The term realism was used with various meanings in the criticism of art but here we concentrate on its broadest sense; naturalism. Artists whose paintings were of the naturalist kind tried to depict things accurately and objectively in their paintings, they were against idealised beauty and mostly portrayed working class people in their typical everyday situation. Realism was a movement that occurred in the nineteenth century and mostly around French painters. These (mostly French) artists went against historical, mythological and religious subject for paintings and were in favour of un-idealised scenes of the modern life. Courbet, who became the leader of the realist movement, said 'painting is essentially a concrete art and must be applied to real and existing things'.

Courbet had not cast off all romantic ideas along with the trappings of romanticism. But, his paintings show better than his writings how his forceful personality and the circumstances of his life led him to create an art far removed from that of Delecroix, not to mention Delaroche. He was the son of a fairly we

ll to do farmer at Ornans, near the swiss border and went in 1839 to Paris where he taught himself to paint by studying in the Louvre and in the Atelliers Libres (open studios), which for a small fee provided a model but had no formal curriculum. His circle of friends included Baudelaire and Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, originator of the phrase; 'Property is theft', whose socialist views were shared. Courbet was born in Ornans and he was a member of a peasant family. Thus his understanding of peasants individuals was profound, particularly their appearance. Courbet said "Painting should consist of nothing but the representation of objects which the artist can see and touch...an abstract object not existing does not belong to the domain of painting".

One of Courbets famous realist works was called 'a burial at Ornans'. Courbet chose a peasant burial as his subject matter for the painting, this was very unusual as the art of the period was about idealised beauty; peasants were not appropriate subject matter. The 'Burial at St Ornans' was one of the most important works. It was the ultimate example of realism and its concepts. In this painting each character is an individual with his and her own well observed characteristics. They are each dressed in their best clothes (mainly black because of the funeral; Courbets masterly use of a limited range of colours). Courbet enhances realism by including clergymen dressed in ceremonial clothes; he observes them with accuracy. He also includes a street dog in the foreground, this wasn't considered acceptable by the academies. This unusual subject matter (peasants) was considered scandalous.

Millet was another important realist artist who was very influencial because he was used as example of reflecting socialist ideas through his work. Jean-Francois Millet specialised in depicting the people who had no possessions. Millets obstinate refusal to accept the socialist interpretations put on his work was part of the myth he created about himself as the un-educated peasant who had worked the land until he was twenty-one. Infact, he was the son of a farmer who sent him, at eighteen, to study art at Cherbourg. In 1837 he went to Paris where he became a favourite pupil of Delaroche, but

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