Introduction

A new type of realism emerged in the 19th century. This is critical realism. It differs significantly from the Renaissance and from the Enlightenment. Its flourishing in the West is associated with the names of Stendhal and Balzac in France, Dickens, Thackeray in England, and in Russia - A. Pushkin, N. Gogol, I. Turgenev, F. Dostoevsky, L. Tolstoy, A. Chekhov.

Critical realism portrays in a new way the relationship between man and environment. Human character is revealed in organic connection with social circumstances. The subject of deep social analysis was inner world human, critical realism simultaneously becomes psychological.

Development of Russian realism

A peculiarity of the historical aspect of the development of Russia in the mid-19th century is the situation after the Decembrist uprising, as well as the emergence of secret societies and circles, the appearance of works by A.I. Herzen, a circle of Petrashevites. This time is characterized by the beginning of the raznochinsky movement in Russia, as well as the acceleration of the process of formation of the world artistic culture, including Russian ones. realism Russian creativity social

Creativity of realist writers

IN Russia XIX century is a period of exceptional strength and scope of development of realism. In the second half of the century, the artistic achievements of realism brought Russian literature to the international arena and conquered world recognition. The richness and diversity of Russian realism allow us to talk about its different forms.

Its formation is associated with the name of Pushkin, who led Russian literature onto the broad path of depicting “the fate of the people, the fate of man.” In the conditions of the accelerated development of Russian literature, Pushkin seems to be making up for its previous lag, paving new paths in almost all genres and, with his universality and his optimism, turning out to be akin to the talents of the Renaissance.

Griboedov and Pushkin, and after them Lermontov and Gogol, comprehensively reflected the life of the Russian people in their works.

Writers of the new movement are united by the fact that for them there are no high or low objects for life. Everything that is encountered in reality becomes the subject of their depiction. Pushkin, Lermontov, Gogol populated their works with heroes of “lower, middle, and upper classes.” They truly revealed their inner world.

Writers of the realistic school saw in life and showed in their works that “a person living in society depends on it both in the way he thinks and in the way he acts.”

Unlike the romantics, realistic writers show character literary hero not only as an individual phenomenon, but also as a result of certain, historically established social relations. Therefore, the character of the hero of a realistic work is always historical.

A special place in the history of Russian realism belongs to L. Tolstoy and Dostoevsky. It was thanks to them that the Russian realistic novel acquired global significance. Their psychological mastery, penetration into the “dialectics” of the soul opened the way to the artistic quest of writers of the 20th century. Realism in the 20th century throughout the world bears the imprint of the aesthetic discoveries of Tolstoy and Dostoevsky. It is important to emphasize that Russian realism of the 19th century did not develop in isolation from the world historical and literary process.

The revolutionary liberation movement played a major role in the realistic understanding of social reality. Until the first powerful uprisings of the working class, the essence of bourgeois society and its class structure remained largely mysterious. The revolutionary struggle of the proletariat made it possible to remove the seal of mystery from the capitalist system and expose its contradictions. Therefore, it is quite natural that it was in the 30-40s of the 19th century that Western Europe Realism is being established in literature and art. Exposing the vices of serfdom and bourgeois society, the realist writer finds beauty in the very objective reality. His positive hero not elevated above life (Bazarov in Turgenev, Kirsanov, Lopukhov in Chernyshevsky, etc.). As a rule, it reflects the aspirations and interests of the people, the views of the advanced circles of the bourgeois and noble intelligentsia. Realistic art bridges the gap between ideal and reality, characteristic of romanticism. Of course, in the works of some realists there are vague romantic illusions where we are talking about the embodiment of the future (“The Dream of a Funny Man” by Dostoevsky, “What to Do?” Chernyshevsky...), and in this case we can rightfully talk about the presence in their work romantic tendencies. Critical realism in Russia was a consequence of the rapprochement of literature and art with life.

Critical realism took a step forward along the path of democratization of literature also in comparison with the work of the enlighteners of the 18th century. He took a much broader view of his contemporary reality. Feudal modernity entered the works of critical realists not only as the arbitrariness of serf owners, but also as the tragic situation of the masses - the serf peasantry, the dispossessed urban people.

Russian realists of the mid-19th century depicted society in contradictions and conflicts, which reflected the real movement of history and revealed the struggle of ideas. As a result, reality appeared in their work as an “ordinary flow,” as a self-propelled reality. Realism reveals its true essence only if art is considered by writers as a reflection of reality. In this case, the natural criteria of realism are depth, truth, objectivity in revealing the internal connections of life, typical characters acting in typical circumstances, and the necessary determinants of realistic creativity are historicism, the nationality of the artist’s thinking. Realism is characterized by the image of a person in unity with his environment, the social and historical concreteness of the image, conflict, plot, and the widespread use of such genre structures as the novel, drama, story, story.

