realist art

Realist art depicts subjects as they appear in ordinary life, without idealization or stylization.

The movement emerged in mid-19th century France as a rejection of Romanticism's drama and classical art's noble themes.

Realist painters like Courbet chose everyday scenes—laborers, peasants, mundane activities—rendered with careful attention to visual accuracy.

The term now applies broadly to representational art that aims for lifelike depiction.