Differences of Realism, Naturalism, and Modernism Periods in Art

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Main body
Conclusion
Works Cited

Introduction

There are three main periods in the history of art (Realism, Naturalism, and Modernism), and each of them has its worldview that is manifesting through its works. Understanding the differences between them helps a person orient themselves in the culture more confidently and see the whole picture, reflecting streams of imagination of their time.

Main body

Naturalism is an exaggerated part of Realism, while Modernism differs from them principally—the former two accent the outside world where their characters and plots take action. Modernism speculates more on the inner dimensions of human consciousness and soul when the external aspect of history is in the background. It is crucially important to understand that such a transition from one principle to another is not a coincidence and depicts changes in interpreting the world and humans.

Realism reflects reality literally as a social and mundane one trying not to dramatize or romanticize it. It appeared in the nineteenth century in France and Russia and moved away from Romanticism, emphasizing the description of everyday experience. Realist recognizes the most common for all people, and that makes Realism a genre of social progress (Newlin, 2019, 2). It takes its place in a period of significant changes in the structure of society (the transition from monarchy to democracy), reflecting situations without embellishments.

The realism movement in art is a product of the ideological and philosophical spirit of its time. The nineteenth century is a time of radical rebellion and rejection of traditional ideas and life patterns in all aspects (Newlin 4). Now people build their world according to the scientific, empirical, and secular rules first formulated by philosophers. The most spectacular examples of this change are revolutions in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries (The French Revolution, Russian Revolution, and others) and show a paradigmatic shift.

Naturalism is a type of extreme Realism that postulates scientific determinism and objectivism. “Naturalism sought to go further and be more explanatory than Realism by identifying the underlying causes for a person’s actions or beliefs” (West and Patterson 45). Thus, Realism concentrates on representing the shared experience, suggesting that a person acts spontaneously in response to one or another situation. Naturalism emphasizes that humans are not free in their actions, using science that does not leave a person free will.

Naturalism is a logical result of the development of Realism as the latter derives from a secular context that denies dignity. It relies on the Darwinian evolutionary theory, using it in a social dimension, even though Darwin never did this (West and Patterson 45). This fact moves a form of Social Darwinism that was unavoidable because free will used to be sanctioned only by divine law earlier.

Modernism may be characterized as a movement of departure from traditional art forms in search of something new in the new world. It differs from Realism and Naturalism in choosing the main object of the narrative. If objectivity was a primary field of unfolding events for those two movements, Modernism is essential to reflect the inner human world. O’Callaghan notes that “modernist art is concerned with the interior world of things, no matter how banal” (13). Indeed, it again reflects the contemporary ideological, intellectual, philosophical, and psychological context resulting from “God’s death” (Nietzsche). In addition to new techniques and styles, something new was to shift the attention into introspective mode as the inner person’s problems grew and demanded attention.

Conclusion

To conclude, Realism, Naturalism, and Modernism are three periods in the history of art in cause-and-effect relationships. Realism was the first to break the link with Romanticism and concentrated on the reflection of social objectivity. Naturalism is its extreme form that went more profoundly in nature of human behavior and postulated determinism. Modernism is the movement in search of new forms of art, and it emphasizes the interior world. These three periods show that art is closely linked to its contemporary context, which is necessary to know in order to understand it.

Works Cited

Newline, K. The Oxford Handbook of American Literary Realism. Oxford University Press, 2019.

O’Callaghan, K. Essays on Music and Language in Modernist Literature. Musical Modernism. Taylor & Francis, 2018.

West, R. and Patterson, B. English Literature. Nineteenth Century. EDTECH, 2018.

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Differences of Realism, Naturalism, and Modernism Periods in Art

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