Critical realism was marked by an unprecedented spread of epic and drama, which noticeably replaced poetry. Among the epic genres, the novel gained the greatest popularity. The reason for its success is mainly that it allows the realist writer to most fully implement the analytical function of art, to expose the causes of social evil.

At the origins of Russian realism of the 19th century is Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin. In his lyrics one can see contemporary social life with its social contrasts, ideological quests, and the struggle of progressive people against political and feudal tyranny. The poet's humanism and nationality, along with his historicism, are the most important determinants of his realistic thinking.

Pushkin’s transition from romanticism to realism was manifested in “Boris Godunov” mainly in a specific interpretation of the conflict, in recognition of the decisive role of the people in history. The tragedy is imbued with deep historicism.

The further development of realism in Russian literature is associated primarily with the name of N.V. Gogol. The pinnacle of his realistic work is “Dead Souls”. Gogol watched with alarm as he disappeared into modern society Everything that is truly human, just as man is diminished and vulgarized. Seeing art as an active force for social development, Gogol cannot imagine creativity that is not illuminated by the light of a high aesthetic ideal.

The continuation of Pushkin and Gogol traditions was the work of I.S. Turgenev. Turgenev gained popularity after the publication of “Notes of a Hunter.” Turgenev’s achievements in the genre of the novel are enormous (“Rudin”, “ Noble Nest", "The Eve", "Fathers and Sons"). In this area, his realism acquired new features.

Turgenev's realism was expressed most clearly in the novel Fathers and Sons. His realism is complex. It shows the historical concreteness of the conflict, reflections of the real movement of life, the truthfulness of details, the “eternal questions” of the existence of love, old age, death - the objectivity of the image and tendentiousness, penetrating lyricism.

Democratic writers (I.A. Nekrasov, N.G. Chernyshevsky, M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin, etc.) brought a lot of new things into realistic art. Their realism was called sociological. What it has in common is the denial of the existing serfdom system, the demonstration of its historical doom. Hence the sharpness of social criticism and the depth of artistic exploration of reality.

Critical realism- direction and art of a number of countries in Europe and America, which arose in mid-19th V. At the same time, realism appeared in France as an important concept of aesthetic thought.

Critical realism focused on direct image Everyday life people, mostly poor and disadvantaged, contrasted with the wealthy and idle sections of the population. The first signs of critical realism can be seen in the paintings of the Italian Michelangelo Caravaggio and his followers - the “Caravaggists”, who showed at the end of the 16th and 17th centuries. keen interest in the life of the lower classes - beggars, vagabonds, robbers, often depicted in fascinating romantic and adventurous guises (painting by Salvatore Rosa, Alessandro Magnasco in Italy). In the 17th century Dutchman Jan Steen, in the 18th century. Italians Jacopo Ceruti and Gaspare Travers tried to portray without embellishment the unsightly aspects of the everyday life of their contemporaries. Artists of the Enlightenment of the 18th century. (William Cogart in England.) criticized the social foundations of society of those years from the point of view of reason and justice. The analysis of social contradictions in etchings and paintings was especially sharp and fearless Francisco Goya in Spain on turn of the XVIII and 19th centuries In painting and graphics 1st half of the 19th century V. ( Theodore Gericault, Eugene Delacroix in France) captures the dramatic conflicts of everyday reality with energy and passion. Social criticism itself became the dominant principle in the work of graphic artists in the 2nd third of the 19th century. - Honore Daumier, Fields of Gavarnie, Jean-Isidore Granville who turned to close study and analysis of deep social contradictions. Generalized images of the social forces of their time were created in the 19th century. artists Alexander Dekan, Gustave Courbet , Jean-Francois Mill e in France, Constantin Meunier in Belgium. Adolf Menzel, Wilhelm Leibl in Germany, Mihaly Munkacsi in Hungary. In Russia, critical realism became widespread already in the middle of the 19th century. Image " little man", which arose in the works of A. S. Pushkin, I. V. Gogol, was embodied in the genre scenes of P. A. Fedotov, in the caricatures and illustrations of A. A. Agin, P. M. Boklevsky, N. A. Stepanov, P. M. Shmelkova, A. I. Lebedeva. In the 2nd half of the 19th - early 20th centuries. Itinerant artists made critical realism the main method of their art. V. G. Perov, G. G. Myasoedov, V. E. Makovsky, N. A. Yaroshenko, I. E. Repin, A. E. Arkhipov, N. A. Kasatkin, L. V. Popov in their paintings criticized the unjust social structure, following literature (I. S. Turgenev, L. N. Tolstoy, F. M. Dostoevsky. A. P. Chekhov). The traditions of critical realism - satirical exposure and analysis of the social situation - were resurrected every now and then in Soviet times: in the satirical graphics of Kukryniksov, B. I. Prorokov, L. V. Soifertis, in the painting of E. M. Cheptsov, S. A. Adlivankin, S.V. Nikritina, G.M. Korzhev, and at the end of the 20th century. in sarcastic art sots art .

