Realism

Look for the weight of bodies, working gestures and the texture of familiar places. Realist painters gave ordinary people the attention once reserved for grand historical subjects. Courbet’s direct approach and Millet’s rural workers helped make contemporary life a serious artistic subject; Manet and the Impressionists carried that interest into different kinds of painting. The choice of subject mattered as much as a lifelike finish. A laborer or village gathering could claim the scale and seriousness of history painting. Compare how an artist directs attention through pose, setting and the surface of the paint, rather than treating Realism as another word for photographic accuracy. Connected places: Paris · Franche-Comté · Nuenen.

• Jesus Mocked by the SoldiersÉdouard Manet, 1865
• After the BullfightMary Cassatt, 1873
• A Peasant Woman Digging in Front of Her CottageVincent van Gogh, c. 1885
• Beggar with Oysters (Philosopher)Édouard Manet, 1865–67
• Beggar with a Duffle Coat (Philosopher)Édouard Manet, 1865–67
• Croquet SceneWinslow Homer, 1866
• Mount WashingtonWinslow Homer, 1869
• Peach BlossomsWinslow Homer, 1878
• The Herring NetWinslow Homer, 1885
• Coast of MaineWinslow Homer, 1893
• The Brook of Les Puits-NoirGustave Courbet, c. 1855
• Mère GrégoireGustave Courbet, 1855, reworked 1857–59
• The Rock of HautepierreGustave Courbet, c. 1869
• An Alpine SceneGustave Courbet, 1874
• Hesitation (Madame Monteaux?)Alfred Stevens, c. 1867
• Self-PortraitEastman Johnson, 1863
• Bird's Nest and FernsFidelia Bridges, 1863
• Toning the BellWalter Shirlaw, 1874
• Study for "William Rush Carving His Allegorical Figure of the Schuylkill River"Thomas Eakins, 1876–77
• Portrait of Mary Adeline WilliamsThomas Eakins, 1899
• For Sunday's DinnerWilliam Michael Harnett, 1888
• Just DessertWilliam Michael Harnett, 1891
• Mrs. George Swinton (Elizabeth Ebsworth)John Singer Sargent, 1897
• Venetian Glass WorkersJohn Singer Sargent, 1880–82
• Mrs. Charles Gifford Dyer (Mary Anthony)John Singer Sargent, 1880
• Madame Paul Escudier (Louise Lefevre)John Singer Sargent, 1882
• Mrs. Charles Deering (Marion Denison Whipple)John Singer Sargent, 1888
• At Mouquin'sWilliam James Glackens, 1905
• AliceWilliam Merritt Chase, 1892
• Wooded LandscapeGustave Courbet, 1860–65
• The Valley of Les Puits-NoirGustave Courbet, 1868
• Rêverie (Portrait of Gabrielle Borreau)Gustave Courbet, 1862
• Cliffs on the Sea Coast: Small Beach, Sunrise (Falaise au bord de la mer, vu Petite Plage, soleil levant)Gustave Courbet, 1865
• Pasture in NormandyConstant Troyon, 1852
• The Watermill with the Great Red RoofMeindert Hobbema, c. 1665
• View of Delphi with a ProcessionClaude Lorrain, 1673
• The Water FanWinslow Homer, 1898/99
• Riter FitzgeraldThomas Eakins, 1895
• Husking Bee, Island of NantucketEastman Johnson, 1876
• Lights of Other DaysJohn Frederick Peto, 1906
• SingersAugustin Théodule Ribot, 1863–1868
• The Horse FairRosa Bonheur, 1852–55
• Purple PlumsCarducius Plantagenet Ream, 1895
• The Irish QuestionDe Scott Evans, 1880s
• J. Frank Currier (1843–1909)Frank Duveneck, 1876
• Civil War Regalia of Major Levi Gheen McCauleyGeorge Cope, 1887
• Self-PortraitGeorge Peter Alexander Healy, 1873
• Young Ladies of the VillageGustave Courbet, 1851–52