ARTH101: Art Appreciation and Techniques

9.6.3 Realism versus Academic Art

• Smarthistory Blog: Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker's "On Jean-Leon Gerome's 'Pygmalion and Galatea' at the Met"

  Read this blog post by two of the experts you have heard from in previous units. Understanding the artistic background of academic art will subsequently help you comprehend the break that modern artistic movements, such as realism, achieved.
• Smarthistory.org: Dr. Beth Gersh-Nesic's "Realism" Page

  Read this article to get a sense of why, how, and when Realism emerged as an artistic movement.

• Smarthistory.org: Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker's "Courbet's 'A Burial at Ornans'" Page

  Watch this video on an important Realist work by Courbet.

• Smarthistory.org: "The Stonebreakers" Page

  Read this article to get a sense of why Realism is considered a socially conscious artistic movement.

• Smarthistory.org: Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker's "Manet's 'Le déjeuner sur l'herbe (Luncheon on the Grass)'" Page

  After Courbet, Manet is historically the most significant Realist painter. Watch this video about one of his works.

• Smarthistory.org: Dr. Beth Harris, Dr. Steven Zucker, and Dr. Beth Gersh-Nesic's "Édouard Manet's 'Olympia'" Page

  Watch this video and read the accompanying article. They discuss an important artwork by the Realist painter Manet. Take note of its modern characteristics, as well as how it was received by its contemporary audience.