Realism

“We are not talking about the search for “absolute” beauty here. The artist is neither the history of painting nor its soul... And that is why he should not be considered either a moralist or a writer. He should be judged simply as an artist.”

Thomas Eakins became the most famous realist painter in the United States by incorporating photographic studies into his work and revealing the nature of his subjects through careful observation. The Gross Clinic (1875), a portrait of Dr. Samuel Gross performing invasive surgery in an operating room, is depicted in incredible detail. His choice of a modern subject (surgery) follows the realist belief that an artist must be of his time.

The German realist Wilhelm Leibl met Courbet and saw his work when French artist visited Germany in 1869. Recognizing his abilities, Courbet lured him back to Paris, where Label achieved significant success and also met Manet before returning to Munich to establish himself as his country's first realist artist. He is best known for his depictions of peasant scenes such as Three Women in a Church (1881), which brought the frank naturalism of the Dutch and German Old Masters into modern era. Although the clothes worn by these people are somewhat outdated three women indicates their low economic status (the new trends of the city have passed them by), the Label ennobles them with patience and modesty.

Christina's World, created by one of the leading American artists of the time, is among the most famous American paintings of the mid-20th century. It depicts a woman lying on a field, looking at a gray house on the horizon. The woman in the painting is Anna Christina Olson. She was Wyeth's neighbor in South Cushing, Maine, and suffered from muscle degeneration that left her unable to walk. Wyeth was inspired to create the masterpiece when he saw her crawling across the field from the window. Despite the fact that the first showing received little attention, the popularity of Christina's World grew over the years. The painting is now considered an icon of American art and one of the most important works of American realism.

4. “The Ear Pickers”

French name: Des glaneuses

Artist: Jean-Francois Millet

Year: 1857

Jean-François Millet's most famous works are his trio of paintings that depict humble peasants in an unprecedentedly heroic and compassionate manner. "The Ear Pickers" is the most famous of three paintings, and she influenced several later artists, including Pissarro, Renoir, Seurat and Van Gogh. It depicts three peasant women gleaning or collecting remnants from a field of scattered grains after the harvest. Portraying the lowest stratum of rural society in a sympathetic light, the painting was heavily criticized by the French upper classes when first shown. The painting measures 33 by 44 inches (84 x 112 cm), and this was a major point of contention as such a huge size was usually reserved for religious or mythological subjects.

3. "Funeral in Ornans"

French name: Un enterrement à Ornans

Artist: Gustave Courbet

Year: 1850

This painting depicts the funeral of Gustave Courbet's great-uncle in the small town of Ornans in France. Courbet “painted those people who were present at the funeral, all the townspeople.” "Funeral at Ornans" caused a storm at the first exhibition at the Paris Salon of 1850-1851. Firstly, it is a huge work, measuring 10 by 22 feet (305 x 671 cm); such a huge scale was traditionally reserved for heroic or religious scenes in history painting; secondly, its ugly realism without any sentimental narrative shocked the art world. Initially condemned by critics, Funeral at Ornans was one of the main works that moved the public away from romanticism and towards a new realistic approach. It is considered one of the main turning points of French art of the 19th century century, and Courbet said: “The Funeral at Ornans was in reality the burial of Romanticism.”

2. Night Owls

Artist: Edward Hopper

Year: 1942

Edward Hopper known for revealing loneliness modern life and forces the viewer to take a more active role in completing the narrative of the works. This painting of people at a downtown diner late at night was inspired by a restaurant on Greenwich Avenue, near the artist's home in Manhattan. It was interpreted as an illustration negative influence World War II, and as a depiction of the isolation of the individual against the backdrop of the bustle of New York. Hopper's most famous work, Night Owls is one of the most recognizable paintings in American art. She influenced many future American artists and is widely referenced and parodied in popular culture.

