realism

In philosophy, the theory that universals (properties such as ‘redness’) have an existence independent of the human mind. Realists hold that the essence of things is objectively given in nature, and that our classifications are not arbitrary. As such, realism is contrasted with nominalism, the theory that universals are merely names or general terms.

More generally, realism is any philosophical theory that emphasizes the existence of some kind of things or objects, in contrast to theories that dispense with the things in question in favour of words, ideas, or logical constructions. In particular, the term stands for the theory that there is a reality quite independent of the mind. In this sense, realism is opposed to idealism, the theory that only minds and their contents exist.

realism

In the arts and literature generally, a ‘true-to-life’ approach to subject matter; also described as naturalism. Taken to its extreme, trompe l'oeil paintings trick the eye into believing objects are real. More specifically, realism refers to a movement in mid-19th-century European art and literature, that was a reaction against Romantic and classical idealization and a rejection of conventional academic themes, such as mythology, history, and sublime landscapes. Realism favoured themes of everyday life and carefully observed social settings. The movement was particularly important in France, where it had political overtones; the painters Gustave Courbet and Honoré Daumier, two leading realists, both used their art to expose social injustice.

Realism was initiated by Courbet, who explained that he wanted to be truthful to his own experience and that, having never seen an angel, he could certainly never paint one. Courbet's work was controversial both for its scale and subject matter; his Burial at Ornans (1850), a large canvas depicting life-size, ordinary people attending a burial, is typical.

In literature, realists include the novelists Honoré de Balzac, Gustave Flaubert, Stendhal, George Eliot, Theodor Fontane, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Nicolai Gogol, and Leo Tolstoy. Realism was superseded by Impressionism in painting and naturalism in literature.

With the arrival of avant-garde art in the late 19th century, realism was gradually rejected in favour of more abstract styles.

realism

In music, a realistic style favouring simpler contemporary themes. Examples are the anvils in Richard Wagner's Rheingold, the sheep and wind machine in Richard Strauss's Don Quixote, and the nightingale (a gramophone record of the bird's song) in Ottorino Respighi's Pini di Roma. A realistic style of Italian opera is known as verismo, in which plots draw away from elaborate traditional mythological or historical subjects.

Strictly realistic representation in music is not easily attainable. Imitations of bells, birds, and similar effects are very frequent, but usually the more musical they are the less they approach realism.