In class, we discussed the distinct shift of focus in art towards the representation of reality in an accurate manner, which occurred in the latter half of the 19th century. This could be seen in some of Francisco de Goya’s art, with the distance created between the observer and the scene – a sense of intellectual observation of the event depicted. It’s understandable, then, that this movement started showing itself clearly in landscape paintings. We saw this tendency intensified with Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot’s work, View of Rome, which places the first and foremost attention to the reproduction of the real world, rather than relying on any emotional response for reaction.
Jean Francois Millet showed a completely different approach to this movement, with paintings like The Sower, recreating the image of completely ‘base’ activities, actions which can be observed anywhere in the world of the average middle-class, rural working lives. This showcased the parallel in artistic depictions of reality and the current social conditions of the time, with revolutions as well as the overtaking of the monarchy happening. The “gritty” nature of these paintings, albeit completely true-to-life, also showed the artist’s partiality and sympathetic attitude towards the workers. An especially apt quote that fully encapsulates the spirit of “traditional” mediums of art for this time period is one of Piero della Francesca: “an abstract object, invisible or non-existent, does not belong to the realm of painting.” In other words: arts should be used as a tool to reflect reality, rather than trying to transcend it.