1. Olympia

Artist: Edouard Manet

Year: 1863

Edouard Manet, although often considered an impressionist, called himself a realist. His early works include some of the most significant works of realism, among which is Olympia. The painting depicts a reclining naked woman being served by a maid. When it was first exhibited at the Paris Salon of 1865, it caused enormous controversy; not because of Olympia's nudity, but because there are several details in the painting that indicate she is a prostitute. These include: an orchid in the hair, a bracelet, pearl earrings and an oriental scarf on which it lies. In addition, the painting contains a black cat, which traditionally symbolized prostitution. Olympia was inspired by Titian's Venus of Urbino and several other paintings; but unlike these works, he did not depict a goddess or a court lady, but a high-class prostitute. The most famous aspect of the painting is Olympia's defiant gaze; which is often cited as the pinnacle of defiance against patriarchy. Manet's Olympia is the most famous picture realism and perhaps the most famous nude figure of the 19th century.

From: Sholokhova E.,   -

Realism in literature is a direction whose main feature is a truthful depiction of reality and its typical features without any distortion or exaggeration. This originated in the 19th century, and its adherents sharply opposed sophisticated forms of poetry and the use of various mystical concepts in works.

Signs directions

Realism in 19th-century literature can be distinguished by clear characteristics. The main one is the artistic depiction of reality in images familiar to the average person, which he regularly encounters in real life. Reality in the works is considered as a means for a person to understand the world around him and himself, and the image of each literary character is worked out in such a way that the reader can recognize himself, a relative, colleague or acquaintance in it.

In the novels and stories of realists, art remains life-affirming, even if the plot is characterized by a tragic conflict. Another feature of this genre is the desire of writers to consider the surrounding reality in its development, and each writer tries to discover the emergence of new psychological, public and social relations.

Features of this literary movement

Realism in literature, which replaced romanticism, has the signs of art that seeks and finds truth, striving to transform reality.

In the works of realist writers, discoveries were made after much thought and dreaming, after analyzing subjective worldviews. This feature, which can be distinguished by the author’s perception of time, determined the distinctive features of realistic literature of the early twentieth century from traditional Russian classics.

Realism inXIX century

Such representatives of realism in literature as Balzac and Stendhal, Thackeray and Dickens, George Sand and Victor Hugo, in their works most clearly reveal the themes of good and evil, and avoid abstract concepts and show real life of their contemporaries. These writers make it clear to readers that evil lies in the lifestyle of bourgeois society, capitalist reality, and people’s dependence on various material values. For example, in Dickens's novel Dombey and Son, the owner of the company was heartless and callous not by nature. It’s just that he developed such character traits due to the presence big money and the ambition of the owner, for whom profit becomes the main achievement in life.

Realism in literature is devoid of humor and sarcasm, and the images of the characters are no longer the ideal of the writer himself and do not embody his cherished dreams. From the works of the 19th century, the hero practically disappears, in whose image the author’s ideas are visible. This situation is especially clearly seen in the works of Gogol and Chekhov.

However, this literary trend is most clearly manifested in the works of Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, who describe the world as they see it. This was expressed in the image of characters with their own strengths and weaknesses, the description of mental torment, a reminder to readers of the harsh reality that cannot be changed by one person.

As a rule, realism in literature also affected the fate of representatives of the Russian nobility, as can be judged from the works of I. A. Goncharov. Thus, the characters of the heroes in his works remain contradictory. Oblomov is a sincere and gentle person, but due to his passivity he is not capable of better things. Another character in Russian literature has similar qualities - the weak-willed but gifted Boris Raisky. Goncharov managed to create the image of an “anti-hero” typical of the 19th century, which was noticed by critics. As a result, the concept of “Oblomovism” appeared, referring to all passive characters whose main features were laziness and lack of will.

The second half of the 19th century is characterized by the emergence of such a movement as realism. It immediately followed the Romanticism that emerged in the first half of this century, but at the same time was radically different from it. Realism in literature demonstrated typical person in a typical situation and tried to reflect reality as plausibly as possible.

Main features of realism

Realism has a certain set of characteristics that show differences from the romanticism that preceded it and from the naturalism that follows it.
1. Typing way. The object of a work in realism is always an ordinary person with all his advantages and disadvantages. Accuracy in depicting details characteristic of a person is the key rule of realism. However, the authors do not forget about such nuances as individual characteristics, and they are harmoniously woven into the whole image. This distinguishes realism from romanticism, where the character is individual.
2. Typification of the situation. The situation in which the hero of the work finds himself must be characteristic of the time being described. A unique situation is more characteristic of naturalism.
3. Precision in the image. Realists have always described the world as it was, reducing the author's worldview to a minimum. The romantics acted completely differently. The world in their works was demonstrated through the prism of their own worldview.
4. Determinism. The situation in which the heroes of the works of realists find themselves is only the result of actions committed in the past. The characters are shown in development, which is shaped by the world around them. Interpersonal relationships play a key role in this. The personality of the character and his actions are influenced by many factors: social, religious, moral and others. Often in a work there is a development and change in personality under the influence of social and everyday factors.
5. Conflict: hero - society. This conflict is not unique. It is also characteristic of the movements that preceded realism: classicism and romanticism. However, only realism considers the most typical situations. He is interested in the relationship between the crowd and the individual, the consciousness of the mass and the individual.
6. Historicism. Literature in the 19th century demonstrates man inseparably from his environment and period of history. The authors studied the lifestyle and norms of behavior in society at a certain stage before writing your works.

