The term “realism” literally means “real”, “material”. In art, this direction objectively, truthfully reflected reality using specific means.
The historically specific meaning of the concept of “realism” means the flow of art and literature, which was formed in the eighteenth century. This trend reached its heyday and comprehensive development in the 19th century. During this period, critical realism in painting manifested itself particularly vividly . The direction developed in the process of interaction or struggle with other currents of art of the twentieth century.
Realism in painting of the mid-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 associated mainly with the name Courbet. The main requirement of the realism of that time was the appeal to modern reality in the variety of its manifestations, while relying on exact science. Representatives of the trend used clear and concise tricks, replacing them with several "vague and unsteady" tricks of romanticism. Of great importance in the further development of the direction was the revolution of 1848, which dispelled the illusions of the 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 was manifested in a close study of nature, deep sympathy for the fate and life of the people, combined with the exposure 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 strengthened its position, manifesting itself in the historical and everyday genre, landscape and portrait.
The traditions of the current were 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 in painting began to develop. This creative device was an aesthetic reflection of the socially conscious concept of man and the whole world. This concept, in turn, was determined by the era of the struggle to form and strengthen a new society.
Realism in painting has become the main artistic direction in the USSR. The idea of this trend was to proclaim the truthful reflection of reality in its revolutionary development.
A more accurate concept was formulated by Gorky in 1934 at the writers' congress. He said that realism in painting, literature, and art as a whole is called upon to affirm being as an action. Being a creative device, he fulfills the task of continuously developing the most valuable human abilities, thanks to which it becomes possible to defeat the natural forces for the health and longevity of mankind and great happiness on the planet. So, realism in painting and other areas of art has become a new type of creative consciousness.