II.

Art

In art, although a clearly defined realist school has never evolved, a realist approach has been manifested in different ways at various times. The term realist, used to describe a work of art, has often simply meant that “ugly” objects or figures are represented, as opposed to those considered “beautiful”. Frequently used to describe scenes of humble life, the term implies a criticism of social conditions. Thus, some of the work of the French artists Gustave Courbet (for example, The Stonebreakers, 1850), Honoré Daumier, and Jean-François Millet has been described as social realism.

In the United States, William Sidney Mount's quiet Long Island scene Eel Spearing at Setauket (1845) is in the realist style; the artist portrays his subjects with simplicity and respect but little elaboration. Mount diverges in style from the Romanticism of his contemporaries of the Hudson River School. American realist painting also includes the honest, matter-of-fact portraits by Thomas Eakins, of his contemporaries, and the works of the American artists known collectively as the Ashcan School or The Eight, who at the beginning of the 20th century attempted to paint the American urban scene as it really was (see American Art and Architecture).