History of origin

It is believed that already in the Renaissance, realism began to emerge. Heroes characteristic of realism include such large-scale images as Don Quixote, Hamlet and others. During this period, man is seen as the crown of creation, which is not typical for later periods of his development. During the Age of Enlightenment, educational realism appeared. The main character is a hero from the bottom.
In the 1830s, people from the circle of romantics formed realism as a new literary movement. They strive not to depict the world in all its diversity and abandon the two worlds familiar to romantics.
Already by the 40s, critical realism became the leading direction. However, at the initial stage of the formation of this literary direction the newly minted realists still use the residual features characteristic of romanticism.

These include:
cult of esotericism;
depiction of bright atypical personalities;
use of fantasy elements;
segregation of heroes into positive and negative.
That is why the realism of writers of the first half of the century was often criticized by writers of the late 19th century. However, it is at an early stage that the main features of this direction are formed. First of all, this is a conflict characteristic of realism. In the literature of former romantics, the opposition between man and society is clearly visible.
In the second half of the 19th century, realism acquired new forms. And it’s not for nothing that this period is called the “triumph of realism.” The social and political situation contributed to the fact that the authors began to study human nature, as well as his behavior in certain situations. Social connections between individuals began to play a big role.
The science of that time had a huge influence on the development of realism. Darwin's Origin of Species is published in 1859. Kant's positivist philosophy also makes its contribution to artistic practice. Realism in XIX literature century acquires an analytical, studying character. At the same time, writers refuse to analyze the future; it was of little interest to them. The emphasis was on modernity, which became the key theme of the reflection of critical realism.

Main representatives

Realism in the literature of the 19th century left many brilliant works. By the first half of the century, Stendhal, O. Balzac, and Merimee were creating. They were the ones who were criticized by their followers. Their works have a subtle connection with romanticism. For example, the realism of Merimee and Balzac is permeated with mysticism and esotericism, Dickens's heroes are bright bearers of one expressed character trait or quality, and Stendhal portrayed bright personalities.
Later, G. Flaubert, M. Twain, T. Mann, M. Twain, W. Faulkner were involved in the development of the creative method. Each author brought individual characteristics to his works. IN Russian literature realism is represented by the works of F. M. Dostoevsky, L. N. Tolstoy and A. S. Pushkin.

Realism is usually called a movement in art and literature, whose representatives strived for a realistic and truthful reproduction of reality. In other words, the world was portrayed as typical and simple, with all its advantages and disadvantages.

General features of realism

Realism in literature differs in a number of ways common features. Firstly, life was depicted in images that corresponded to reality. Secondly, reality for representatives of this movement has become a means of understanding themselves and the world around them. Thirdly, the images on the pages literary works were distinguished by the truthfulness of details, specificity and typification. It is interesting that the art of the realists, with their life-affirming principles, sought to consider reality in development. Realists discovered new social and psychological relationships.

The emergence of realism

Realism in literature as a form of artistic creation arose in the Renaissance, developed during the Enlightenment and manifested itself as an independent direction only in the 30s of the 19th century. The first realists in Russia include the great Russian poet A.S. Pushkin (he is sometimes even called the founder of this movement) and the no less outstanding writer N.V. Gogol with his novel " Dead Souls" Concerning literary criticism, then within its limits the term “realism” appeared thanks to D. Pisarev. It was he who introduced the term into journalism and criticism. Realism in 19th century literature became distinctive feature of that time, having its own characteristics and characteristics.

Features of literary realism

Representatives of realism in literature are numerous. The most famous and outstanding writers include such writers as Stendhal, Charles Dickens, O. Balzac, L.N. Tolstoy, G. Flaubert, M. Twain, F.M. Dostoevsky, T. Mann, M. Twain, W. Faulkner and many others. All of them worked on the development of the creative method of realism and embodied in their works its most striking features in unbreakable connection with its own unique author's features.