REALISM THE ANALYSIS OF A PAINTING BY COURBET
“LANDSCAPE 1876” Truth & Accuracy
Around the 1850’s there was a
Landscapes were still a popular
revolt against all things valued by
subject matter for the Realist artists
the Romantic Artist due to the birth
but they were strictly of what the
of Realism. Realist rejected the
artists observed with no alterations
exaggeration of emotionalism and
to colors, setting or any addition or
the imagination, and valued truth
subtraction to the subject matter.
and accuracy. The artists of this era
Courbet’s 1876 “Landscape”
remained “true to life” and made
strongly demonstrates the values of
their
truth and
observations
accuracy of
directly from
the Realist
nature or their
artist. The
subject matter.
painting is
They did not
composed of
allow anything
a beach
to be put into a
setting, and
piece of
could be
artwork that
taking place
wasn’t directly
at either the
there. The embrace of the working
break of dawn or the setting of the
class and peasants became the
sun to another night. At the
figures in art along with everyday
foreground of the painting one can
situations, instead of gods and
see the white tips of calm waves
situations that did not accrue. The
caressing the sand. In the horizon
father of direct movement is
there is the faint image of a sail boat,
Gaustave Courbet (1819-1877). The
and the clouds gradually disperse as
French painter challenged the
the sky rises. At first admiration, the
conventional by using real life as his
eye is drawn to the center of the
subject matter along with the
painting where the sun is shining
combination of large scale paintings.
through and creating the sky to be
This simple style of popular imagery
highlighted with the rays or a deep
began a movement for artists.
yellow. It then glances over the [Pick the date] [Edition 1, Volume 1]
“Painting is the representation of visible forms. The essence of realism is its negation of the ideal.”
- Courbet
THE ANALYSIS OF A PAINTING BY COURBET
upper half of the painting where the
the greens, blues, grays and orange
horizon demonstrates great talent.
clouds are placed as the sun rays rise
the artist, knowingly or not, created
The use of perspective permits the
to the infinite sky. The eye of the
a way for the viewer to see the
admirer to feel, when looking at the
admirer then drops down to the
artwork in different horizontal parts.
work of art, that they are present in
shoreline and the parallel horizon
At first glance of Courbet’s piece one
this real moment captured by
with the faint image of a sail boat.
cannot help but feel the sublime of
Courbet. Lastly, the various hues
Unity and Balance play a large role
the sunset. Due to the movement
and shades used throughout the
in the overall effeteness of an
being about the actual, the painting
painting corresponds to the overall
artwork. Considering that, the
gives off the same effect as when one
effectiveness of the work.
natural source of light and main
is traveling back home at the end of
Throughout the painting, the source
focus of the painting is in the center
the work day and see the “breathe
of light, the setting/rising sun,
of the work, it demonstrates how
taking” sunset, but in a painting. As
highlights the clouds, sea and the
balanced the space is and that the
stated above, the contrast of dark
shoreline. With the use of different
light is the focus in the subject
and lighter shades creates multiple
hues of yellow, orange, green and
matter and not a certain cloud for
frame works horizontally across the
beige the image is even more
example. Regardless, that the
painting. This creates a different
realistic.
Realism Movement is about the
visual path the eye communicates
direct observation, the image is
with painting than at first
united by the colors and overall
admiration. The line in which the
aesthetically appealing; as well, I
subject matter. The faint figure of a
eye observes the painting
have a love for the beauty in
sailboat does not capture the
corresponds to the Realist
sunsets/rises. I choose this painting
viewer’s eye more than the white
Movement. Considering that, the
because when I first observed it I felt
tips of the waves caressing the
movement was about accuracy and
alone. I felt as if I was standing on a
shoreline. Along with unity, contrast
truth, the visual path the eye travels
sand dune that is overlooking this
between colors of the art work play a
throughout the work must be how
image, which is what realist were
role in the effectiveness as well. In
an individual would take in this
trying to demonstrate, the truth.
Courbet’s piece the colors used are
sunrise/sunset if they were
Degrading the Romanticism
harmonious with each other,
physically there. That being stated,
techniques and grasping truth and
considering that it is a true sunset
the eye sees the image as a whole
only creating pieces of art that were
one would expect so. The darker
then pays attention to all individual
direct observations of what were
shades of the clouds and sea
aspects of the painting. Such as the
before them Realism was born. Like
enhance the effect of the sunlight
source of light, clouds, sail boat, and
every era, it ends and the previous
and create that contrast and
shoreline. Form is an extremely
era revolts against the popular
distinction between the dark and
important factor during this era.
beliefs. However, Impressionism
light. As well the sun highlights
Since the goal was truth, form must
was a new and improved style and
clouds throughout the sky along
be used in order to give the full
technique to painting.
with tips of the uneven sea and
truth. In Courbet’s piece, the depth
waves. The use of contrast between
and perspective created with the
Personally I find this painting
The Analysis of a painting by Courbet
Written by Jessica Eve Shetler