Realism in the visual arts and literature is the depiction of subjects as they appear in everyday life, without embellishment or interpretation. The term is also used to describe works of art which, in revealing a truth, may emphasize the ugly or sordid. It represents the opposite of idealism.

Realism also refers to a mid-19th century cultural movement with its roots in France, where it was a very popular art form around the mid to late 1800’s. It came about with the introduction of photography - a new visual source that created a desire for people to produce things that look “objectively real”. Realism was heavily against romanticism, a genre dominating French literature and artwork in the mid 19th century. Undistorted by personal bias, Realism believed in the ideology of objective reality and revolted against exaggerated emotionalism. Truth and accuracy became the goals of many Realists.

French cultural movement
Realism became prominent as a cultural movement as a reaction to the idealism of Romanticism in the middle of the 19th century. Often linked to demands for social and political reform and democracy, realism dominated the visual arts and literature of France, England and the United States from around 1840 to 1880, and along with naturalism dominated Brazil's literature through out this same time. Prominent realists include Balzac, Stendhal, George Meredith in the United Kingdom, and Eça de Queirós in Portugal, and probably the best realistic writer ever Machado de Assis on the literary side and their counterparts in the visual arts include Gustave Courbet and Jean François Millet.

Visual Arts
Realists render everyday characters, situations, dilemmas, and objects, all in a "true-to-life" manner. Realists tend to discard theatrical drama, lofty subjects and classical forms of art in favor of commonplace themes.

However no art can ever be fully realistic. Distortion in form, simplification of details are required for any painting. Taking this argument further, newer forms of art like Surrealism, Pseudorealism, Magic Realism have developed in the field of visual art.

Realism (arts). (2006, December 2). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 08:17, December 8, 2006, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Realism_%28arts%29&oldid=91634380