@May 1, 2018

Courbet was an extremely important artist for the realism movement, I even have this manifesto up on my wall. I feel that his oil painting, The Bathers, truly represents the definition. It depicts two women amidst thick green foliage. The woman standing on the left has her back turned from the viewer, holding her hand up and attempting to cover her nude body with a cloth. Her head is facing downwards as she walks away, deeper into the forest trail. Her body is painted realistically; there are no added or eliminated elements to her figure. Showing things the way they really are, even with any “imperfections,” is one of the biggest parts of Realism. The woman sitting on the left is fully clothed, missing only a sock. She is looking at the other figure with rosy cheeks, but with her hands turned away as if she is quickly turning around. Although Gustav believed art should be the true representation of objects, he also preached the importance of individuality of artists. Even if two artists are both creating real representations, their perspective and interests play a factor in the subject matter. “I, who believe that every artist should be his own teacher, cannot dream of setting myself up as a professor,” Gustav Courbet.

The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood also believe in the representation of real objects, although they have an emphasis on medieval culture. This difference makes them clash with Realism as depicted by Courbet. A great example of Pre-Raphaelite’s take on Realism is the piece Ophelia, by John Everett Millais. It is based off Shakespeare’s writings, a scene in which “Ophelia, driven mad by Hamlet’s murder of her father, drowns herself” (smarthistory.org). The painting depicts a woman laying in the water surrounded by nature, flowers trailing from her hands. Although the style itself is primarily realistic, the scene that is captured is not. Although dead, her face is rosy and looks perfect in traditional beauty standards. The colors are extraordinarily vivid. Everything in the scene is set perfectly in the right place. In contrast, Courbet attempts to make the scene as realistic as possible, even if that means including unflattering details. Pre-Raphaelite paintings include things that are do not perfectly reflect the real world and are mainly based upon another time.

Neoclassicism is inspired by classical culture and designed to be symmetric and simplistic. It was a rejection of Rococo, which was extremely ornamented. Romanticism rejected Neoclassicism, making emotions and tone the most important aspect. Realism rejected Romanticism and strives to create real life simply as it is. I think that Pre-Raphaelite work falls a bit into Neoclassicism’s ideals, since it focuses so much on classics that predate it. I find it quite interesting that all these beautiful movements came from rejecting one another.