art directions has become a new type of creative consciousness.